Well, I certainly couldn't let this mint go to waste, especially since I actually bought it! I decided to go ahead and make some tea, I love peppermint tea, and it should taste really good this winter when all the fresh leaves are dead. Mint tea is excellent for a pick me up and aids in digestion and upset stomach.
However, I am kind of an impatient person so instead of hanging my mint upside down to dry I decided to do a quick oven dry...works great but does produce a bit more earthy tasting mint tea due to the fast drying.
I just went outside and clipped a bunch of mint and brought it into the house to wash.
I put the pan in my oven at about 180 degrees for around 6 hours with the door to the oven cracked slightly so as not to create a humid environment in the oven. What you see below is how it looked when I pulled the pan back out. This is when I go ahead and hold each sprig and just kind of slide my fingers down the stem releasing the leaves as they just kind of crumble off at this point. I discard the stems to my compost pile and the crush the leaves with my fingers so that they are more like crunchy dust.
This will keep as loose leaf tea as long as it is completely dry so as not to encourage mold growth and is kept in an airtight container (mason jars work great!)