fresh mint?

[silverneedles]

fresh mint?

by silverneedles » Oct 22nd, '08, 18:15

i got a bunch of fresh mint
what do i do with it?
when i was young..er my grandma had me pick some mint leaves and she then somehow made a "tea" out of it
or for better results does it have to be dried?

[Vulture]

by Vulture » Oct 22nd, '08, 19:53

I am not sure, I like using mint in some of my teas. Do a test run with a little bit of mint leaves and a small amount of hot water. Mint usually needs twice the normal leaves to make tea though.

I have always had it dried but that is partialy because of shipping and storage. Fresh mint might actually be better but it will go bad a lot faster.

[Cinnamon Kitty]

by Cinnamon Kitty » Oct 22nd, '08, 20:15

I've made tea with fresh mint leaves before. You need to add more leaves than you would if you were using dried leaves. It might be better to break the leaves up or bruise them a bit like you would with fresh spices. I simply tossed a few mint leaves in an infuser basket, let it steep until I remembered that I left it on the counter top, and enjoyed it.

To dry the mint, if the leaves are still on the stalks, you can tie the bottoms together and hang it upside down in a dark, dry place. Covering pieces with a paper bag helps too.

[Chip]

by Chip » Oct 24th, '08, 00:22

Dried mint is often better, one reason is origin. Oregon has fine peppermint.

But when I use fresh, I use a lot of leaf and crumple/roll the leaves pretty much. This will usually infuse better. For cleaner taste, use tips vs long stems with leaves.

It is hard to screw up really. It will be just right, a little weak, or really potent, but it will not be bitter.

[silverneedles]

by silverneedles » Oct 25th, '08, 07:46

thanks all

i made 8oz of lipton black pearl
i put about 5 1-2cm leaves, mixed ok with the tea, the couple of stems included did make it taste faintly of vegetable.

i'll try just mint with water, tho mint makes me want to use sugar