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A glass mug of peppermint tea with a curl of lemon peel, fresh mint sprigs and a bowl of dried leaves on a wooden table

Peppermint Tea Made With Fresh and Dried Leaves, Hot or Iced

Prep
3 min
Cook
9 min
Total
12 min
Servings
2 mugs

Half fresh leaves for a sweet, green smell, half dried for the deep menthol, and a strip of lemon peel to round it off. Plus what is known about peppermint tea itself, and why the IBS trials are about oil capsules.

Ingredients

  • 2 cupbrewed peppermint tea, from a loose 1/2 cup of fresh peppermint leaves plus 2 tsp dried peppermint, steeped in 2 cups (475 ml) of water just off the boil; or 2 pure peppermint tea bags
  • 1 striplemon peel, about 3 inches (7 cm), white pith trimmed off, steeped with the leaves
  • 2 tsplemon juice, optional, 1 tsp per mug

Instructions

  1. Wake up the leaves. Rinse the fresh peppermint and pull the leaves off the stems. Bruise them lightly between your palms or tear them in half, then put them in a teapot or a heatproof jug with the dried peppermint and the strip of lemon peel.
    Fresh peppermint leaves, a pile of dried peppermint and strips of lemon peel beside an empty glass teapot on a linen cloth
  2. Steep covered. Bring 2 cups (475 ml) of water to a boil and take it off the heat for about 30 seconds. Pour it over the leaves, cover right away, and steep for 6 minutes. Taste at 5 if you like a lighter cup.
    Peppermint leaves and a strip of lemon peel steeping in pale green hot water in a covered glass teapot
  3. Strain and finish. Pour the tea through a fine strainer into two mugs and throw away the leaves and the peel. Add 1 tsp of lemon juice to each mug if you want it brighter, and serve hot. Bogdan brewed this pot to the letter, found it quick and easy, and the cup was delicious enough to brew again.
    A fine mesh strainer holding spent peppermint leaves over a glass mug of pale green tea

Notes

  • Cover the pot the moment the water goes in. The menthol smell is what you are paying for, and it leaves with the steam.
  • If the cup tastes grassy, the fresh leaves were tired or there were too many stems. If it tastes sharp and almost medicinal, cut the dried peppermint to 1 tsp.
  • Want it sweeter? 1 tsp of honey per mug adds about 21 calories (USDA).

Nutrition Facts

Per serving (estimated) : Calories: 3 | Total Carbohydrate: 1 g | Protein: 0 g | Total Fat: 0 g | Sodium: 2 mg

Category: Smoothies & DrinksAuthor: Bogdan DCuisine: American