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| Mint Leaves |
Dried Peppermint is a common ingredient in tea mixtures. In fact, You can make a simple but tasty tea made of just Fresh or Dried Peppermint leaves steeped in hot water with a little sweetener. Mint will taste the best right before flowering.
Mint leaves from the grocery start going bad almost immediately so my fiance and I like to have a fresh batch of tea and then we dehydrate the rest. Although we will be experimenting with freezing it soon and we will post the results.
Wash the mint stems in cold water because warm or hot water can wash away the oils of mint. Without the essential oils the leaf will just taste like a weed with no flavor.
Then separate out any dead or sickly leaves. Drain and then dab them dry. Then set your dehydrator to its lowest setting which needs to be below below 100 degrees (F). I have had my best results around 65-85 degrees (F).
Sorry my dehydrator doesn't have an exact thermostat. It only has the marquee temperatures marked on it. But I'd say it will dehydrate the best within that range.
Make sure the leaves are completely dry and brittle, or they may mold after you place them in storage. Do not store in paper bags or containers, as they absorb the herbs oils.
When the leaves are dry and brittle, remove them from the stems and store in an airtight container, in a location that's out of the light.
You can also use the traditional paper bag method hanging them in a paper bag by the stems in a warm but well-ventilated area. The paper bag catches any leaves that fall off. Air drying is more difficult in humid areas and you might need in a dehydrator.
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