AIP Moroccan mint tea - gunpowder green tea steeped with fresh mint and a touch of honey

Some of what helps most on the elimination phase has nothing to do with what is on the plate. A pot of mint tea, made slowly and poured properly, is one of the few rituals in a day that asks you to actually stop. Everything about this one, the brief first steep, the rinse, pouring from a height for the foam, exists to slow you down on purpose.

Green tea is a source of catechins, the plant compounds researchers link to a calmer inflammatory response, and fresh mint brings the cooling brightness that makes this specific tea recognizable anywhere in the world. A small spoon of honey rounds the edges. Keep it in perspective: this is a pleasant, supportive ritual, and the caffeine in it means morning or early afternoon suits it better than evening.

Do the first quick steep and pour it off, then rinse the leaves before you let the pot sit with the mint for a few real minutes. Pour from as much height as you can manage without making a mess, and watch for the foam to build. However you take the first sip, take it slowly, and let the 5 minutes while it steeps count as much as the tea itself.

Ingredients

• 1 bag gunpowder green tea, or 1 tablespoon loose-leaf green tea in a strainer
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/2 cup fresh mint
• 5 cups boiling water

Method

Pour 1 cup of the boiling water over the tea in the pot. Steep 30 seconds, then pour that cup off and reserve it.

Rinse the leaves with a second cup of boiling water for about 5 seconds, then discard that rinse.

Return the reserved cup to the pot along with the fresh mint and the remaining water.

Simmer 5 minutes over medium heat. Stir in the honey, remove the tea and mint, and serve. For the traditional frothy top, pour into the cups from a height.

A note on caffeine: this tea contains caffeine. For a caffeine-free version, swap in a ginger tea or a hibiscus tea. A splash of unsweetened coconut milk makes a gentle creamer if you like it.

This is a stovetop steeping recipe, so it needs no air fryer or Instant Pot variation.

*Adapted from acleanplate.com*