Who doesn’t like a refreshing cup of tea?
Year after year, I patiently wait for my tea herbs to come back to life after the long winter months. This year will be my first year drying my tea leaves, allowing me to enjoy them year-round. Since they grow quickly and will take over any space, I share them with friends and family. Receiving freshly snipped mint or bundles of dried mint from someone’s garden lets people know that you are thinking of them. Besides, the rule in nature is that the more you snip, the more she will give.
As you stroll through your garden while examining your vegetable crops, pick a mint leaf, rub it between your fingers and inhale. What an amazingly uplifting feeling!
Below are my five favorite tea herbs that I use in the morning. These mints will reproduce year after year in most growing zones. Mint plants are hardy and can withstand winter temperatures, but normally, I cover my beds with plastic to keep the snow from damaging my plants. Enjoy!
1. Spearmint
Spearmint leaves have a light menthol taste and smell, which is refreshing to drink in the morning. The smell reminds me of chewing spearmint gum. In the morning, I will pull four spearmint leaves and combine them with about five sweet lemon mint leaves. Rinse them quickly, add them to your hot water travel mug, and enjoy them for the rest of the day.
2. Peppermint
Peppermint leaves have a bit more of a minty menthol taste and smell, which I like to drink in the morning. Sometimes, I use peppermint instead of spearmint when I want to switch things up. By using a travel mug, I get to enjoy these mints throughout my day, and the flavors seem to get stronger as the day goes on.
3. Lavender
Lavender is my favorite plant; it grows in all my garden beds. The lavender I use in my tea is growing in one of my raised garden beds to ensure that there are no pesticides in what I consume. Lavender has a mild minty flavor with hints of rosemary. When paired with sweet lemon mint, the taste is subtle but invigorating. When selecting a lavender plant, be sure the tag states that it can be used as tea or for baking.
4. Sweet Lemon
Sweet lemon mint leaves have beautiful hints of fresh lemon and mint. (Surprising, right?) The mint flavor is present, but the lemon flavor is uncovered when I leave the leaves in a water bottle for several hours.
5. Lemon Balm
Lemon balm leaves smell exactly like you would expect: lemony! I normally pair this mint with sweet lemon mint for a stronger lemon taste throughout the day. With lemon balm, I only use two leaves in my tea.
With these five herbal mints, I pick a different combination each morning. I throw out or compost the leaves at the end of the day.
At Grow on Joy, we only grow in raised beds and containers, and my plants are not subjected to nearby pesticides.