Wondering how to make natural mint tea at home? As the cooler temperatures begin, we find ourselves grabbing a warm drink and a nice book or article to flick through. Be it in the morning to start the day, or after a meal with something sweet, or even as a nightcap to calm and ease our bodies into sleep. One of our staples is the mint tea. It helps with digestion, calms our bodies and is a great aid to relieve cold and flu symptoms due to its aroma.
It was one of herbs that flourished and I started to think what’s the best way to enjoy all its glory and it lead to making our own mint tea leaves. There are different ways to make your own tea leaves. The easiest and most cost effective way is the century old method of air-drying them. It can take a while but it is worth the wait.
Here’s how to make natural mint tea from fresh leaves
First, harvest a bunch of mint sprigs, cutting about an inch or so above the ground. Give it a quick rinse in cold running water just to wash off some dirt or other debris from your garden. Pat them dry with a kitchen or paper towel.
Next, how to dry mint leaves for tea? This is a very simple and effective step. Just tie them loosely together and hang in a cool dry place away from the sun. Leave and let it air dry for about 1-2 weeks.
On a big tray or bowl, strip off the leaves by running them along your thumb and index finger.
Transfer all the dried leaves into an airtight container and store in a cool dry place. I like to add a silica gel packet (that I have recycled from my kid’s seaweed snacks) to keep it dry inside.
So, how long should you steep mint tea? Usually, we like to steep this for about 2-3 minutes.
And there you have it. Pure, true, whole leaf tea straight from your garden. Can’t get any premium than that. How to brew it? Just steep 1 teaspoon of dried leaves for every cup of boiling water. Strain and enjoy.
See below for the step-by-step tea recipe. Enjoy your tea and let us know how it turned out.
Homemade Mint Tea
Equipment
- 1 Pair of scissors
Materials
- 1 bunch fresh mint leaves
- 1 spool butcher's twine
- 1 bowl
- 1 airtight container
Instructions
- Trim and gather some of your mint leaves from your garden. Give it a quick rinse and pat dry with a kitchen/paper towel.
- Gather a bunch and tie it with a cotton twine and hang it to dry in a low moisture room away from direct sunlight. After 1-2 weeks, check if fully dried.
- Crumble off the dried leaves in a big bowl. I like to run each stem between two fingers to effectively get all the leaves out.
- Store the dried leaves in an airtight container and keep in a cool dry place.
- To brew some tea, steep 1 tsp of dried leaves for every cup of tea.
