Mint vs. Mint: What's the Difference?
Peppermint and spearmint are two beloved herbal ingredients and are iconic within ATC tea blends. But have you ever wondered about the difference between the two?
Peppermint
Peppermint (Mentha piperita) is a hybrid between spearmint and water mint. It is well known for its strong taste and aroma as well as its medicinal properties. These properties - along with its notable cooling effects - are due to its relatively-high menthol content: 40%. Menthol is a naturally occurring compound that produces that well-known icy cool feeling in our mouths and throats and is often derived from peppermint and other sources for use in cigarettes and topical products for pain relief of skin irritation. Peppermint is often described as having a spicy, punchy flavor and super-distinctive aromas that come in handy for aromatherapeutic uses. It’s a common ingredient for holiday baking and sweet dishes and as a complement to chocolate-based desserts.
Spearmint
Spearmint (Mentha spicata) has less menthol and a milder aroma by comparison, and is a naturally occurring species of mint. It is often described as sweet. With only .05% menthol content, spearmint gets its notable smell and flavor from a different compound: carvone. Its flavor is sweeter and grassier, and that makes it a complementary ingredient with meats, seafood, and more savory cooking and dishes.
Both peppermint and spearmint can help with digestive issues, bad breath, sluggishness, and during various kinds of sickness. However, some sources cite spearmint as being the most anti-inflammatory of the mint varieties which make it an awesome topical ingredient for acne treatments and irritation. Peppermint is an all-around stronger medicinal ingredient, and can be a better choice for tinctures, salves, and aromatherapeutic uses. And either would make a lovely staple in any collection of herbal ingredients.
Typically, you can find either available in ready-made tea bags for use in your everyday wellness routines. Personally. I love a good cup of hot mint tea after dinner or along with a chocolate chip cookie.
If you’re unsure about which you’d like to try in a tea, you can try them both together in ATC’s signature mint tea - Mint, Meet Mint, a mullein-based organic tea blend that features peppermint, spearmint, and aromatic lavender flowers. It has everything you need to support your respiratory health, healthy stress response, and functional digestion.
