Peppermint tea

[rana]

Various producers call it orange mint, basil mint, eua-de-cologne mint and loads of other mint but.......................

it's still peppermint !

[WeeGarden]

I just pick fresh leaves off the plant and put it in hot water for a few mins.

Various producers call it orange mint, basil mint, eua-de-cologne mint and loads of other mint but.......................

it's still peppermint !

I wonder, because I have a bog standard 'mint' from the supermarket, and I bought an apple mint. They do look different so I think they're not the same, but a friend's just asked me if I fancied some of her orange mint and chocolate mint. Are they all the same thing as my apple mint then?

[burnie]

It would seem there are a lot hybrids and varients that come from a small group of "parent" plants originating from Asia and southern Europe.Apparently there are about 25 species and numerous "varieties".
Common ones are Mentha suaveolens,the round leaf apple type that includes pineapple.Mentha x piperita peppermint,which is a hybrid of spear and water mints and includes black, and eau de cologne.Mentha spicata is spearmint,our common garden mint,then there's horse mint M.longifolia,water mint M. aquatica,corn mint M.arvensis,pennyroyal,M.pulegium and on and on.Like most plants,gardeners are always creating"new"plants all the time
My source is "Herbs for cooking" by Roger Phillips and Martyn Rix , a very usefull book.

[burnie]

Just made my first cup of mint tea,are you lot having a laugh,it tastes like potato water,without the nice taste of tatties.Why does it not taste like the nice stuff I had in Turkey?

[rodofgod76]

Just made my first cup of mint tea,are you lot having a laugh,it tastes like potato water,without the nice taste of tatties.Why does it not taste like the nice stuff I had in Turkey?

I'm quite akin to drinking nettle tea, camomile and allsorts of other tea, so I find it quite refreshing

I think the tea's you get in Turkey and those places are full of sugar. Hence the difference.

[WeeGarden]

The stuff you have in Turkey/Morocco, etc, have actual tea leaves, mint and sugar in it, not just the leaves...

[indigox]

I make moroccan mint tea using green tea, fresh mint and sugar. (And hot water of course) I make it less sweet than you get in Morocco, but it still needs sugar to make it taste authentic.

In a teapot I would use 2 green teabags (or 2 or 3 tsps loose green tea), and quite a lot of mint (maybe 8 or 10 sprigs) and 2 heaped tsps of sugar (in Morocco this would probably be 3 tablespoons) Then leave for a few minutes, give it a stir and pour.
Traditionally you are meant to serve it in glasses, and hold the teapot up high when you pour so that it goes a little bit foamy on the top.

Yum yum!