DIRECTIONS on How to Dry Mint Leaves for Mint Tea! These DIY How to Make Mint Tea instructions shows how easy it is to dry mint leaves so you can make your own homemade peppermint tea. I store this dried mint tea for months so I can enjoy the health benefits year round!
How to Make Mint Tea
I start everyday with a cup of tea. Do you?
It can be warm or cold, it doesn’t really matter. Most green and black teas have enough caffeine for that morning boost. My morning always starts with a yawn. Then I waddle out of the bedroom with my comfiest bed shirt on and make myself a cup of tea.
I then continue to have a few cups of tea throughout the day. The kind of tea depends on the season and my mood. In Winter I might start with English Breakfast or Earl Grey. In the Spring it’s all about Green Jasmine. A nice spiced tea is great for autumn.
Homemade Mint Tea
But the Summer is dedicated to Mint tea. And drying mint is so easy!
Mint tea can be enjoyed throughout the day. It’s not uncommon for me to make a cup while I’m making dinner to start to calm down for the day. It’s also not uncommon for me to make a cup of this in the afternoon when it’s “go time” with work but I need to stay sane.
It has no caffeine but is naturally invigorating due to it’s flavor and natural “chill” from the menthol, making it perfect for a good start in the morning or an afternoon pick-me-up. This lack of caffeine also makes it perfect for an evening or pre-bedtime tea. It’s also great for after meals to aid digestion. It helps to sooth upset tummies and calm nausea as well. Mint tea also helps many pregnant women, especially helping with morning sickness during the first trimester (here’s my peppermint tea recipe).
It’s garden season so if you have a herb or vegetable garden chances are you might be growing mint. Mint is one of those plants that have a life of their own when it comes to growing all over.
It’s technically a weed, so it can easily take over entire gardens or yards if not contained. But it is easy to get plenty of it! It’s best to keep it in its own area or a container to prevent it from taking over, but it can be managed in a garden plot. If you plan on making a lot of tea just keep trimming and drying your expanding plant.
How to Dry Mint
I found 2 mint plants recently that somehow survived our brutal winter and were happily growing and getting ready for Summer. Mint is a hardy plant!
Is there anything sweeter then the smell of when you touch of your fingers on fresh mint? Mmmm. Mint can be easily dried to use for tea leaves. There’s really nothing to it.
Many people hang their mint to dry but I’m both inpatient and sometimes out of space. With this method below you’ll solve all that as your mint will be ready in 2-3 hours. It will also show you how to do so without burning it up, as sometimes happens if you rush it.
Have fun drying your mint and enjoy that next cup of tea! Make sure to serve with some tea sugar cookies!
How to Dry Mint Leaves
It’s as simple as spreading a layer of fresh mint on a cookie sheet. Here’s a before and after of drying mint.
Set the oven on a low enough temp and let it sit for 2-3 hours.
Crumble it up and store it in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
How much dried mint for tea?
To make a single cup of mint tea, use a teaspoon of dried mint. Let steep for 3 minutes in hot water.
And now you know how to make peppermint tea! Enjoy!
Looking to dry more herbs? Here’s how to dry parsley in the microwave and here’s how to dry basil in the oven.
Looking for more tea recipes? Try my Cucumber Peppermint Tea, Earl Grey Tea Popsicles and Tomato Tea.
Looking for more mint recipes? Try my Cast Iron Chicken with Mint Chutney and Pea Shoots Pasta.
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How to Make Mint Tea
PrintIngredients
- Fresh Mint
Instructions
- Pick mint, clean if needed. If cleaning, make sure to dry mint completely, I like to let it sit overnight.
- Preheat oven to 170 degrees F.
- Place mint in one layer on a baking sheet.
- Bake mint for 2-3 hours. Check at the 2 hour mark to see if mint is completely dry. If not, check every 15 minutes.
- Once out of the oven take mint and crumble leaves into a container. Store in jar, preferably in a dry dark cabinet shelf.
- When using for tea, use one teaspoon of dried mint leaves and steep for 3 minutes in hot water.
Deryl says
Wouldn’t it dry faster if you just did the leaves and not the stems?
Pamela says
It’s still going to take the same amount of time to dry, plus if you do that you’re adding the extra time it’s going to take to remove the individual leaves one by one. For the way I do it, once you take it out of the oven, you’ll be able to remove all the leaves in just one hand swipe.
raf says
does this work with any type of mint?
Pamela says
Sure does!
Terri Murari says
For the mint tea, do you add the dry mint leaves to water or to tea?
Pamela says
For mint tea, I put the dried mint in a tea strainer or a tea bag. Enjoy!
