ORGANIC MINT TEA: INTRO
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The mint plant, the origin of organic mint tea, is often called the “aromatic plant” – because of its distinct minty smell! This is just one way to describe a plant that has contributed immensely to the herbal tea industry!
From purple to white, the mint plant can appear in many colors, each with its own unique attributes. The mint plant, as you might have guessed, is also responsible for the many flavors of the mint tea we enjoy today! One of those kinds of mint teas, Organic Mint Tea, is often people’s number one choice and it is the subject to this article!
The Organic Mint Tea – Learning the Basics
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“Organic” does not refer to a single flavor. Instead, the term refers to most mint species that are grown without any form of additives – just like Mother Nature intended! The organic mint tea is, therefore, the purest type of mint tea you can find!! You can contrast it to a basic mint tea, here!
Are you looking to buy organic mint tea? Perhaps you’ve long been interested in it but aren’t quite sure where to start? We can help! In this article, we’ll show you some of our favorite recipes for one of the best cups of organic mint tea possible! We’ll also take you through the features every organic mint tea product should have – you’ll be a highly educated consumer in no time flat! To help you make the right choice, we’ll give you a couple suggestions on some of the best kinds of organic mint tea – they are our personal favorites!
As a starter, you should know the difference between the organic mint tea and other species. A classic example is the peppermint. While the mint tea uses an extract of both spearmint and peppermint, the peppermint tea uses peppermint leaves only – its a blend vs. non-blend distinction.
You’ll usually find the organic mint tea has a different taste when compared with other types of tea. I have always described it as a “healthy” taste, while some HTH readers refer to it as an “earthy” taste. Nevertheless, it is unique!!
Organic mint tea is believed to hold certain medical benefits. For example, at least in my personal experience, mint tea helps to reduce indigestion issues and improve sleep. I have specifically noticed this after consuming a “heavy” meal. You’ll also find that your body is better equipped to fight a bacterial infection – at least such was the case for me, as I drank a ton of organic mint tea last time I was sick and I started feeling better almost overnight! There are few side effects with organic mint tea, as opposed to some herbal teas, like hibiscus tea (learn about hibiscus tea side effects).
The best places to grow organic mint tea are in USDA approved organic farms – they are top notch operations. These farms are located in specific places (usually the Pacific Northwest region of the United States) that help the mint plant grow better! Better climate = better mint tea!!
The organic mint tea has variations, but is generally easy to prepare, just use our easy to follow recipe below. We don’t like overly complex recipes, so it should be easy for you to follow! Let’s take a look at some recipes you can use in preparing organic mint tea – you can make a cup tonight! You might also be interested in comparing it against organic peppermint tea!
Simple Recipes – Organic Mint Tea
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There are several ways to prepare a delicious cup of organic mint tea. We’ll be looking at the “fresh mint tea” and the “iced mint tea”. To help us enjoy this section, we break it down into the type of ingredients you need and the quantity. Then we write down some sure-fire steps to get you on your way.
Fresh Mint Tea
Simple List of Ingredients
- Water (2 cups)
- Mint Leaves (Should be a combination of spearmint, peppermint or fresh mint leaves, the more leaves, the more flavor!)
- Sweeteners. This can include sugar (2 teaspoons), lemon (juice or sliced). You can also use honey, which is our traditional sweetener of choice!
Adding peppermint to your mint tea will result in a menthol aroma. Keep this in mind when preparing your tea and don’t overdo it! A little bit of the menthol aroma will go a long way (unless you have heavy congestion, of course)!
Easy to Follow Instructions
Step One. Make sure you have all your ingredients ready. This helps you to stay organized. Most people cut, smash or grind their mint leaves to enjoy the extra aroma and flavor it provides. The aroma is released from the leaves in the form of oils.
Step Two. Heat up your water. Make sure the water boils properly. Make sure to wear protective items when working with boiling water!
Step Three. Once the water has been heated up, you can then pour your mint leaves into the water. Your water should not be boiling at this point.
Step Four. Steep your tea. This can last for 3-5 minutes. The longer it lasts, the stronger the flavor. We have steeped for as long as 7-10 minutes though the extra time does eventually begin to flatten out in terms of additional “mint” flavor created!
