Mint Tea

Mint tea is a staple in the Middle East. Whether it be morning or night, it is a delicious tea offered throughout the day leaving you with a refreshing taste in your mouth. I was introduced to this deliciousness back when I visited my sister in Egypt for spring break during my senior year of high school. Every night my sister and her roommates would take us out to a nearby cafe to just enjoy the night and sip on this delicious goodness.

Years later I’m still able to enjoy this refreshing drink...without having to take a trip out to the Middle East. Here's my take on this refined, pleasing sip of mint tea.

You want to start with Chinese gun powder green tea. I get mine from Teavana and actually get the Moroccan mint because its Chinese gun powder green tea blended with a refreshing Moroccan spearmint. If you LOVE mint like me then this would only enhance the mint flavor in the tea.

Next you'll need two pots. One with 3 ½ cups of boiling water and one with about 1 ½ teaspoons of loose tea.

Once your water comes to a boil add about a cup of water to your loose tea. Let it steep for 30 seconds then strain and pour into a cup. Put the strained tea leaves back in the pot and set aside the cup of liquid. Remember: This cup of tea holds the essence of your tea flavor.

Now add another cup of your boiling water to your strained tea leaves. Give it a nice swoosh...

Then strain and pour out the liquid into the sink. This second cup helps remove any bitter or strong flavor in the tea and helps cleanse it.

Now let's build the flavors. Add your strained tea leaves back into the pot along with your choice of sweetener. I like to use sugar in the raw along with a handful of mint leaves (8 to 10...add more if only using Chinese gun powder green tea).

Remember that flavorful first cup you set aside? Add that back in.

Along with the last cup of boiling water (remember we boiled 3.5 cups).

Now bring it to a boil and let it simmer for 5 minutes to let the sugar caramelize and the fresh mint infuse into the tea.

The last step in the process is to mix all the ingredients together but to also cool the tea down slightly before drinking. To do this, pour the tea back and forth from one tea pot to the next a couple times to well incorporate everything.

Strain and pour into your cups.

Garnish with a sprig of mint and enjoy your refreshing cup...or two of Middle Eastern Mint Tea. Yum!

This recipe makes 2 cups :)