Question about mint tea...

Question

do u need to dry the mint leaves b4 making tea? and can that make u sick if u dont

Answer 1

Not at all!  Mint is so easy to grow, so it's great to put a few leaves into your tea.  You can make plain mint tea by just pouring hot water over the fresh leaves (but be sure to wash them first!  Once I ended up with a spider in my cup - yuck!)

Otherwise, they're a great addition to green or black tea, and also to iced tea!  Yum yum!

Also also, mint is great for settling your stomach. I always have some mint tea when I have a tummy ache.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

Nope, not at all, I pick the fresh mint leaves outside all the time and just simmer them a little bit. or add them to my regular black tea. It is the best tasting kick to regular tea if it is fresh. That and lemon or lime.

It also makes a fantastic natural insect repellent.  Just put the tea from boiled leaves in water  on your skin and repel mosquitoes and flies.

Answer 3

No, the tea leaves don't have to be dried first.

The tea will have a stronger taste if using fresh mint.

I have made tea many times using fresh mint.

It's lovely!

Answer 4

They don't HAVE to, but I prefer it.

when you dry them, it helps get rid of the "cloraphil" flavor. It basically makes it taste less like grass.

I perfer to dry mine outside in a woven basket and "fluff" them every day or so. It takes about a week or two, but it's gives the freshest flavor.

If you need to brew it quick, you could go ahead and brew it fresh, but the quality won't be as good and you'd have to use more.

(also, I rocommend adding a little bit of ginger and sweet basil (but not much) into the tea when you brew it. It gives excellent flavor. You need the ginger fresh and the sweet basil dry, though. Also, make sure it's "sweet basil" and not regular basil, because it's not the same at all.)