Hey, this isn't just for farmgirls either, mint grows great in urban flowerbeds too! You city girls can do this as well.
Everyone I know who lives in the country has mint growing somewhere on their property...usually they consider it a bit pesky because it gets WAY out of control and takes over wherever you put it. However, we bought the only property I know of in the country without mint, so off I went to buy some, yes for you country folk I actually PURCHASED some mint...I know, unheard of. I bought a small container, like the size of a tea cup for $2.99. What you see above is the growth that has occurred from May until yesterday...pretty impressive huh?
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.
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.
 |  |
After a good rinsing I patted the springs with papertowels to dry them best I could. If I were hanging the mint to dry I would ensure they were completely dry by leaving them in a single layer for a few hours, maybe even outside in the sun. But, since I am oven drying I just patted them as best I could and then put a cookie drying rack on top of my pan and laid the sprigs on that. (side note: I did not go through the painstaking process of removing the leaves as it is much easier to do that once the plant is dried)
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!)
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!)
So the finished product and my first cup of homegrown organic (I do not use any pesticides whatsoever) peppermint tea!
 |  |
