Is Peppermint Tea Acidic or Alkaline?
Peppermint tea (prepared) is neutral: PRAL close to zero: hardly shifts your acid-base balance.
Classification
At −0.4 per 100 ml, peppermint tea stays neutral: steeping releases only traces of potassium from the leaves, and practically no protein passes into the water. A one-liter pot over the afternoon adds about −4, without a single calorie. Eating the leaves from your glass changes little, since there are too few of them.
In the Drinks category, peppermint tea (prepared) ranks #41 of 80, sorted from alkaline to acid-forming. More alkaline options include Herbal liqueur (−0.5), Hugo (cocktail) (−0.5), Fruit tea (−0.5). More acid-forming are Beer (−0.4), Alcohol-free beer (−0.4), Black tea (−0.3).
Acidic or alkaline: PRAL, not pH
On this site, acidic and alkaline refer to the PRAL (potential renal acid load). It estimates what a food leaves behind once it has been digested: a positive value is acid-forming, a negative value is alkalizing. That is different from the pH of the food itself: a lemon tastes sour, yet its PRAL is −4.0, so it is alkalizing. Your diet does not change your blood pH. It does change how much acid your kidneys have to deal with.
Goes well with
Frequently Asked Questions
Is peppermint tea acidic?
It depends on what you mean by acidic. The pH describes the food itself, for example how sour it tastes. The PRAL describes what it leaves behind after digestion: Peppermint tea (prepared) has a PRAL of −0.4 per 100 ml, so it counts as neutral in your daily acid-base balance.
Does peppermint tea count in the acid-base balance at all?
Hardly. At −0.4 per 100 ml, peppermint tea is in the neutral range between −0.5 and +0.5. You can eat it without shifting your balance.
Peppermint Tea logged, balance checked.
Basentracker adds up every meal automatically and shows whether your day is in the alkaline range. The same values as on this page, all 977 foods, photo scan, recipes.
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Compare all Drinks: Drinks table. Common questions are answered in Acidic or Alkaline?, and the PRAL calculator adds up a whole meal.
Source: Basentracker food database (PRAL according to Remer & Manz, calculated from protein, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and calcium per 100 g). This information does not replace medical advice.