Bee says
Some family just sent us a jar of homemade mint tea leaves as a gift and it is so delicious. I’m going to have to start making my own – thank you for the simple method here!
Amy @ Elephant Eats says
So smart to make your own mint tea! It’s pretty much the only kind I drink and I go thru tons of it. I need to start planting herbs!
Anna says
Pamela, its like you can see my garden or something… Its not normal, but we still have a thriving herb garden and my mint is seriously outta control. I am a mad keen tea drinker, but don’t always like to have a the caffein, so making a mint tea is a fab idea. Thanks, simple and totally achievable. 🙂 What are your thoughts on using fresh mint?
Pamela says
You can totally make tea with fresh mint too Anna! I’ll have a post coming about that soon! 🙂
Annette says
I have only used fresh mint for tea! I just crumple up 2 or 3 branches, throw boiling water over them and let sit for 3 min. Learned this from a cousin in Slovenia! It’s the only reason I grow mint!
Arpita@ The Gastronomic Bong says
Wow!! I had no idea it is so easy to dry mint at home!! Mint tea is one of my favourites.. thanks for sharing!! 🙂
Mary Frances says
This couldn’t be any simpler! What a great gift a home-grown mint tea blend would make.
Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes) says
Oh this is a fantastic tutorial! I would love some of this for my tea!
Emma | Fork and Good says
Tea? Yes, I’m a bit of a fan 😉
Thanks for this, great post! Mint tea is one of my faves cause it just makes me happy.
Judit + Corina | Glamorous Bite says
Beautiful photos Pamela, would love a coup ( or two) of your aromatic mint tea! Great way to save all the vibrant summer herbs 🙂
Cheers,
J+C
Jamie | Jamie's Recipes says
Holy moly is this every easy! I have lots of mint too. I can’t wait to give it a go. Thanks Pamela!
Kristi @ Inspiration Kitchen says
This tea looks absolutely amazing – and I love the way you welcome the day! Having a nice cup of tea in the morning sounds like a perfect way to start a day.
Kelly @ Inspired Edibles says
This is such a clever (and well explained) idea for a post. Mint tea is delightfully soothing and lucky for those of us with a black thumb (that would be me) mint is impossible to kill 😉 so I have plenty of it growing and waiting to be dried for this dedicated purpose. Yay! Your photos are lovely… thank you for the great how-to!
Sophie says
Thanks for explaining it, nice & easy! 🙂 Yummm!
The Café Sucre Farine says
What a great trick to know Pamela. I have a TON of mint. I won’t ever have to buy mint tea again, yeh
Sues says
SUCH an awesome idea!! My husband and I were just talking about drying out some basil, but now I want to make fresh mint tea, too!
raf says
basil is a type of mint so you can use the same instructions i think.
Joanne says
I love infusing my tea with a bit of mint, so I will definitely be trying this!
Denise@magnoliaverandah says
I am huge tea drinker and have a lovely plant ready for a prune- perfect thankyou!
Katie says
I have more mint in my yard than I could ever drink. Come over and take it all!! I keep finding it in unexpected places too. It just….grows and grows and it has a life of it’s own!
PSA to those with gardens – keep mint in containers!!
Still, I’ve never dried it even though I’ve dried every other kind of herb. But, hey….stems and all, huh?
Suzanne says
I have a ton of mint, will try this. Thanks for the tips!
Mary Frances says
That is so cool! Who knew it was so easy to do it at home? I do enjoy a good cup of tea and making it all completely at home would make it even better!
Chris @ Shared Appetite says
Cool! Now I know!! Haha, I thought you needed a dehyradator or something fancy like that!
Koko says
This is so easy! I love it! I love drinking tea…and I’m sure this could be used with so many different herbs. Great idea, pamela! PS your orange nails are so cute!
PassTheKnife says
Such a great idea to do! My mother is always giving away bunches of her herbs, I’ll send this right along to her! What a great gift this would be too!
Emma @ Bake Then Eat says
What a great way to quickly dry out your mint leaves, I love mint tea and love making my own I shall definitely give this a go with all the mint I have in the garden at the moment.
Shashi @ runninsrilankan says
Pamela – I had no clue – NEVER thought to use the oven to dry out any herbs – oh my – thank YOU!!! I am not a huge tea drinker (though I did enjoy that Peach tea you sent me) but the possibilites for dried herb usage are limitless!
Kelly @ Trial and Eater says
I had no idea it was this easy! I want to dry a bunch of herbs that I’ve grown this year. I am a coffee drinker in the morning, but I’m trying to become an herbal tea drinker at night to prepare myself for sleep 🙂
vinod pandey says
you take in morning breakfast good for health.