At Griffen Fitness we serve complimentary fresh homegrown mint tea to clients and visitors - you can even enjoy it as you’re working out. As a PT, I personally drink mint tea all day as I find it an optimal method of hydration.

You may have seen from my sports drink blog that water with a small amount of carbohydrate in can aid absorption. The gut ‘thinks’ a carb solution is food and thus absorbs it better than plain water (that is more likely to flush through the system and make you need to go to the toilet). The logic is that if you drink flavoured water, your body absorbs it better. This seems to work for mint tea, too.

It was through serving mint tea in the studio, and the subsequent demand for it, that we launched Pure Leith mint tea - grown organically and produced locally, in Leith. Tracy grows all the mint, then dries whole stems in the drying room (a Council-registered food packing area) adjacent to the fitness studio. When completely dried, the whole leaves are then hand-picked from the stems and packaged.

It has more character and depth than standard mint tea, and using whole spearmint leaves means you don’t need a tea strainer. As far as we know, this is the only whole leaf mint tea available in the UK. It is as unique as it is delicious.

Read more in The Leither magazine and we’re also (sometimes) on Instagram.

WE’RE SOLD OUT - NEW HARVEST COMING SUMMER 2025…

Our favourite way of enjoying Pure Leith mint tea is to brew it in a tea pot, 6 to 8 leaves only per pot, for around 5-10 minutes. Then decant into a thermos flask to enjoy it all day long. It means you’ll be well hydrated and have hot mint tea to hand all day long. Perfect if you’re busy or chained to a laptop for work.

Mint (or mentha) belongs to the Lamiaceae family, which contains around 15–20 plant species, including peppermint and spearmint. Mint plants contain an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent called rosmarinic acid, as well as menthol and trace amounts of numerous nutrients.

The potential health benefits of mint are:

-        It may help digestive issues (IBS, tummy ache, over-eating)

-        It freshens the breath

-        Mint may help relieve tension headaches and migraine

-        It may alleviate sinus congestion

-        It has antibacterial properties

-        It may give you more energy (in a different way from coffee)

-        It may help seasonal allergies, especially if grown locally

-        Apparently it may help concentration, and making a pot of tea is an excellent procrastination technique if one is writing to a deadline.

Mint tea is a perfect health drink! Read more on the benefits of mint on this Healthline blog.