Mentha, also known as mint, is a genus of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is estimated that 13 to 24 species exist, but the exact distinction between species is unclear. Hybridization occurs naturally where some species' ranges overlap. Many hybrids and cultivars are known.
Peppermint is a hybrid species of mint, a cross between watermint and spearmint. Indigenous to Europe and the Middle East, the plant is now widely spread and cultivated in many regions of the world. It is occasionally found in the wild with its parent species.
Spearmint, also known as garden mint, common mint, lamb mint and mackerel mint, is native to Europe and southern temperate Asia, extending from Ireland in the west to southern China in the east. It is naturalized in many other temperate parts of the world, including northern and southern Africa, North America, and South America. It is used as a flavouring in food and herbal teas. The aromatic oil, called oil of spearmint, is also used as a flavoring and sometimes as a scent.
Altoids are a brand of mints, sold primarily in distinctive metal tins. The brand was created by the London-based Smith & Company in the 1780s, and became part of the Callard & Bowser company in the 19th century. Their advertising slogan is "The Original Celebrated Curiously Strong Mints", referring to the high concentration of peppermint oil used in the original flavour lozenge. The mints were originally conceived as a lozenge intended to relieve intestinal discomfort.
Tic Tac is a brand of small, hard mint manufactured by the Italian company Ferrero. They were first produced in 1969 and are now available in a variety of flavors in over 100 countries.
Mentos are a brand of packaged scotch mints or mint-flavored candies sold in many stores and vending machines. First produced in 1932, they are currently sold in more than 130 countries worldwide by the Italian-Dutch corporation Perfetti Van Melle. The mints are small oblate spheroids, with a slightly hard exterior and a soft, chewy interior.
Mentha aquatica is a perennial flowering plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It grows in moist places and is native to much of Europe, northwest Africa and southwest Asia.
Breath spray is a product sprayed into the mouth for the purpose of temporarily eliminating or at least covering up bad breath. The masking effect is short-term and reported to last for 4-6 hours. Breath sprays are occasionally advertised as being for smokers or those who dip tobacco, and occasionally to cover up the smell of cigarette/cigar smoking. Common flavours include cinnamon, spearmint and peppermint, as well as company-specific flavors, such as "Ice Mint", "Cool Mint" or "Supermint".
Life Savers is an American brand of ring-shaped hard and soft candy. Its range of mints and fruit-flavored candies is known for its distinctive packaging, coming in paper-wrapped aluminum foil rolls.
Dentyne is a brand of chewing gum and breath mints available in several countries globally. It is owned by Perfetti Van Melle.
Eclipse is a brand of chewing gum and breath mint, first introduced in the U.S. by the Wrigley Company in 1999 as its first entrant into the U.S. pellet gum segment. It was modeled after Excel in Canada, which was launched in 1991.
A throat lozenge is a small, typically medicated tablet intended to be dissolved slowly in the mouth to temporarily stop coughs, lubricate, and soothe irritated tissues of the throat, possibly from the common cold or influenza. Cough tablets have taken the name lozenge, based on their original shape, a diamond.
Peppermint extract is a herbal extract of peppermint made from the essential oil of peppermint leaves. Peppermint is a hybrid of water mint and spearmint. The oil has been used for various purposes over centuries.
Certs was a brand of breath mint that was noted for the frequent use of "two mints in one" in its marketing. The original "classic mints" were disc-shaped without a hole and sold in roll packaging similar to Life Savers and Polo. Certs was one of the first mints to be nationally marketed in the United States and has been a fixture at American drug stores and convenience stores since its debut on the market in 1956. It was discontinued in 2018, possibly due to its containing partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil, an ingredient which has not been allowed in food sold in the United States since then.
Callard and Bowser, LLC Inc. is a Chicago, Illinois-based subsidiary of Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company responsible for Altoids mints, and other confections. Since the mints became prominent in the mid-1990s, Callard and Bowser has added a number of products under the Altoids name.
Mint chocolate is a popular type of chocolate, made by adding a mint flavoring, such as peppermint, spearmint, or crème de menthe, to chocolate. Mint chocolate can be found in a wide variety of confectionery items, such as candy, mints, cookies, mint chocolate chip ice cream, hot chocolate, and others. In addition, it is marketed in a non-edible format as cosmetics. Depending widely on the ingredients and the process used, mint chocolate can give off a very distinctive mint fragrance. The chocolate component can be milk chocolate, regular dark chocolate, or white chocolate; due to this, mint chocolate has no one specific flavor, and so each chocolate-plus-flavor combination can be unique.
Mentha × gracilis is a hybrid mint species within the genus Mentha, a sterile hybrid between Mentha arvensis (cornmint) and Mentha spicata. It is cultivated for its essential oil, used to flavour spearmint chewing gum. It is known by the common names of gingermint, redmint and Scotchmint in Europe, and as Scotch spearmint in North America.
Clorets is a line of chewing gum and mints made by Cadbury Adams. It was introduced in 1951. Clorets gum and candy contain Actizol, a proprietary ingredient that contains chlorophyll, which purportedly acts as an active ingredient to eliminate mouth odors. Clorets was originally owned by American Chicle, then by Warner-Lambert in 1962 under its Adams division until Pfizer took over in 2000. The Adams division was sold to Cadbury-Schweppes in 2002, which is now known as Cadbury Adams.
Ice Breakers is a brand of mints and chewing gum owned by The Hershey Company.
Opened package of Howard's Mint candies
Tic Tac package of orange-flavored breath mints
Mints provided to guests at a funeral home in the United States.
