Easy Fresh Mint Tea {Hot or Iced}
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I love tea recipes using fresh herbs and ingredients. A hot or iced cup of fresh mint tea is such a lovely thing. Whether you’re curling up on the couch with a good book, or just finishing up dinner, there is something about mint that just relaxes the mind and soothes the stomach.
This fresh mint tea recipe is very easy to make yourself at home, and mint is very easy to grow yourself, so you really don’t have to keep buying mint sprigs at the grocery store if you don’t want to.
I’ll show you how to easily make fresh mint tea, hot or iced, and give you some suggested additional herbs and flavours you can add if you wish.
And if you haven’t tried this yet — you can also use sage, another culinary herb, to make an incredible tea too. Sage and mint actually pair together very well!
Growing Mint (Outside Or Indoors)
If you decide to go this route (and I think you should because it’s ridiculously easy) please know that mint spreads like the most invasive of weeds and is nearly impossible to eradicate once there.
(The community garden plot I had when I still lived in the city was overrun with mint and I never got rid of it.)
Always plant mint in pots or containers, outdoors or indoors.
I have a guide on Growing Mint Indoors Year-Round that you should check out and another one for Growing Mint In Your Garden.
Growing mint is as easy as buying a started plant and sitting back to watch it flourish and provide you with an endless supply of mint.
As a plant, it is nearly impossible to kill.
There are also SO many unique and wonderful varieties (like chocolate mint, orange mint) that I think you will end up with more than one.
Mint Tea & Safety
Is mint tea safe to drink?
In Pregnancy
Is mint tea safe to drink for pregnant women? Yes. Mint tea is considered “generally safe” for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding to consume on a regular basis in normal amounts. Source: 1, 2.
Children
Is mint tea safe to drink for children? Yes. There is nothing about mint tea that is known to be dangerous, toxic or to cause adverse effects in children when drank in normal amounts.
Benefits of Mint
What does the science say?
Like sage, mint has many benefits beyond fresh tea or culinary applications.
Aside from culinary uses, mint leaves and oil extracts have been used as medicinal herbs for thousands of years.
Mint is famously recommended to soothe upset stomachs and relieve digestive issues. Applied topically it has been used for pain relief as well.
I drink mint tea because I find it a pleasant combination of soothing and refreshing for my senses.
Mint seems to have numerous science-backed beneficial properties behind it, including:
- Easing Digestive Upsets
- Relieving Tension Headaches and Migraines
- Breath Freshener
- Breathe Easier (Clogged Sinuses)
- Increase Energy
- Relieving Period Cramps in Women
- Fighting Bacterial Infections
- Improving Sleep
- Helping Ease Seasonal Allergy Symptoms
- Increasing Concentration
Easing Digestive Upsets
Peppermint oil has been shown in several studies to relax digestive muscles and to improve various other digestive symptoms. Fresh mint tea may provide similar benefits too.
Relieving Tension Headaches and Migraines
While no “real” evidence exists that peppermint tea improves headache symptoms, research does strongly suggest that peppermint oil can reduce tension headaches and migraines. Fresh peppermint tea may provide similar benefits.
Breath Freshener
Peppermint oil can kill the germs that cause bad breath. Fresh mint tea, which naturally contains peppermint oil, may help improve breath as well. You can chew the mint leaves from the tea you make, or raw leaves (I always do) from the plant for a quick refresh.
Breathing Easier (Clogged Sinuses)
You know how those menthol vapor rubs rubbed on the chest help you breathe easier when you’re all sick and gross and congested? There is also some evidence that drinking warm peppermint tea can help unclog your sinuses.
Increasing Energy & Fighting Fatigue
So there is no research into fresh mint tea specifically, but mint oil has been shown to relieve tiredness and daytime sleepiness in some studies. Women will often use peppermint essential oil during childbirth to keep their energy up.
