{
    "id": 1070274,
    "title": "Fresh mint or dried mint for tea?",
    "slug": "fresh-mint-vs-dried-mint-tea",
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    "url": "https://teas.co.uk/wiki/fresh-mint-vs-dried-mint-tea/",
    "modified": "2026-09-18T00:45:34+01:00",
    "excerpt": "Fresh mint makes a bright, gentle cup; dried mint is three times stronger and more menthol-sharp. How much of each to use, and which suits which drink.",
    "content_text": "Both make good tea, and they make different tea.\r\n\r\nFresh mint is bright, green and gentle. It tastes of the garden, with a softer cooling effect.\r\nDried mint is concentrated and more sharply minty. Drying removes the water and leaves the aromatic oils behind, so a small amount goes a long way.\r\n\r\nThe rule of thumb from the kitchen applies here too: dried herbs are about three times stronger than fresh by volume. One tablespoon of chopped fresh mint is roughly one teaspoon of dried.\r\nHow much to use\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nCup\r\nFresh mint\r\nDried mint\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nOne mug (250ml)\r\nA generous sprig, 8\u201310 leaves\r\n1 teaspoon, or 1 tea bag\r\n\r\n\r\nSmall pot (500ml)\r\nA small handful, 15\u201320 leaves\r\n2 teaspoons, or 2 bags\r\n\r\n\r\nLarge pot (1 litre)\r\nA big handful with stems\r\n1 tablespoon, or 4 bags\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nFresh mint: how to brew it\r\n\r\nRinse the mint under cold water \u2014 wash all fresh produce before using it. FDA: selecting and serving produce safely\r\nPut the leaves in the mug or pot and press them gently with a spoon. Bruising releases the oils; shredding makes it grassy.\r\nPour on water at about 90\u00b0C, not a rolling boil.\r\nCover and leave for 5 minutes. Leaving the leaves in is fine \u2014 the flavour stays gentle.\r\n\r\nUse the stems as well as the leaves; they carry flavour and hold the bunch together.\r\nSpearmint is the classic for fresh mint tea, and it is what Moroccan mint tea uses, brewed with green tea and sugar. Peppermint is sharper and more cooling. See mint tea: peppermint, spearmint and what the cup actually does.\r\nDried mint: how to brew it\r\nDried mint and mint tea bags want the same treatment as any herbal infusion: freshly boiled water, 3 to 5 minutes, covered. Covering matters \u2014 the aroma compounds are volatile and a good part of them leave with the steam otherwise.\r\nTwinings Pure Peppermint is 100% peppermint; Teapigs Peppermint Leaves uses larger pieces of leaf in a roomier bag. Full method in how to brew peppermint tea.\r\nWhich to choose\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nYou want\r\nUse\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nA light, fresh, garden-tasting cup\r\nFresh\r\n\r\n\r\nA strong, cooling, after-dinner mint\r\nDried\r\n\r\n\r\nMint with green tea, Moroccan style\r\nFresh spearmint\r\n\r\n\r\nSomething in a flask or at work\r\nDried, in bags\r\n\r\n\r\nConsistency, cup after cup\r\nDried\r\n\r\n\r\nTo use up a bunch before it wilts\r\nFresh\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nGrowing and keeping it\r\nMint is famously easy to grow and famously invasive \u2014 keep it in a pot, not a border. It does well on a windowsill and will keep you in tea all summer. RHS: growing mint\r\n\r\nFresh: stand the stems in a glass of water on the worktop, or wrap in damp kitchen paper in the fridge for up to a week.\r\nDrying your own: hang small bunches upside down somewhere warm, dark and airy for a week or two, then strip the leaves and store them airtight. Home-dried mint is much greener and fresher than shop-dried.\r\n\r\nCommon questions\r\nCan I swap fresh for dried in a recipe?\r\nYes, using roughly three parts fresh to one part dried by volume, then taste.\r\nWhy is my fresh mint tea bitter?\r\nBoiling water, over-long brewing, or leaves that were chopped rather than bruised.\r\nDoes fresh mint have caffeine?\r\nNo \u2014 mint is not tea. Only blends with tea leaves do.\r\nCan I use mint from the garden centre?\r\nYes, if it is a culinary mint and has not been treated with anything you would not eat. Wash it well.",
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