5 Ingredients or Fewer

Iced Mint and Citrus Tea

July 26, 2012
0
0 Ratings
Photo by James Ransom
  • Makes about 3 quarts
Author Notes

This recipe is inspired by a tea I get every Saturday at my local Greenmarket -- as my mother would say, I "diagnosed" and then "reproduced!" —Merrill Stubbs

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Ingredients
  • 1 large bunch mint (I prefer spearmint to peppermint)
  • 1/3 cup mild honey (plus more to taste)
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup (plus more to taste)
  • 1 large lemon
  • 1 large lime
Directions
  1. Fill your kettle with water and bring it to a boil.
  2. Pull the mint leaves from their stems and roughly tear them into a large pot. Pour 10 cups of boiling water over the mint, cover the pot and let the mixture steep until the water is just slightly warm.
  3. Strain the tea into a large bowl, and while the tea is still warm stir in the honey and maple syrup until it has fully dissolved. Taste and add more honey and/or maple syrup if you'd like, keeping in mind you'll be adding a strong hit of acid shortly.
  4. When the tea is cool, juice the lemon and lime, straining the juice of all fibers and pips. Stir the juice into the tea until everything is well mixed. Taste and add more lemon or lime juice -- or maple syrup -- if you like.
  5. Cover and refrigerate the tea until it is very cold. Give it a good stir and serve it in pretty glasses over plenty of ice.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

12 Reviews

DL20 July 4, 2013
Where can i get that adorable glass??
Dina M. May 29, 2013
food52: where did that amazing glass come from?
patramis June 5, 2013
ditto - really want to know where to find those glasses!
emcsull May 29, 2013
what is for you a "large bunch" ? sorry to pick nit !

Kitchie July 9, 2013
Hi!
As a cook, ESL teacher, and eager foreign language learner who always appreciates help, I just wanted to say: What is a "large bunch" for you? (Or: What do you mean by a "large bunch?") Sorry to nitpick.

(And I hope you don't mind me nitpicking! Personally, I think you can never have too much mint... and anyway you can always just add more ice. Best wishes!)
Merrill S. July 9, 2013
For me, a "large" bunch of mint translates to about 2 cups loosely packed leaves. There's definitely some flexibility, since you're infusing rather than chopping up and incorporating the leaves, but I think that's a good ballpark to aim for.
Dina M. May 28, 2013
mmm! the mint is up in my garden--can't wait to make this today before it rains here in NY. I am going to use some local raw honey; adding it after the tea is considerably cool so as not to kill off the vitamins and other healthy benefits in the honey.
Mandy April 4, 2013
Mmmm! I think it could use a dash of licorice. Aniseed anyone?
Droplet August 22, 2012
The mint plant in our garden was covered in blossoms a few weeks ago- they would have been so nice in this.
Kitchie August 12, 2012
I made this with peppermint, steeped with about 1/4 cup sliced ginger. Lovely.
AmandaO August 1, 2012
I made this today with lemon balm. I planted it not realizing it was a mint variant and would try to conquer the garden. Its citrusy mint flavor was perfect.
My pregnant sister drained glass after glass, and the rest of us also loved it. She was very grateful for a refreshing special summer drink.
I was definitely generous with the lemon balm (not suffering for want) and the maple syrup and honey were plenty.
the M. July 27, 2012
This sounds awesome and will give me a delicious way to keep that damn mint plant in check!!!!