There’s nothing more refreshing than a glass of sweet mint iced tea on a hot summer’s day. And this version is paleo-friendly, so it’s guilt-free, too!
I love mint. Like, really love it. But I haven’t always. It’s one of those your-taste-buds-change-as-you-get-older-and-things-you-used-to-despise-are-now-your-favorites kinda thing. (Tuna and mustard also fall into this category for me). It’s sort of like now that I do love mint so much I have to make up for lost time for all those years I didn’t like it and now I have to consume it in abundance. Which is perfectly okay with me because I love it so much and there are just so many different ways to enjoy mint. Especially fresh mint. I can’t get enough of the way it smells, too. Ahhhhhh….. heavenly. I’ve made fresh mint ice cream which is to die for and I make this mint iced tea recipe all the time. Especially in the summer because it’s so darn refreshing and it’s a fan favorite with my family.
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A little story about this mint tea – back in 2005 when I got married, my lovely sisters threw me a bridal shower at my house and one of the best gifts they put together was a beautiful wood box of handwritten recipes from each guest. I still use it often. It contains family recipes, like my grandma’s pot roast recipe from my sister Jen. This recipe was never written down anywhere; my mom learned it from watching her mother-in-law make it. And so when Jen was learning to make it, she watched my mom’s every move and wrote down how much of each ingredient my mom used and cooking times and temperatures. It didn’t help that the next time my mom made it she did it differently yet somehow everything came out tasting pretty much the same, but regardless, we now have a pretty good working version of Grandma’s recipe.
Fast forward three years to my sister Robyn’s bridal shower and we decided to repeat the recipe card idea again. And this time Steph reprinted the recipes for all the guests to take home – genius idea! I’m sure 10 years later this idea is no longer novel for bridal showers, however, at that time it was brilliant. And as you could have guessed, this sweet mint iced tea recipe was in that batch. Steph was the one to add that card to the mix and she had actually made the tea for the shower that day. I have been a huge fan ever since.
The original recipe called for loose Moroccan mint tea and real sugar – a cup and a half of it. Granted, the recipe was for 25 cups of iced tea. And it tasted pretty darn amazing with that level of sweetness (surprisingly, it was just the right amount). But since then, I’ve adapted the recipe a bit. For one, I use green tea bags from the grocery store instead of loose Moroccan mint tea as they are much easier to find and much less expensive. Secondly, I use coconut sugar or honey now to sweeten the tea. As much as I like real sugar, I tend to stick to a mostly Paleo-like diet these days (most of the time I follow the 80/20 rule with it. Other times, it’s more like the 50/50 or 20/80 rule…) and real sugar is not on the list of allowable foods, however, small amounts of coconut sugar and honey are allowed. Yay for natural sweeteners!
I hope you mix some up this summer and enjoy it’s refreshingness as much as I do!
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Sweet Mint Iced Tea (Paleo-friendly)
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes + cooling time
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
Description
A glass of sweet, refreshing mint tea on a hot summer’s day – there’s nothing better than that. And this version is paleo-friendly, making it guilt-free too!
Ingredients
- 1–2 fresh mint sprig(s), leaves removed from stem
- 2 cups filtered water
- 2 teaspoons coconut sugar or honey
- 2 bags green tea
Instructions
- Pour water into small saucepan and submerge mint in water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat
- Once boiling, remove from heat and immediately stir in coconut sugar or honey, stirring until completely dissolved. Add tea bags to pot and cover, allowing to steep for 15 minutes
- Strain into glasses, allow to cool then add ice and enjoy!
Notes
Recipe can be made in large quantities as well to serve a crowd. To do so, increase water to 25 cups, use two whole bunches of mint (leaves removed from stems and washed), get yourself a very large pot with a tight fitting lid, 1 1/2 cups of coconut sugar or honey, and about 25 green tea bags (I use one tea bag per cup of water). Follow same steeping directions and serve in large pitcher with additional mint sprigs for garnish
- Category: Drinks
- Method: Stovetop cook
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: sweet mint iced tea, refreshing, paleo, paleo-friendly, summer drink ideas, summer drink recipes, fresh mint
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Good to know about the coconut sugar. I’ll try it that way!