Fresh Spearmint Tea

I made fresh spearmint tea to have a lovely tea with friends. There is no caffeine since this is an herbal infusion and the taste is very fresh since you can use the leaves right after you pick them.

You will need:

Fresh spearmint

Scissors and strainer

Water and kettle

Teapot

Teacups

Spearmint is very easy to grow, but it will need to be in a container. This plant will happily spread if planted in the ground and take over quickly. Growing it in a container keeps it controlled and convenient to place near your kitchen to harvest.

I cut three long pieces that were hanging over the side of the container and gave them a quick rinse in with the hose outside to wash off any dust and detritus before I brought it inside.

Give it a second rinse inside in a strainer so you can make sure you wash off the undersides of the leaves too and make certain any little bugs that might have been on the leaves are not going into the teapot.

Fill your kettle and set to boil!

Put the leaves and stems in the pot. You can "muddle" them a bit by just pressing them against the sides and walls of the teapot. This is a four cup teapot and three medium sized stems with leaves.

I let this pot steep for 5 minutes, which gives just the amount of "mmm, mint" flavor I like. If you want it stronger, you could pack in more leaves or let it steep 10 minutes, which would give it a "whoo! minty!" infusion. This is the color of the tea after five minutes, it has a very light touch of color but is still flavorful.

Why not pour a cup for friends and enjoy your tea with a bit of conversation! Here are Ty Grr and Gaston Louis Armstrong Font joining me for some early afternoon mint tea.