Buzz
Brewing your own mint tea with basic ingredients is simple and incredibly helpful, especially when someone in your household is experiencing stomach discomfort. You'll need just two essential ingredients: mint leaves and hot water. You can also get creative by adding other ingredients of your choice. Mint tea can be enjoyed hot, which helps soothe and warm you during the winter months, or served cold to energize and refresh you in the summer.
Ingredients
Mint Tea
- 5-10 fresh mint leaves
- 2 cups of water (470 ml)
- Sugar or sweetener to taste
- Lemon (optional)
Iced Mint Tea
- 10 fresh mint sprigs
- 8-10 cups of water (2-2.5 liters)
- 1/2 to 1 cup sugar to enhance flavor (110-225 g)
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Cucumber slices (optional)
Moroccan Mint Tea
- 1 tablespoon loose green tea leaves (15 g)
- 5 cups of water (1.2 liters)
- 3-4 tablespoons sugar to enhance flavor (40-50 g)
- 5-10 fresh mint sprigs
Steps
Prepare Hot Mint Tea
Boil the water. You can boil the water in a kettle, a pot on a stove, in the microwave, or any method you usually use to heat water. To save water, energy, time, and money, only boil enough water to make your tea.
Wash and tear the mint leaves. Rinse the leaves thoroughly to remove any dirt, dust, or insects. Then, tear the leaves into smaller pieces to release their aromatic oils and give the tea a strong fragrance.
- There are various types of mint leaves you can use, including chocolate mint, spearmint, and regular mint.
Prepare the mint leaves. You can place the leaves in a tea infuser ball, a teapot (specifically designed for loose leaf tea), a drip coffee cup, a French Press, or directly into your tea cup.
Pour boiling water over the mint leaves. While some teas require different water temperatures to avoid damaging the leaves, mint leaves can withstand high heat, so you can safely pour boiling water directly onto them.
Brew the tea. Let the mint tea steep for about 5-10 minutes, or longer if you prefer a stronger flavor. Once the tea has steeped for the desired amount of time (you can test by smelling or tasting it), strain out the mint leaves. Alternatively, you can leave the mint leaves in the tea for a more robust flavor. If you're not using a tea infuser ball or a dedicated teapot for loose leaf tea, make sure to use a strainer to remove the loose tea leaves.
- If using a French Press, you can press the plunger down once the tea has steeped for the desired time.
Add extra ingredients. After brewing the tea, you can add honey or a sweetener (if desired) or squeeze in some fresh lemon juice before serving.
Prepare Iced Mint Tea
Brew the mint tea. Use enough ingredients to make a large pot of hot mint tea. Place the mint leaves in a large heatproof bowl and pour boiling water over them. Let the tea steep.
- If you’re making a single serving, you can use the same ratio of mint leaves and water as you would when brewing hot mint tea for one cup.
Stir in sweetener and lemon juice. Once the tea is ready, squeeze in the lemon juice, making sure not to drop any seeds into the tea. Add your preferred sweetener to taste (if you like your tea sweet). Stir well to dissolve the sugar.
- You can substitute Agave syrup for liquid sweeteners or honey.
Chờ trà nguội bằng với nhiệt độ phòng. Sau khi trà nguội, lọc trà vào bình đựng và bỏ bã trà đi. Cho vào tủ lạnh đến khi trà lạnh.
Uống trà với đá và dưa chuột. Khi muốn uống trà lạnh, bạn có thể cho đá viên vào cốc. Tiếp theo, cắt dưa chuột thành lát mỏng và cho vài lát vào từng cốc trà. Rót trà lên và thưởng thức.
Pha trà bạc hà Moroccan
Rửa lá trà. Cho lá trà xanh vào bình trà rồi đổ 1 cốc nước sôi vào. Khuấy nước để rửa sạch lá trà và làm ấm bình. Đổ nước ra, để nguyên lá trà trong bình.
Ủ trà. Đổ thêm 4 cốc nước sôi vào bình trà và ủ trà khoảng 20 phút.
Add sugar and mint. Let the tea steep for an additional 4 minutes or until the flavor of mint infuses the tea, then enjoy.
Storing Fresh Mint Leaves
Freeze fresh mint leaves in an ice cube tray. If you have leftover mint leaves (either bought from the store or picked from your garden), you can freeze them for later use. To do this, place two cleaned mint leaves into each compartment of the ice cube tray. Fill with water and freeze. When needed, simply pop them out.
- Once the mint cubes are frozen, you can remove them from the tray and store them in a plastic bag in the freezer, freeing up the tray for ice cubes.
- When you're ready to use the mint, take out however many cubes you need, let them thaw in a bowl, discard any excess water, and gently pat the mint dry.
Dry the mint leaves. Dried mint leaves can be used to make tea or even added to coffee for a refreshing twist. To dry mint, gather a few fresh sprigs, tie them loosely with a rubber band, and hang the bunch upside down in a warm, dry place until the leaves are crispy and dry.
- Mint contains more moisture than many other herbs, so it may take anywhere from a few days to several weeks to dry completely, depending on the climate. The warmer and drier the room, the quicker the drying process.
- Once the mint is dry, you can store it in a bag or crush it between parchment paper sheets and store it in a spice jar.
Tips
- You can add honey and lemon juice to the mint tea to soothe a sore throat.
