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Mint Tea Garden: How To Grow and Harvest Your Own Herbal Mint Tea

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I am a tea drinker. My favorite is a nice herbal tea, preferably some sort of mint. I just can't get enough of it. I'll drink it hot or cold. Yum!

 

 

My family shares my love of mint teas, which means we go through a lot of tea with seven of us drinking it. So we decided several years ago to grow our own mint teas. My small back yard is now a treasure trove of mint. We have peppermint, spearmint, lemon mint, apple mint, and chocolate mint. Yes, you heard that right. Chocolate mint. {Yum!}

People are often amazed when I tell them that we grow our own mint for tea. It really is quite easy. I am already enjoying my harvest of mint while nestled under a blanket with my knitting, so I thought it was time that I share the secret with you so that you can plan your little tea garden for next spring.

I would recommend planting your mint in a container by itself. Mints of all kinds will readily spread, so unless you want a yard full of mint, a container or pot will work nicely. Ours have alwalys gotten harvested so frequently that the plants never had time to send out runners. They spread a little, but not much more than filling out well in the empty space I left around them. This past summer, we built raised beds and moved our perennial plants (including the mints) into beds. Each mint now has its own raised box that is about 1.5 feet wide by 3.5 feet long.

I would advise getting your mint plants (or any herb) from a reputable garden dealer. You don't want to mistake the type of plant you are growing for food (or drink) with a plant that is not good for consumption. {yikes}

I begin harvesting mint in the spring, a couple of weeks after the danger of frost is past. It's very easy to harvest. I use a pair of sharp scissors or a small pair of garden shears. Simply cut the stem as if you are cutting flowers. Make sure that you leave several leaves on each stem so that the plant can still nourish itself and continue to grow.

 

 

Wash the mint. I like to make a sink of tepid water with just a tiny drop of veggie wash or dish soap for washing. Don't make the water hot or cold– the mint will begin to steep. Yes, even in cold water. Tepid is good. Now rinse the mint really well and set aside to drip dry a bit.

 

 

Now it's time to bundle the mint so that you can hang it to dry. You will want to bundle the mint with rubber bands. You need something with squeezing action. As the mint stems dry out, they will get smaller. You need the rubber band so it will keep on sueezing the stems. Otherwise the center stems will fall out of the bundle. You don't want that. Keep your bundles small. You want them about the size of a pencil at the end where you'll rubber band. If the bundles are too big, the mint in the center won't get dry. Keeping the bundles small insures that all of the mint will dry out enough to crumble when you pinch it.

 

 

After the mint is all bundled, hang it upside down to dry. You will need a place to hang it where it can stay for several days to a week. I string a line across my dining room, then I put a clothes pin under a bit of the rubber band and clip the clothes pin onto the line. I can leave it hanging here until it has dried well. When visitors come by, they have commented that it's a really cool way to decorate. {grin}

 

 

When the mint is dry enough to crumble, you can store it or make tea!

 

To Store:

Pull all the leaves off the stems. You can simply crumble the mint into a jar or you can carefully pull the leaves off and put them into the jar mostly intact. Either way works, but I like to take the leaves off without as little crushing as possible. This preserves the oils inside the leaves until the tea is made. Store in an air tight container or jar.

You can also measure the dried leaves into empty filter bags to store until ready to use. Just put the bags into an airtight container.

 

 

To Make Tea:

You can use fresh leaves or dried leaves to make your tea. It will take more fresh leaves than dried leaves. Either way, you will want to crush the leaves before steeping.

Scoop out the desired about of mint leaves. Put into tea ball, tea filter bag, or press pot. Crush the leaves to release the oils. Pour boiling or almost boiling water over leaves. Let steep 3-5 minutes. Sweeten as desired.

The amount of mint you use for each cup can be a matter of personal preference. I like to use about 3 spoonfuls of leaves then crush them.

 

Now is a wonderful time to plan where you'd like your tea garden. Next spring you can plant and beginning harvesting a few weeks later. You may want to book mark or pin {hint, hint} this post for easy reference when it's time to harvest or drink your first cup of tea. Enjoy!

 

 

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The post Mint Tea Garden: How To Grow and Harvest Your Own Herbal Mint Tea appeared first on the daisyhead.


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