Can You Mix Green Tea and Peppermint? A Simple Brewing Guide

A handful of mint beside the kettle makes it tempting to put everything in the same pot. You can mix green tea and peppermint, but the easiest cup to adjust is often made in two small brews first.

Use culinary peppermint intended for food, or a plain peppermint tea bag. Adding mint does not remove the caffeine from green tea. If that is the reason you are changing drinks, begin with the green tea and herbal tea comparison.

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Why brew the mint separately?

Your peppermint bag may ask for boiling water and a longer steep than your green tea. Brewing each according to its packet avoids choosing one temperature and time that suit neither. It also lets you keep a strong mint infusion from taking over the whole pot.

A simple starting method

1. Prepare a small green tea using its packet's water amount, temperature and time. Remove the leaves.
2. Prepare the peppermint separately, following its own directions. Remove the bag or strain the mint.
3. Pour some green tea into your cup, leaving room.
4. Add peppermint infusion a spoonful at a time. Taste between additions and note the balance you prefer.

This is a way to find your own mixture, not a tested formula with one perfect ratio. If you want to repeat it, a note such as “three parts green tea, one part mint infusion” is more useful than remembering that the pot looked half full.

Can I use fresh peppermint leaves?

Use correctly identified, food-safe peppermint and wash it before preparing it. Avoid ornamental or unknown garden plants. Fresh leaves and dried tea bags are not equivalent spoon for spoon, so start with a modest infusion and adjust the mixture.

Do not substitute peppermint essential oil for leaves. The NCCIH overview of peppermint oil concerns a different preparation; its findings should not be turned into promises about this cup of tea.

If the result tastes wrong

Too minty? Add more plain brewed green tea. Harsh even before the mint goes in? Use the bitter green tea guide to adjust that brew first. If you want sweetness as well, add it after mixing; the small additions described in green tea with honey give you more control than a generous spoonful at the start.