Grandma’s Peppermint Patch

When I was a child I would love to stay with my grandmother. Sometimes I would come down with an upset stomach from eating too many cherries or apples that she had growing in her orchard. My grandmother would walk out to the patch of peppermint that grew in her yard and pick a hand-full. She would wash the plant and place it in a pot of hot water and let it steep for a few minutes. Then she would strain the peppermint herb and pour the tea into a cup for me to sip on. Within a few minutes my upset stomach was gone and I was back to playing in the apple orchard. I have never forgotten the lessons that I have learned from my grandmother and I have passed them down to my children. To this day when my kids are feeling sick or needing something warm to drink, they are always sipping on a cup of warm peppermint tea made with loving hands.

Peppermint herb and its essential oil has been used to help with stomach digestive issues throughout history. The Romans would chew on the herb when they had stomach problems or bad breath.  The Egyptian’s would use the herb and the oil to help preserve meats and to keep insects out of the grain stores. The peppermint plant is oil potent.  All parts of the peppermint plant contain essential oils, up to 85 percent. Cultivated Peppermint has a better oil content than wild peppermint. The leaves and flowering tops produce the most essential oil. Steam distilling is still the very best way to extract this precious oil. You should only use essential oils that have come from the first steam distillation process.

Peppermint is a hybrid cross between Spearmint and Watermint. It is indigenous to Europe and the Middle East, but it quickly spread all over the world. It is occasionally found growing near its parent species. Peppermint grows well in moist habitats—especially near riverbanks. It is fast growing, spreads quickly, and prone to invading the space of other plants.