How To Brew Peppermint Tea Properly

How to brew peppermint tea, in summary: Peppermint's character is volatile oil, so cover the cup while it steeps, that is the trick. Boiling water, 5-10 minutes, no bitterness penalty, no milk.

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Peppermint is a herbal infusion, not a true tea, and that changes the rules. The peppermint guide covers the uses; here is how to brew it well.

Last reviewed by the teas.co.uk team in January 2026.

Full boiling water

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Use water at a full boil. Peppermint is a robust leaf with no caffeine and no tannin to turn harsh, so it needs the heat to release its volatile oils, the menthol that makes it work.

Cover the cup, this is the trick

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The single biggest upgrade: put a lid or saucer over the cup while it steeps. Peppermint’s active aromatics are volatile, they escape with the steam. Cover it and you keep the oils in the cup instead of in the air. An uncovered peppermint tea is a noticeably weaker peppermint tea.

Steep five to ten minutes

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Longer than people expect. Peppermint does not go bitter, so a generous steep just makes it more flavourful. Fresh leaves work too, use a good handful, lightly bruised.

When you are using it for digestion

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If you are drinking it after meals (see best tea for digestion), brew it strong and covered; the soothing effect tracks the strength of the brew, within reason.

No milk

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Never. Peppermint is a clean, sharp, caffeine free cup. Honey suits it; milk does not.

Storing peppermint

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Even perfect technique cannot rescue stale leaf, and dried mint loses aroma faster than almost anything, so old supermarket bags are routinely disappointing. Keep peppermint airtight, opaque, cool and dry, away from coffee and spices, and buy amounts you will finish within a few months. A fresh, well stored cheap peppermint routinely beats an expensive one that has sat open since last year.

Water quality

Water is over 98 per cent of the cup, so it matters more than people think: hard water high in calcium and magnesium mutes the brightness, while soft or filtered water lets the same leaf taste cleaner and livelier. Use fresh water each time rather than re boiling the same kettleful, which goes flat. If your peppermint always tastes slightly dull and your kettle furs up quickly, suspect the water before the leaf.

Common mistakes

Not covering it (the big one), under steeping, weak water off the boil. Boiling water, lid on, a proper steep, and peppermint goes from a faint hint to a genuinely cooling, effective cup.

Brewing peppermint, at a glance

Dial	Rule
Water	Full boiling water
Cover it	Cover the cup, the key step, traps the volatile oils
Time	5-10 min; longer is fine, it does not turn bitter
Form	Whole or cut leaf preferred; bags fade fastest
Milk	No; it clashes with the menthol

Reference noted

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