Relieving Period Cramps in Women
Alongside being useful for some women during labor, fresh mint tea during your period may reduce the intensity and length of menstrual cramps. Peppermint has been shown to help prevent muscle contractions. I think a nice hot bath during that time of the month with peppermint oil plus a cup of hot fresh tea sounds lovely.
Fighting Bacterial Infections
Studies confirm that mint is effective in the fight against several varieties of bacteria, like those that cause food-borne illnesses and some contagious illnesses too.
Improving Sleep
As a caffeine-free beverage, fresh mint tea is a soothing warm drink that can get you in the mood for sleep. Unlike black teas. I love to take a bath with a few drops of lavender essential oil and a cup of tea or hot spiced milk before bed. My toddler loves both equally too I think.
Helping Ease Seasonal Allergy Symptoms
No real studies have been done on tea, but peppermint contains a compound called rosmarinic acid. This can reduce allergy symptoms like sneezing or a runny nose.
Increasing Concentration
Peppermint oil (like it’s found in fresh mint tea) might help you in increasing concentration, alertness and memory.
Ingredients
Tea recipes are so easy! This one requires a handful of mint leaves at its most basic, although you can certainly add more ingredients too!
Yes, you can use dried mint, but this is so much better.
Instructions
See Recipe Card For All Quantities.
The instructions are essentially the same for fresh hot mint herbal tea or the iced version.
(Only the quantity of water will change as it makes more sense to make a big bottle/pitcher of iced fresh mint tea.)
- Place your fresh mint leaves into a cup, teapot, French press (or pitcher).
- Pour boiling water over the fresh leaves.
- Steep for 15 minutes.
- Add honey or maple syrup to sweeten (if using), other ingredients and herbs (if using) and enjoy.
- If making iced mint tea, place your pitcher or bottle into the fridge and allow it to completely chill.
- You can add ice cubes if you wish, but be careful not to dilute the flavor.
- Add lemon wedges to serve for a nice touch.
Can You Use Mint Stems In Tea?
Yes, fresh mint stems are flavourful themselves, although the taste is not exactly the same as the leaves.
For all green-stemmed herbs, the tender stems should not be discarded as they are perfectly good for culinary uses.
How Do You Dry Mint Leaves?
Tie mint bundles up with cotton twine and then hang them in a ventilated area until perfectly dry. Hanging your mint upside down is important, as it forces the aromatic oils out of the stems and into the leaves.
This process should only take a week or a bit more.
Once perfectly dry (the leaves will feel crispy and delicate) strip the leaves from the stems and then store them in an air-tight container in a cool, dark, dry place like your pantry.
You can add silica packets into the containers if you wish but I personally don’t bother with this.
Yes, you can use your oven or food dehydrator at their lowest possible setting to dry your mint leaves out even faster (hours instead of days).
Make sure the leaves are completely dry before using these methods and check on the leaves frequently to avoid over-drying or cooking/burning the delicate leaves.
See Also: How To Preserve Fresh Herbs
What Flavours Pair Well With Mint Tea
Why not combine your mint leaves with something else?
- Honey
- Green Tea
- You can mix several varieties of mint together, like peppermint and lemon mint for example
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Ginger
- Ginseng
- Lemon Zest
- Jasmine
- Chocolate
- Vanilla
- Sage
RECIPE
Ingredients
- 5-10 Fresh Mint Leaves
- 1 tablespoon Honey Optional
- Lemon Wedges For Serving Optional
Instructions
- For HOT Fresh Mint Tea: Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil.
- Allow the water to sit off of the heat for 60 seconds.
- In your favourite mug, add 5-10 mint leaves and then pour the water over the leaves.
- Allow the leaves to steep for 3-5 minutes.
- Add 1 teaspoon of honey (optional) or to taste.
- Add a wedge of lemon (optional) and serve.
- There is no need to remove the leaves before drinking.
For ICED Fresh Mint Tea:
- Use about 20 fresh mint leaves and steep the leaves for about 10 minutes before DISCARDING.
- Refrigerate until ice-cold!
