Kree's Stomach Soothing Tea

Submitted by Kree

"I drink this tea almost every day. The peppermint and fennel both calm the stomach and aid digestion, and the fennel is also great for reducing bloating and gas. Just be careful if you're prone to GERD (heartburn), since peppermint can trigger it in people who are susceptible. For a different flavor, you can replace about half the peppermint with spearmint! Spearmint also helps with digestion."

 

• Ready In: 12mins
• Ingredients: 4
• Serves: 1

ingredients

• 1 tablespoon dried peppermint (I use dried but I'm sure fresh would be fantastic--I also use a heaping Tbsp)
• 1⁄2 teaspoon fennel seed
• 1 cup boiling water
• honey or sugar (optional)

directions

1. Place the peppermint leaves and fennel seeds into a tea ball or strainer and place the strainer in a mug.
2. Make sure the strainer is large enough that there's extra room for the herbs to expand as they brew, otherwise they won't be as potent (I learned this the hard way--if you only have small strainers you may need to use two).
3. Add boiling water to the mug and allow tea to steep for 5-10 minutes (any longer and it may start to get bitter).
4. Alternately, you can nuke the water in the microwave until boiling and then add the tea strainer.
5. Remove the strainer, bobbing it up and down in the mug a few times to release the oils.
6. Sweeten the tea with honey or another sweetener of your choice, if desired.
7. Sip, enjoy, and feel good.

Reviews

[UmmBinat]

This is really good. I used half dried out bought fresh mint leaves (spearmint I think) and the honey option and would make this again with honey as well. Made for Zaar Chef Alphabet Soup Game (Jan - June '10)

 

[mianbao]

I liked this. I have a cold now and can't taste much, but could taste this tea, and it was soothing to my throat, too. Thank you for a nice idea.

 

[Kaarin]

This was wonderful! I used mint leaves I froze last summer, and loved the touch of fennel. I let this steep loosely in boiling water, then strained out after 10 minutes. Very refreshing; made my sore throat feel better too. Thanks!

 

[kolibri]

Very nice flavours, I love a good soothing mint tea. I steeped it for 6 minutes, but the fennel didn't really come through at that time - next time I would try crushing the seed like Rita did and maybe steep few minutes longer.

 

[Roosie]

Oh, wow, Kree! I love this! I don't really like the licorice-like flavor of fennel, but it is subtle enough to just add an extra bit of flavor to the mint without being overpowering. Absolutely lovely! I just stuffed myself with homemade sushi (mmmm!) and was feeling a little...well, stuffed- so I decided to give this a shot. Made me feel infinitely better! As a plus, its delicious! I made it in my french press, which is fantastic for making teas- the herbs and teas can float around freely in the water and expand as much as they want, creating a wonderfully flavorful and well-infused tea. Thank you for posting, Kree! I will definitely make this again- I love it!