Step Five. Strain the tea of the leaves. This can be done with a strainer. This is an important step because you don’t want to tea leaves stuck in your teeth!
Step Six. You can add your sweeteners at this point. Again, we like honey, but you are certainly permitted to use sugar (just use natural, not artificial, sugars)! Your tea is ready to be served.
The total amount of time needed to make the mint tea is about 8 minutes, depending on how long you allow it to steep, of course. Not too bad, huh?
Iced Mint Tea
Simple List of Ingredients
- Water (2 cups)
- Mint Leaves (Should be a combination of spearmint, peppermint or fresh mint leaves. Again, more leaves = more flavor)
- Sweeteners. This can include sugar (2 teaspoons), lemon (juice or sliced). Honey works well for the iced version as well!
Easy to Follow Instructions
Step One. Make sure you have all your ingredients ready. Again, most people cut their mint leaves to enjoy the extra aroma and flavor it provides. Cutting the leaves is NOT required, however!
Step Two. Heat up your water. Make sure the water boils properly. It may take you longer to bring your water to a boil depending on your altitude!
Step Three. Once the water has been heated up, you can then pour your mint leaves into the same pot. The water should not be boiled at this point.
Step Four. Steep your tea. This can last for 3-5 minutes. The longer it lasts, the stronger the flavor and taste. Don’t worry, you don’t have to steep for hours to get max flavor, 7-10 minutes will work!
Step Five. Strain the tea of the leaves just like you learned earlier! You can use a strainer or any other similar tool!
The iced mint follows almost a replica recipe. However, there are some differences that we wan to specifically call out to you below:
Additional Steps
- After heating up the tea and straining the leaves, it should be left in the refrigerator to cool off. This will take varying amounts of time depending on how how your water was, how cold your refrigerator is, how many ounces of tea you want to cool, and what kind of container the tea is in! Once cooled, pour the mint tea into a cup filled with ice.
- The iced mint tea can be served with sweeteners. Usually, a slice of lemon will be perfect for the occasion. We also like to use honey, peach slices, apples, mangos and have even used a banana (but that didn’t turn out too well)!
There are other variants of the mint tea, you can find tons of them in books or food and beverage magazines. This includes the cucumber mint tea and Moroccan mint tea, though we prefer a good old fashioned organic mint tea for its simple yet fulfilling taste! Learning them isn’t difficult as they all share similar recipes, just make sure to follow the steps!
Organic Mint Tea: Important Factors to Consider
There are many factors worth considering when buying organic mint tea and you’ll want to know which matter the most when making your purchase decision! While these factors are not conclusive proof of quality, they reduce the risk of purchasing a bad product – the more of these important factors that you find, the higher the likelihood of your money being well spent!
Let’s take a look at some of them. By the way, these do not go in order of importance!
Quantity and Quality
Quality is essential to every product – but particular for products that you are going to put into your body! It’s usually the first thing most people consider, but not always. That being said, there’s another factor that has to be considered jointly. That’s Quantity. Most organic mint tea will usually come in teabags or loose leaves (like loose peppermint tea).
Having the right number or size can result in benefits. You get more value for your money. Quantity plays a role in the bigger picture, just make sure that you are only buying enough that you can “keep up” with. You don’t want to buy too much and run into expiration date considerations – expired tea is NOT very tasty!
Taste and Flavor
The taste and flavor of the mint tea matters. The right product should come with a minty aromatic taste. Remember, I call it “healthy”, some call it “earthy”, and we want to know what you think of it!
Most manufacturers also have versatile flavors to choose from. With the mint tea, it’s all about picking the right choice. The taste and flavor of the product should help you do that flawlessly. Differing your flavor selection can be fun, but sometimes its best to stick with a good old fashioned organic mint tea!
Purely Organic
The organic mint tea must be what it says it is. Organic. Organic means that it’s grown in an environment that is devoid of additives. We rely on Mother Nature and nothing else!
In the United States, there are several regulatory bodies responsible for making sure the product adhere to these directions. One of them is USDA organic. We have added a picture of the USDA logo above in case you aren’t familiar with it. If a product is certified by one of these regulatory bodies, that’s a good start. You only get one body, don’t subject it to artificial foods or drinks when you can help it, stick with Organic!
