Tea Pots, and Peppermint tea questions
#9911 - 05/25/03 04:52 PM
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Kandee
Reged: 05/22/03
Posts: 3206
Loc: USA, Southern California
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New to the post and love it. Thanks for being such an active group. Have 2 of Heather's books. The "First Year" has been a life saver as is all the links to here and other info from the IBS relief boards.
My first question is this. I drink so much peppermint tea I've decided that it is more cost affective to buy in bulk and when at home make a pot of it. When I go out I take along Traditional Medicinal's Organic Peppermint Tea bags, and order regular tea but ask them to leave the tea bag out of the hot water, so I can then put my own in and make it as strong as I like. (I take the restaurant one home for my regular tea drinking friends.) Unfortunately only a few restaurants carry herbal tea let alone peppermint. On an airplane I just order a cup of hot water, which they gladly provide. Today at the health food store I bought a bag of Starwest Botanicals peppermint leaf....one lb. pkg. Would like to have had organic but they didn't have any. Came home, tried it in a single cup tea infuser but it let to many leaves go into the water from the little holes. I dragged out a gold mess cone coffee filter and that worked ok, but it takes a while for the leaves to soften and infuse. (By the way, I'm considering saving the old peppermint leaves from the brewed tea to put around outdoor garden plants to distract bugs since so many people plant peppermint in their yards to do just that.) I like the tea infusers at this site, for both mug and pot and to make your own bags. Anyone found a better way or USA site to order from than the below? I'm asking BEFORE I order from here.
http://www.specialteas.com/cgi-bin/SoftCart.exe/mystore/accprephelp.html?L+scstore+fgfi5078+1053907118
Also, is there any reason you couldn't brew a big pot of tea up in the morning and what you don't drink store in the refrigerator and just heat in the microwave when you want the next cup? Would it loose it's potentcy?
And for yet another question. Anyone have a favorite online source for peppermint tea leaves. I prefer organic or is that not necessary?
Thanks again,
The "Starchaholic" 
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Have you tried a bulk food store? An herbal store? Maybe you can just buy the peppermint leaves there and brew your own. That's what Heather suggests in Eating for IBS. Another idea is .. well, while the weather's warm why not grow your own peppermint and then dry it?
Buying the leaves in bulk is very cheap to do. Then, I would find a brand of the bagged peppermint tea just to keep a couple bags in your purse for planes, restaurants, etc. Yes, it's more expensive but much more convenient than hauling your own leaves.
I know that when I make Jasmine tea with the leaves, I just throw them right into the water. When they go into the cup, they settle at the bottom. Either that or place a small strainer on the top of your cup as you pour.
Lots of people brew a huge pot in the morning then store it in the fridge. The nice thing about that is you can either heat it back up or leave it as iced tea. It will not lose its potency.
I hope that's a few suggestions that may help.
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Formerly HanSolo. IBS, OCD, Bipolar, PTSD times 3.
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I use fresh peppermint - add boiling water, it's quite good!
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