This easy tea combines the gentle flavor of mint with the bright, fresh flavors of lemon. I drink a quart of this almost every day as it makes me feel more energized and keeps me hydrated. It’s also soothing to drink when sick. Add honey for sweetness or when you have a sore throat. Pour over ice to make a refreshing iced tea!
This definitely has a big lemon punch to it, so if you don’t enjoy flavors on the sour side, don’t steep as long.
I created this method of making tea when I was brainstorming ways to include lemon peel in my diet on a more regular basis. I’ve been working on adding more anti-inflammatory foods into my diet, and lemon peel caught my eye.
Extracts from lemon peel have been studied in a wide variety of applications. It’s been associated with having an anti-cancer effect. 1, 2, It has possible uses for helping with heartburn and cholesterol caused gallstones. 3 Orange peel extracts could help with inflammation as much as ibuprofen. 4 Low Doses of Citrus peel extracts (CPE) “most likely can be used for the treatment of the T cell-mediated liver injury as in autoimmune hepatitis, alcoholic hepatitis, and chronic viral hepatitis.” 5.
Note that many of these studies were done with animals, and are still in beginning stages of research. But so far there is a lot of exciting research showing many potential benefits. My tea is not going to be the same as the strong extracts used in the above studies, but I figure it can’t hurt!
All to say, citrus peels not only add a big oomph of flavor, but they could be helping our health. This recipe is just one easy way to first of all not waste the most flavorful part of the lemon –the peel. But it also is a gentle way to include some of the benefits of citrus peel in your diet.
Notes on ingredients and supplies:
- I make my tea in this French Press . I leave the lid off while it steeps, so there is no plastic and heat interaction. You could easily do this in a small pot, but I like the convenience of using my French Press.
- Use whatever favorite mint tea brand you like! We recently planted to several types of peppermint in pots on our porch so that we have fresh available to use in recipes like this. But you can also use bulk peppermint tea,
- Buy the best lemons you can. I buy organic lemons. Conventional peels may (will) have pesticide residue or waxes. I believe that organic lemons can have some waxes too, but use beeswax based ones. Best case scenario would be getting lemons completely untreated!
Lemon Mint Tea (Using the Whole Lemon)
- 1 lemon, organic, washed well and thinly sliced
- 2 bags of peppermint tea, loose tea equivalent, or several sprigs of fresh
Place thinly sliced lemon and peppermint in French Press. Heat purified water to boiling point. Pour over lemon and peppermint tea filling to the band on the French Press. Let steep for 15-30 minutes – the longer you leave it, the stronger it will become.
Drink plain, with honey, and reheated, if desired. I enjoy mine not super hot, so it’s usually perfect after steeping about 20 minutes.
Research Sources:
1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11142088
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7948106
3. 3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18072821
4. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213453014000056
5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4121996/
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Too funny!
I just learned last week about using the lemon peel (amazing benefits sited and love to use more of the lemon) A friend mentioned she throws the seeded lemons in a blender with some water and freezes them in cubes. I added my own twist – adding a ton of fresh ginger, turmeric and pumpkin pie spice (sounds strange but yummy!) I puree it really well and drink the whole thing 🙂 So great to start off my first quart of water for the day with nourshing (easy!) goodness 🙂
Yum! That sounds great. 🙂 I’ve also made vanilla lemonade by blending a whole lemon with vanilla stevia and it’s super yummy! Thanks for sharing.
Do use an entire lemon? I blend a slice of lemon with out the rind (now I will leave it on) about an 1″ of ginger and packet of emergen-c, ice a splash of OJ and some water. blend that together and drink every morning. In what form do you use the turmeric and pumpkin spice? Thanks
I use powdered turmeric (because that’s what i have though fresh would work too) and fresh ginger, powdered pumpkin spice and the whole lemon w/o the seeds – blend it all together with some water. I also spread it on a cookie sheet and froze it – just broke it into pieces when it was frozen 🙂
Mmmm… with fresh mint I can imagine how delish that must be. I often make fresh mint tea, but I’ll need to add some lemon.
Thankful you are feeling better.
I am interested in learning more about anti-inflammatory diets and would love to see some more recipes of this sort! I’ve enjoyed all recipes I have tried from your blog and book!
Your drink is looking so refreshing. I just wanna a full glass of it.
Wow that looks great. Will be trying it soon!!