Have you ever thought about how to make tea with fresh leaves? It’s SUPER easy. In the summer of 2016, I went to Europe for 2 weeks to study aromatic palliative care as a nurse. My tea in a restaurant I visited was served using fresh mint leaves. Using fresh leaves to create a tea is honestly something which had never occurred to me. Here in America it’s standard to buy boxes of dried tea bags, and steep for a few minutes before drinking. In the South, we make a large pitcher of tea, add tons of sugar, and then drink it chilled or over ice.
As much as I LOVE studying herbs and essential oils, somehow it had never crossed my mind there is another way to enjoy the taste and even health benefits when making tea. While I was in Europe, I had hot tea everyday and several times a day. I totally loved it!
How to Make Tea with Fresh Leaves
It’s such a simple concept. The mint tea I was served in the Netherlands was honestly the best hot drink I had ever experienced. They really use so much fresh food there. I knew our we have processed foods in the United States, but I hadn’t realized how processed our foods are here. The push seems to be for processed foods. I really loved my time in Europe as it showed me what I didn’t realize I was missing out on.
I have a spearmint plant growing right now. You can use many things though. One of my experiences in the Netherlands was to visit a city garden in downtown Rotterdam. We were given the opportunity to pick whatever we wanted in our tea. What a lovely experience. Lavender buds are wonderful in fresh tea. Make sure when you pick your leaves or flower buds, you are not using plant material sprayed with pesticides.
Another thing I loved in the Netherlands was the use of the clear glass cups. The plant material whether leaves or flowers, was just so beautiful using clear cups, similar to these glass cups.
Also, don’t heat your water up in a microwave. It’s lovely to have a stovetop tea kettle. Yes. I fell in love with making tea like this. Here’s a lovely glass stovetop teapot, or one similar to what I found at TJ Maxx near my home like this. Mine is blue though.
This is a gentle way to add nourishment naturally. Food as your medicine. If you use fresh spearmint leaves like I have in my backyard right now, here are a few health benefits of this wonderful plant! Livestrong.com shares a few benefits of spearmint tea in their article here.
- Supports occasional nausea.
- May have antibactial properties.
- May help with unwanted hair in women.
- May have an affect on an anti-inflammatory process.
Always remember to research safety issues when using or suggesting even supplemental food products. This is not an in-depth look at Spearmint for all potential benefits or safety. This article highlights my experience using fresh plan material in my tea.
Here is the tea I created when I went to a inner city garden in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
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It was SO yummy!
Well. I hope I’ve interested you to use fresh leaves/flowers in your next hot tea!
Joycelynn
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