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Herbs & Cultures

Anishinaabe medicine →

Wild mint tea

An infusion of field mint, the wild mint of the Great Lakes, for stomach complaints.

Traditional use

Time
10 minutes
Makes
1 cup
Corn mint

Field mint grows in damp grasslands around the Great Lakes, just as in Europe. The Bois Forte Ojibwe (Anishinaabe) drank an infusion of the whole plant for stomach troubles, as Albert Reagan recorded in 1928.

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp dried field mint or a handful fresh (or another mint)
  • 250 ml boiling water

Step by step

  1. Pour the boiling water over the mint.
  2. Cover, steep for 5–10 minutes and strain.
  3. Drink after a meal.

Tips

  • You can tell field mint by its whorls of flowers in the leaf axils, not in a spike at the top as with peppermint.

Registry

Herbs in this recipe

Read more about effects and safety on each herb’s page.

  • Caution

    Europe · Herb · № 523

    Corn mint

    Mentha arvensis

    Traditionally attributed effects: aromatic, carminative, stimulating, antispasmodic, promotes menstruation, antiseptic, stomachic, cooling, diuretic; leaf juice for diarrhoea and dysentery, tea for rheumatism and indigestion.

    Ayurveda+2

Cultures and traditions

Where the herbs come from

The herbs in this recipe also appear in these traditions.