Love fresh herbs? Learn how to make mint tea (and other herbal teas) with fresh mint and herbs from the garden
One of my favorite things to do each summer is check on my mint plants. They are impressive.
I cut them back mercilessly-- for recipes, garnishes, and sometimes just to enjoy their heavenly scent.
And yet, each time I look-- the plants are bigger.
And since I love making homemade tea (like this catnip tea, this pine needle tea, and this ginger tea), my mint plant that keeps on giving is the perfect herb to turn into a classic glass of mint tea.
Want more tea ideas? Check out this guide to herbal teas.
Does it Matter What Type of Mint I Have?
Not at all.
In fact, if you have several varieties of mint-- mix them! Here, I used chocolate mint and sweet mint.
Can I Use Wild Mint?
Of course you can!
Just make sure that you positively identify the plant as a type of mint before harvesting. I recommend using a guide book like the National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers.
Should the Mint Leaves be Fresh or Dried for Mint Tea?
For this tea, I used fresh mint leaves. Fresh mint will give you a mild, pleasant tea.
Dried mint can also make a great tea-- as long as the dried mint isn't old. Old dried herbs will give you a weak, flavorless tea.
If you aren't sure how old your dried herbs are, smell them, or try rubbing them between your fingers and smelling. (If you smell nothing-- toss them out!)
How Do I Make My Tea Stronger or More Flavorful?
Mild tea can be delicious, especially in the summer heat.
But if you prefer something stronger, check the recipe card for tea variations. You can mix in more herbs, some spices, or green or black tea for a deeper flavor.
Do I Need a Teapot to Make Mint Tea?
No! If you have a French press, you can use it instead.
Don't have either?
You can use a tea ball, or strain the tea through a mesh sieve.
Want more ways to use FRESH MINT? Try these: How to Make a Mint Julep and Infused Water with Herbs, Citrus, + Fruit
How to Make Mint Tea
Ingredients
Mint Tea Base:
- 20 fresh mint leaves, any variety. use more for stronger flavor
- 2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon sugar or honey (optional), use more or less to taste
- 2 lemon slices (optional), to serve
For Moroccan Mint Tea:
- 2 teaspoons green tea, loose leaf (or 2 tea bags)
For Spiced Mint Tea (Choose 1, or Smaller Amounts of Both)
- 6 cardamom pods, crushed
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
Herbal Tea Variations (Choose 1, or Smaller Amounts of Both)
- 2-3 springs fresh thyme
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
Black Mint Tea:
- 2 teaspoons black tea, loose leaf (or 2 tea bags)
Instructions
- Rinse mint leaves (and other herbs, if using), and set aside to dry.
- Bring tea water to a boil. Pour into a teapot or a French Press.
- Crush mint leaves with your hands to release oil and then add them to the teapot, or add them to the pot and use a cocktail muddler or the back of a wooden spoon.
- Add any additional ingredients (except lemon). Cover pot. Steep 5-7 minutes if you added green tea or black tea, or 8-10 minutes for herbal tea.
- Serve hot, with lemon if desired. For iced tea: make a larger batch of tea, let the tea cool slightly, and then store in a pitcher or glass jar in the fridge. Use within 2-3 days.
Notes
- Stronger tea: Use more mint
- Dried mint leaves: Crush them, and use 1 ½ tsp per 8 ounces of water.
Cynthia Daniels
Mint, mint everywhere! I have so much mint in the summer. This is a refreshing, relaxing way to use it. I love drinking hot tea too so this was a nice twist on my typical tea. Thanks for the idea
champagne-tastes
Yay!! I'm glad you loved it 😀
Dawn
Our mint grows extremely fast!! I'm sure we have enough to supply the whole street, lol. I'll have to try this tea out...we love mint tea, but have never made our own!
Anne
So refreshing! It's 111 in Phoenix today so my herbs struggle during the summer - except for my mint which doesn't seem to mind anything! Often make sun tea with herbs. Will try your recipes 🙂
Ann
This was soooooooo easy to make. For some reason I had always thought it would be a drawn out process. But it was simple as picking some leaves and dropping it in hot water.
champagne-tastes
Thanks Ann! I’m so glad you loved it!
Amaya
I made fresh mint leaf tea today using all of your suggestions and I placed the mint/ water in a jug for two hours in the sun.
It didn’t look or taste like tea at all.
What did I do wrong?
I’ve made sun tea before using mint tea bags without any problems.
I was very disappointed in my efforts. Thank you.
Sarah
Hi Amaya! I’m so sorry- it’s always frustrating when something doesn’t work the way you think it will!
I’ve actually never tried making sun tea with fresh mint, but my guess is that it’s just not strong enough (I make it with very hot, almost boiling water).
Dried mint is a lot stronger than fresh mint, so if you try again I’d suggest drying it first.
But if you want to use the mint fresh, I’d suggest using extra hot water instead of sun tea 🙂
Hope it works better next time!!
Amaya
Thank you!!
Alisha
I used this recipe to make iced tea, and it turned out great! It's so easy and a refreshing drink for summer. I sweetened it using just a couple tablespoons of sugar for the whole jug, and it was just right.
Jean Pierre
Un délice! I read the nutritional information and was surprised at the number of calories!?! = 7000 calories (7 kcal). Typo? 😉
Sarah Trenalone
Hi Jean, I'm so glad you enjoyed the tea! You're right, it does look like it says 7k cal doesn't it?! The program I use for calorie counts lists all calories in "kcals" (kilocalories), which is the technical name of the type of calorie referred to with food. So each serving has about 7 calories 🙂
Alisha
I made this again, using mostly apple mint leaves. It was for iced tea, so I left it to cool and then forgot about it. So it accidentally steeped for something close to 24 hours... and it was really good! I added about a tablespoon of sugar for the whole pitcher. Refreshing.