Though rum-and-soda-free, this iced kratom tea with lime and mint will remind you of your favorite mojito, and will be unlike any slurry or plain kratom drinks you’ve had before. We had so much fun combining our favorite summertime mixed drink with crushed-leaf kratom tea, and we hope you do too.
Summer has flown past and fall is quickly rolling in. Out here on the east coast of the US, leaves are falling, the sun is a bit lower in the sky, and nights are breezy and cool — but don’t grab your apple cider and cinnamon sugar donuts just yet. We’re soaking up the last rays of sunshine with a few refreshing and flavor-packed iced tea recipes before the warm days are officially gone for the year.
The Mixed History of Mojitos
Kratom mocktails might be a novel idea, but kratom and mojitos each have a long and complex history of use. The ingredients in a mojito, namely sugar, became available globally as colonial powers forced slaves and laborers to produce it on plantations, and both kratom and alcohol have survived periods of prohibition.
The origin of the mojito is somewhat contested and heavily influenced by colonizer narratives. It is thought that mojitos were first consumed by farmers on Cuban plantations as a remedy for illnesses caused by the intensity of their labor. In the late 16th century, British colonizers may have used a combination of aguardiente (a crude form of rum), lime, and mint as a remedy for dysentery. Mojitos didn’t become popular in the United States until the Prohibition era, when Americans flocked to Cuba to drink alcohol.
Kratom has similarly only become popular amongst Americans in the last century. Kratom comes from a tropical tree that grows throughout Southeast Asia, which laborers and farmers used for centuries to get through a hard day’s work and unwind in the evenings.
Mixed Drinks with a Purpose
We at Top Tree want to make the process of taking kratom as effective and enjoyable as possible, while also acknowledging its history of use and the cultural issues that surround it.
If you’re here, you probably know that kratom has a long list of benefits (when purchased from a reputable vendor and used properly, of course). Whipping up a new kratom drink is a great way to improve your brew, amalgamating flavors and cultural practices from across the globe. These mock mojitos blend lime, mint, and a spoonful of sweetness into a kratom drink that exceeds our expectations. This recipe will have you drinking iced kratom tea every day, and will impress even your new-to-kratom friends.
Lime and mint are a perfect pair. The lime not only provides a kick of bright citrusy flavor to your kratom drink, but also improves your brew! The citric acid in the lime helps extract alkaloids from the kratom in your tea bags. If you’d like to learn more, check out this post on the chemistry of kratom, and take your brew to the next level!
Kratom Tea Mojito Cocktail
Active time: 10 minutes
Brewing & chilling time: 50 minutes
Servings: 2
Equipment
- Tea thermos or saucepan
- Cocktail muddler or small bowl & wooden spoon
Ingredients
- 2 raw leaf white vein kratom tea bags (see note below)
- 3 cups water (2 cups for thermos brew)
- 8-10 fresh mint leaves, plus more for garnish if desired
- 1 medium lime, plus more for garnish if desired
- 4 tbsp organic/Fairtrade cane sugar (see note below for alternatives), more or less to taste
- 1-2 cups ice cubes
Directions:
- Stovetop: Place tea bags and water into a small saucepan and squeeze ⅓ of the lime onto them. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Continue simmering for 20 minutes. Check every few minutes to ensure that the water has not burned off, and add a few tbsp more water if needed. You want the tea to be concentrated, but not burnt! Thermos: Place tea bags into your thermos and squeeze ⅓ of the lime onto them. Add boiling water, cap, and allow to steep for at least 20 minutes.
- Chill tea in the fridge for 30 minutes or longer if needed (if you don’t have enough time, you can just use extra ice, but your mojito will be a bit diluted). If using a thermos, make sure to unscrew transfer the tea to another glass/jar/cup before placing it into the fridge – those vacuum-sealed thermoses hold on tight to heat.
- Once your tea is chilled, squeeze the remainder of the lime over mint leaves and muddle for 1 minute.
- Add sweetener of choice and stir until dissolved.
- Divide lime & mint mixture, kratom tea, and ice between two glasses.
- Optional: garnish with a slice of lime or an extra sprig of mint.
Notes
Kratom tea bags: We recommend Green OG Bali, Super Green Malay, or White Maeng Da for this recipe, but you can use whatever you like best. If you typically use more than one tea bag, feel free to add more to your brew, and you can increase the other ingredients accordingly if desired. (Check out Top Tree’s raw leaf kratom tea options!)
Servings: You can of course double (or triple!) the recipe if you’d like. You could also batch brew a few days’ worth in a pitcher and store it in the fridge. Just keep in mind that kratom is acid-labile, i.e. the tea will be less potent after 3-4 days because of how the alkaloids react with the citric acid over time.
Sweetener: Granulated sugar is a classic for mojitos, but this kratom mocktail tastes great with a variety of sweeteners — we love making it with natural sweeteners like agave, coconut sugar, or even maple syrup. You can also use simple syrup. For each serving, add 0.5-1 oz of liquid sweetener or 1-2 tbsp of dry sweetener, depending on your preferences.
Kratom Drinks for Every Season
Check out the Better Brewing Blog soon for more recipes, from mixed drinks and mocktails to lattes and smoothies. We’ll be brewing kratom tea all year round. If you have any requests for other mixed kratom drinks, let us know in the comments.
Cheers to better brewing!
