Can someone help me identify what kind of mint this is?
Lezahennaid
Posts: 14
Hello, everyone! Yesterday, I decided that it was time for me to start an herb garden in real life after years of playing The Sims and always choosing the "gardening" hobby, so I marched to this place right across my office that has a row of plant stores and bought 3 potted herbs for $0.75 each. I chose curly parsley, peppermint and chocolate mint. I know what curly parsley looks like so I immediately pointed to it but I had no idea what different kinds of mint look like so I asked the lady to give me the peppermint and chocolate mint. I smelled chocolate mint and thought, "yep, this is it" but forgot to sniff peppermint (big mistake!).
When I got home, I repotted the plants and sat in front of my computer to read about how to care for my new babies and realized that the peppermint plant in the photos I saw did not look at all like the one the lady gave me. I started looking for photos of different kinds of mint but gave up after hours of searching and thought I'd just create an account here and ask you guys. I REALLY need to know what this is. @_@
It has green stems and big, rounded leaves. I was thinking spearmint because it kind of smells like spearmint but I can't be sure because the photos of spearmint plants I keep seeing don't have big, rounded leaves. I pulled a leaf and rubbed it on my hand to smell it and it has a very weak, minty smell. I made tea out of it and it sure has a semi-sweet toothpaste-y taste but no hint of menthol at all. Help!
Posts
Hi, Logan. I did mention that I tasted it.
"I made tea out of it and it sure has a semi-sweet toothpaste-y taste but no hint of menthol at all."
I still don't know if this is spearmint as I don't exactly know what spearmint tastes like. If spearmint has a very, very weak taste, then I guess this is spearmint..? Hehe this is driving me nuts!
spearmint tastes like toothpaste, quite strong
In my experience the naming of mints is vague, sometimes spearmint looks like what you have there, sometimes much longer, pointed leaves.
I've never had one without a strong taste though.
I think sellers make the names up as they go.
In the sticks near Peterborough
I am certain it isn't peppermint because I know how it tastes. This is probably spearmint, then. It tastes like toothpaste but it's not that strong. Maybe the plant quality is just not good, cuz the chocolate mint I bought smells and tastes really good even though the plants are a bit too small. Hopefully with enough sun and lots of TLC, my choco mint will produce bigger leaves and the taste of this "spearmint" gets stronger.
Thanks!
I love what I know as apple mint
good boiled with new spuds.
But if you look at google images there a lot of different plants labeled apple mint
In the sticks near Peterborough
Haha, I thought for a second that this was an apple mint, but I read that apple mint has fine hairs and this one doesn't. Pineapple mint, on the other hand, smells like pineapple. This plant I have smells like weak mint. Weak Spearmint??? @_@
Hahaha, it's fine. I will consider this as a spearmint for now.
I'll go to a different store to get me a real peppermint plant tomorrow, and maybe an orange mint plant. I am obsessed with mint teas. @_@
It's only a baby, just give it a little tlc and you'll be enjoying 'real' mint for a long time. I grow several types of mint and the basic mint (like you have) is a firm fave.
Spearmint has a very distinctive flavour, just like spearmint gum, and makes a nice change.
Apple mint is lovely but the hairs do seem to catch a lot of little bugs and bits. I've just pulled an apple-mint leaf and I don't detect any apple smell, more similar to spearmint, but my plant is about 10+yrs old.
If you want to try a really unusual smelling mint - try cologne mint - it really does smell of eau-de-cologne. A bit weird in tea tho..
Once your babies have soaked-up a bit of sun and grown a little the aroma will get stronger. Pinch out the tops to keep it bushy and treat it 'mean' - the best flavour comes from not giving too much tlc.
good luck!
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Thank you, Pete! That was really helpful.
I am a little confused about the type of mint I have, though. So is it "basic" mint or is it spearmint? This one tastes a little like toothpaste and is a little sweet, although the flavor and the scent are not yet strong. I am going to take good care of it so it grows beautifully!
Cologne mint is orange mint, right? I read somewhere that orange mint is also called "eau de cologne" mint