When my friend Deberah and I were out visiting garden shops a couple of weeks ago, she mentioned that she'd had to pull up a bunch of spearmint that was taking over and had dried some of it to make tea. Would I like some? Why, yes, I would, I said. So when she dropped off some of the dried tea leaves recently, as well as a couple of mint plants, I was delighted.
While I've had plenty of teas that contained spearmint as an ingredient, I don't believe I'd ever had a tea that was nothing but spearmint. It was rather nice to look into my infuser basket and know precisely what was in there and precisely who grew it. Deberah also happens to be a Master Gardener, and her green thumb has made me jealous for years.
The tea? It's absolutely delicious! I really like mint-flavored teas, and I've been enjoying this spearmint herbal tea both hot and iced. Assuming I manage not to kill the spearmint and peppermint plants she brought over, I will try to save some of the dried leaves as well.
And as a bonus, she brought me a gift of this Belinda's Dream rose from Petals from the Past in Alabama. I've long heard of this nursery—well-known for growing hardy heirloom roses that don't require any babying—and after we got some rain Friday night, this gorgeous bloom was awaiting me the next morning. I think the color is absolutely heavenly!
That really is a beautifully-colored rose! And that's a great photo of it, too--you can see all the tiny lines on the petals. Your spearmint tea sounds really nice, too--I can almost smell it, from your description.
ReplyDeleteI know mint is hardy, but I have managed to kill it. Mint leaves are also great in iced tea.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely gift. Be aware, mint can take over your garden; so plant it in a place you don't mind being taken over or in a pot.
ReplyDeleteI have often put a sprig of mint in my iced tea (regular black tea) but have not tried making tea from just the mint leaves. I have a mint plant in a pot that's doing well this year so maybe I will try it! That rose is just gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteWhat lovely gifts. I too enjoy mint tea. If you let the plants bloom, the butterflies will visit. Mine are just starting to put out flowers.
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