I grew up in the middle of Pennsylvania Dutch territory in Lancaster County. I looked forward to this bright, delicious tea every summer growing and I wanted to share the recipe with you!
Meadow tea is traditionally made with meadow or wild mint leaves; however, apple mint makes a great substitution. This summer thirst quencher is super simple to make and is an extremely affordable drink to serve at your backyard parties!
While made with mint leaves, meadow tea doesn’t really taste minty, so if you’re thinking it might taste like toothpaste, that’s definitely not the case! It’s sweet, light, and super refreshing. And I have a feeling you’re going to love it!
beverage dispenser | woven platform
Meadow Tea Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 large handfuls of mint stems and leaves.
- 12 C water
- sugar to taste (I add about 2/3 C white sugar to one batch)
Directions
1. Wash your mint to remove dirt and debris. NOTE: you can leave the leaves on the stems!
2. Bring mint stems and water to a rapid boil
3. Remove from heat and let steep for at least 1 hour. NOTE: the longer you let it steep, the strong the flavor of the leaves.
4. Mix in sweetener of choice and refrigerate.
5. Served chilled over ice and garnish with fresh mint leaves if desired.
glasses
How to make Meadow Tea concentrate
While meadow tea is very easy to make, the cooling time can be time consuming and sometimes, you just NEED some iced tea, like right now!
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Use this ratio to make a concentrated version that you can freeze and make a nice cold pitcher of tea whenever the mood strikes!
Meadow Tea concentrate
makes 2 containers of concentrate
- 2 C sugar
- 4 C water
- 2 C mint leaves (if leaving on the stem, add 2 large handfuls)
- Bring water and tea to a boil.
- Remove from heat and let stand 8 hours
- Freeze in 4 – 1/2 quart containers
Add 1/2 qt concentrate to 6C water to make a 1/2 gallon of meadow tea.
Gifting Meadow Tea
Summer is a big season for entertaining and I love to have some simple hostess gifts on hand to take to parties. Gift one of these adorable jars filled with meadow tea concentrate and attach this cute gift tag I designed just for you!
Add a beautiful hand towel or a set of pretty outdoor glasses for the perfect thank you, teacher, or just because gift! You can download the free printable gift tags at the bottom of the page!
I hope you enjoy a little Pennsylvania Dutch Summer tradition as much as my family does!
xoxo, L
