Serves One
I go back and forth between preparing this tea two ways. The ingredients stay the same, just the method changes. You can follow the directions as I have them here, or you can cook it on the stove, which makes for a stronger brew. I also add a little more water (2 cups in total) when I cook it this way, simply because my flame-proof copper tea pot, with the built in strainer is larger than my silver tea pot in the photo above. If you don’t have a teapot, you can also just make it in a regular, small pot, and pour the tea through a stainer to serve it.
I tend to drink a lot of this tea. While I love the traditional version sweetened with sugar, a creamy, churned honey works just as well, and is a healthier alternative. Just substitute 1 tablespoon (20 grams) of honey for the sugar. I imagine agave would work well, too.
Regarding the mint, I’ll switch back to fresh once it blooms again. A generous fistful is usually a good amount, but you can of course adjust it to your liking. If you’re in NYC, and looking for a good dried mint connection, Dual Specialty on First Avenue in the East Village sells sacks of it for a few bucks. You can get the green tea there, too.
1 tablespoon (6 grams) gunpowder green tea (tiny dried balls of rolled leaves)
1 tablespoon (18 grams) granulated natural cane sugar
1 teaspoon (1 gram) dried spearmint leaves
Add the tea, sugar, and mint to a tea pot. Pour in 1 1/2 cups (350 ml) boiling water, and stir. Let the mixture steep for five minutes before serving.