How To Dry Mint Leaves for Tea In The Oven

Let’s talk about how to dry mint leaves for tea in the oven, so you can enjoy the delicious taste of mint tea even when the mint season has passed.

Whether you have an abundance of fresh mint growing in your garden, or you bought too much mint at the supermarket, drying mint leaves is a fantastic way to preserve their flavour and aroma.

It’s a great way to help avoid food waste. And it’s also a simple way to skip the plastic found in many teabags, and is far kinder on the wallet than buying pre-packaged tea.

I love making my own mint tea – I’ve been making it for years. So to help you out, I’ve put together this handy guide on drying mint leaves for tea in the oven, to ensure your homemade brew is as tasty as possible.

Air Drying Vs Oven Drying

Some people hang their herbs up to air dry. It’s a really low-impact way of drying your mint. If you want to try air drying, it should take around one to two weeks in a warm and dry room. You’ll know when they are done when the leaves feel crisp and crumble easily between your fingers.

However, with a lack of space and a kitchen that veers on the more humid side of things, I prefer to dry my mint in the oven. This is because if the mint isn’t fully dry when you put it in a jar, it can spoil and go mouldy.

If your home is more on the humid side, then I always recommend drying your mint in the oven. That way, it will be fully dry and won’t spoil before you get a chance to enjoy a cup of tea.

How to Dry Mint Leaves for Tea In The Oven

Here’s exactly how to dry mint leaves for tea in the oven.

I also have a printable version of this recipe, should you prefer. Click on the link to jump straight to it.

Ingredients

• Fresh mint leaves
• Clean dry jar

Method

• Preheat your oven to 80°C / 176°F
• Pick the mint stalks (I cut just below the last leaf) and place them in a colander.
• Give the colander a good shake to remove any bugs, and then give the stalks a wash under cold running water.

• Gently dry the leaves using a tea towel and remove any discoloured leaves.
• Spread the stalks out on a baking tray and bake in the oven for around 1.5 hours – keeping an eye on them to ensure the leaves don’t burn. You can tell the leaves are fully dried out when they become very crisp and brittle.

• When they are sufficiently dry, remove the baking tray from the oven and gently remove the leaves from the stalks. You can then put the leaves in a clean, dry airtight jar, and then compost the stalks.

Top Tips

Your mint will store for at least 12 months if kept in an airtight jar and stored in a cool, dark cupboard.

Rather than cutting up the whole of my mint plant, I’ve been cutting an oven dish’s worth of leaves every week or two. This allows for new growth so as to keep me in fresh mint leaves for tea over the summer. It also helps me slowly build up a nice stock of dried mint for wintertime.

How to Make Mint Tea With The Dried Leaves

To make mint tea from your dried leaves, it’s really easy. Here’s how I make mine:

• Add one to two teaspoons of dried mint leaves to either a strainer, infuser, teapot or reusable teabag (whatever you’ve got, basically).
• Boil some water and then let it sit for a moment so it’s just off the boil. This is because water that’s too hot can make the mint tea taste slightly bitter.
• Pour the water into your teapot or cup, and let the mint steep for around five minutes – or for less or longer, depending on how strong you like your tea.
• Once brewed, remove the mint leaves and enjoy the tea as it is, or add a slice of lemon or a drizzle of honey for a bit of a twist.

Enjoy!

PS: If you have lemon balm growing in your garden, then here’s how you can make lemon balm tea too!

Printable Version