People ask me why I review simple one-ingredient teas like Teapigs Peppermint. Surely if you’ve tried one peppermint tea, you’ve tried them all, right? Well, actually no. You’d be surprised by how many tea brands get the simplest of teas and infusions so very wrong!
From the wrong volume of tea, to the wrong packaging, to very fine and dusty leaves. So much can go wrong and leave you with a very dull and flat tea.
So, yes. It is worth reviewing simple single ingredient teas like Teapigs Peppermint Leaves! Let’s dig in and find out if this peppermint infusion is a good one.
Teapigs Peppermint Tea at a Glance
- Ingredients: 100% peppermint leaves
- Flavour: Mellow and soft peppermint with woody and earthy notes
This is a lovely peppermint tea with surprisingly deep notes of wood and earth – usually you’d expect these flavours from a garden mint or spearmint. The menthol is soft at first but really brightens up in the aftertaste. Delicious!
Full Review – Teapigs Peppermint Leaves
- Type: Biodegradable tagged pyramid teabag
- Tea: Peppermint leaves
- Health Benefits: Improves memory, treats IBS
- Flavour Notes: Garden mint, mellow, soft menthol, woody, earthy
- Aroma: Natural peppermint, earthy
- Milk or Lemon: Neither
- Where to Buy: Amazon or Teapigs
I opened up the biodegradable pyramid teabag (more about the packaging below) and was surprised at how much peppermint leaf was actually inside! 2g is quite a lot of peppermint leaf, which I guess is lighter than traditional tea leaf. The aroma coming from the dried peppermint was very natural – not too strong like some artificial peppermint teas.
It brews into a golden-brown colour, which is completely normal for peppermint tea. What wasn’t normal, however, was the aroma at this stage. It’s very mellow for a peppermint tea, with a little earthy note and not too much sweetness. It reminds me more of a garden mint tea than a menthol-rich peppermint tea.
The flavour follows suit and is quite mellow and gentle… at first. This is a peppermint tea that grows with every sip. At first, it’s a little woody and herbal with soft mint notes. But after you swallow each sip, the menthol grows in your throat and nose. It feels sweet and clean and bright. Delicious!
With that mellow, slightly earthy and woody body, but with menthol high notes that sweep in after, drinking this tea reminds me of a spring afternoon. The sun is warm, but the cool spring breeze is like a hit of menthol with every breath.
I highly recommend you try this peppermint tea.
How to Brew Teapigs Peppermint Herbal Tea
This is an herbal tea, so you can just use boiling water and no strict brewing time. I brewed 1x 2g tea pyramid in 250ml of boiling water for 3 minutes to get the tea pictured above. Brew for 5 minutes if you like a super strong mint tea.
Brewing for even longer times will enhance the flavour but won’t make it bitter like a green or black tea.
Peppermint tea is typically sweet enough, but you could add some honey for extra sweetness. Lemon is also a nice addition if you want a citrusy note added. You can drink peppermint tea hot or iced and at any time of the day, as it’s totally caffeine-free.
Why Teapigs Biodegradable Tea?
I really love Teapigs. First of all, the peppermint in these teabags is fresh and full-flavoured which means they’ve taken the time to source a good supplier. There’s also a full 2g of large leaf pieces, which makes a huge difference compared to finely chopped dusty peppermint leaves (Pukka, I’m thinking of you).
The packaging itself is awesome too. The pyramid bag is large, to allow water to flow naturally around the leaves, and is made of plant starch. You can compost it at home! I’ve got the single-serving sachet, but if you buy the boxed version the teabags will be packed in a “plastic” bag that’s actually made of wood pulp.
All the packaging is sustainable, and the tea is great quality. What more could you want?
Health Benefits
Peppermint tea has some great health benefits that are backed by scientific studies. I’ve actually written a guide to peppermint tea that explains them in further detail, but to summarise, Teapigs Peppermint tea may:
- Clean your mouth with anti-bacterial and anti-microbial properties,
- Reduce testosterone (which may or may not be beneficial!),
- Improve short-term and long-term memory,
- Treat the symptoms of IBS.
Summary
This is a lovely peppermint tea and the fact that Teapigs packages it in sustainable materials makes it just that little bit more special. If you like to drink a cup of peppermint tea every day, it’s worth trying. You can find it on Amazon or the Teapigs website (click the flag to change to your country).
Tea Recommendation
I mentioned earlier in this review that some tea brands can get even the simplest of tea blends wrong. If you want to see what that looks like, read my review of Fosters Traditional Foods Earl Grey next.