First off, the mint family (more properly known as Lamiaceae) consists of somewhere between 6900 and 7200 different species! Some very familiar cooking herbs come from this family (e.g. basil, thyme, sage, & rosemary), but my primary interest is in herbs that taste like...well, mint. So I'm talking about the mentha genus in particular, which has about 25 species. Much more manageable than seven thousand I should think. Though really there are two types of mentha that are the most popular, as I'm sure you well know.
[labeled as spearmint but I think it looks more like peppermint - via salbendr]
Peppermint is actually a hybrid blend of spearmint and watermint, but this is the plant most people think of when they talk about mint. It's known for soothing the stomach and the skin and is used to flavor or scent a wide variety of products. On the other hand, spearmint, so named because of its' spear-shaped leaves, tastes slightly sweeter than peppermint in my opinion. It's less sharp and more sugary, at least to me. Spearmint is often used in conjunction with peppermint. Apple mint is fast becoming a favorite for mint lovers as well, though I don't know that I have much experience with it yet. There doesn't appear to be a whole lot of information on it, other than that the taste is considered superior to spearmint (whatever that means), so if you know something about apple mint, shoot that info my way. Additionally, Alex Zorach (a fellow tea blogger) recently made a post about his foray into growing and brewing orange mint.
[via genesee metcalfs]
A brief aside: quite a few of us think of wintergreen as a mint flavor, but it's not from the mint family; it's from the gaultheria species. The difficulty is that one of the ingredients in wintergreen oil can cause allergic reactions, whereas mint is (as far as I know) pretty safe for almost everyone. Interestingly, two of the common names of the plant are "teaberry" or "mountain tea". I find wintergreen to taste slightly more medicinal than peppermint, but occasionally it's also sweeter than spearmint. However, I think I'll stick with the plants in the true mint family.
My interest in mint teas primarily stems from two things: a) I like the taste of mint, and b) they work served both warm and cold. Hell, I even like a warm mint tea that has cooled off! Peppermint has a long and rich medicinal history, having been used to treat everything from upset stomachs to depression. It's good for soothing symptoms of the common cold, as well as upset stomachs and rashes. Prepared hot, it feels like it makes me breathe easier. When cold, it's a welcome drink when it's hot outside.
Because mint teas are so valuable in many ways, and because I seem to own quite a few different kinds, I thought I'd have a mint tea drink-off (sort of like a walk-off but not). Besides, I can't think of anything that mint doesn't go with. The next time you hear from me, I'll be reviewing different types of mint tea and we'll see which one comes out on top. To tide you over, I'll leave you with a sample list of mint teas that are currently on my to-sip list.
- Once Upon A Tea (SerendipiTea)
- Vanilla Mint (Golden Moon Tea)
- Cacao Mint (Teavana)
- Sweet Mint (Rishi)
- Maghreb Mint (Rishi)
- Egyptian Licorice Mint (Yogi Tea)
- Citrus Mint (Tea Forte)
- Chocolate Raspberry Mint (SBS Teas)
- Mintastic (52teas)
[via maverick]
References
- Apple Mint
- Mentha Piperita (Peppermint)
- Mentha Spicata (Spearmint)
- On Mentha
- On Wintergreen
- Purdue Horticulturists on Wintergreen
- University of Maryland Health Info on Mint Tea
Taken from http://thatpourgirl.blogspot.com/
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