Organic Mint Tea: Buy the Best!
We’ve considered the features that can help when you are evaluating one organic mint tea against the next. Now, let’s go a step further and look at some products that come highly recommended by yours truly at HerbalTeaHour.com!
This organic mint tea comes in from quite a reputable manufacturer. It has a robust aroma that’s sure to excite its users. Many drinkers consume organic mint tea for the aroma alone, so this one is sure to please those particular individuals!
Coming in a “6 pack” seize, each pack has 16 tea bags bringing the grand total to 96 tea bags. This particular offering blends peppermint, organic lemon, and the spearmint perfectly.
One impressive feature is its organic source. It’s grown naturally in the Northwest Pacific (think Washington and Oregon) without the use of additives. The USDA certification reinforces this fact.
It also provides quality products as well as quantity. This gives it an extra edge over other products. Remember, 96 teabags may be too many or too few for your consumption rate. Adjust accordingly!
My Experience
I felt its taste was minty and delicious, with a little bit of the “earthy” that I love. Its best strength is its aroma – making it perfect for you “tea smellers” out there. It’s strong and quite refreshing. Taking this tea after a meal became a routine for me (usually after Italian food, for some reason).
I also noticed some medical benefits of this tea. For example, my digestion problems greatly reduced (again, Italian food). I had better sleep and a better mood. Maybe this was placebo, maybe it was real, I just know that I perceived improvements. I’ve kept a list of some pros and cons of this product. Have a look and see what you think:
Pros
- Great taste (a very “earthy” or “healthy” taste to it)
- Large quantity (96 total tea bags)
- USDA certified
- Kosher certified
- Strong Aroma (great for “tea smellers”)
Cons
- It stretches your budget a bit, but we think you get what you pay for!
If you love loose leaves for your tea, then this is the product for you. It comes in loose leaf form. This gives several options when considering how to use it. For example, it can be used with homemade soaps as well as candles. Some HTH readers report using it as a deodorizer, placing the loose tea leaves in indiscriminate (and sometimes stinky) places of their home or car! What a creative and environmentally friendly idea! So much safer than harsh chemicals or sprays! If you like the “loose” style, you might also enjoy making an herbal tea from dandelion roots (just make sure to get the best ones)!
It’s stored in a one-pound bulk bag. This preserves its freshness. The manufacturer is known for being dedicated to sustainable farming practices – and this scores very highly with the authors of HTH. To achieve this, they meet regularly with their growers to inspect the growth of their plants.
This product is certified by Kosher and USDA organic. It’s also non-GMO verified. The presence of these qualities makes this product reliable and safe to consume. Getting credentialed by these groups is no easy task!
My Experience
The first taste is quite unforgettable, that was may experience when taking my first sip after following the recipe from above. It comes in a cool refreshing taste. This combined with traces of mint makes it glorious and appealing to the palate!
It also made fueled my energy for the day ahead and, for that reason, I have started drinking this particular organic mint tea mostly during the morning hours! If you have been experiencing clogged sinuses, then this is the best product for you – its almost like you can feel the minty goodness expanded your nasal passages for you! I’ve picked out some of the best pros and the one of the cons (the only one I can find).
Pros
- Refreshing feeling
- Kosher certified
- Effective storage method (keeps well, doesn’t spoil easily)
- Good with the sinuses (try it next time you have a cold)
- Perfect in brewing peppermint tea
Cons
- Harder to quantify when compared to tea bags (we suggest using a measuring device).
CONCLUSION
Here you have it! Getting the right organic mint tea requires a bit of knowledge and experience – but you should now be well on your way. This article should help you achieve your target easily. We’re confident you’ll make the right choice, after all, you’ve officially learned all of the important details about organic herbal tea and why it should be a staple of any herbal tea enthusiast’s diet!
Comments
Have you ever tried mint tea? What about an organic mint tea? Could you tell the difference between the organic and non-organic offerings? Did you follow the recipe we provide above? What did you think of it? Perhaps you have your own recipe for organic mint tea that you’d like to share with this herbal tea community? Please share your story with us by posting in the comments section below! We read and reply to every comment and absolutely love interacting with other herbal tea enthusiasts!