Mint Tea

Oh glorious day... how I pine away the days of winter waiting patiently for this time of year to arrive and one of the reasons I do is that I get to make my favorite drink in the whole world... mint tea! Well, one of my favorite drinks as I happen to like lemonade too *wink* *wink* hehehehe.
I begin looking in early spring, and waiting for the emerging mint sprouts and dream of future days when the sun is high, the days are hot and the mint is ready and I get to sip, sip, sip the day away! Awwww... it is glorious! And guess what? Today just happens to be that day!

So, I am going to share with you all my secret mint tea recipe... cause I am nice like that. Ü

First off you'll need about 15 or more sprigs of fresh mint... like this

I actually grow mine right amongst my flowers in the garden... it works out well that way.

It is much better than having to keep pulling weeds and oh what an aromatic smell it gives off if you happen to brush through it!

But if you don't happen to have mint growing in your own flower bed, don't despair as there are grocery stores that do carry fresh mint or perhaps, you know of a good friend who would be willing to share some that is growing amongst her flowers.  Ü

Next, you will need 6 bags of regular tea and 8 bags of  lemon tea (or you can use both lemon and orange as I have done here) and it can be herbal or regular but be sure not to use spice tea... bleah! spicey mint tea does not taste very good!

Bring 1 quart water to a boil with the tea and mint in it then shut the stove off and let it steep for 15 or so minutes.

And if you have a gas stove... do not hang the tags over the edge of the pot like I have done... trust me on this one. You will have Mint Tea Flambeau and possibly burnt fingers too, so, you just don't want to do that.

I tie the stings together so you can just cut the tags off and place the strings inside the pot also.

After it is done steeping, remove the tea bags and mint into a bowl and gently press to remove the excess liquid. You may want to wait until they cool down a bit to do that... I can never wait that long so I end up burning my fingers on boiling hot tea bags!

So next add 1 cup of sugar stir it until it dissolves.  I have never tried artificial sweetners but I would imagine it would work well also.

Then add 1 1/2 cups of orange juice and 1/2 cup of lemon juice... and if you live where you can grow your own oranges and lemons and are real industrious, (of which I do not, nor am not) you can use the pre-processed juice and squeeze your own oranges and lemons... but for me this stuff is good enough.

I then pour the tea into a 2 quart pitcher with ice in it. If you are using a glass pitcher wait until the tea cools down before pouring over the ice.

Now you are susposed to add more water but instead I fill my glass half full with tea and fill it the rest of the way with seltzer water and in my humble opinion, it is to die for!

Woo-hoo! I am so ready!
Bring on the heat!

Ü