The thought of peppermint is likely to evoke its distinctive sweet, menthol aroma. The pure oil itself, as well as extracts of the oil, are widely used as food flavorings. Most of us have encountered the cool, refreshing aroma and flavor of peppermint essential oil in chewing gum, candy, breath mints, toothpaste and mouthwash. Peppermint belongs to the labiatae family of plants, along with other well known herbs like lavender and rosemary. Although up to 600 kinds of mints have been classified, most are probably variants and hybrids of around 25 well-defined species.
Mint plants are popular as ornamentals, often cultivated as fragrant herb garden plants.
Spearmint has a strongly sweet aroma, almost creamy and candy-like with a sharp menthol undertone. The aroma of peppermint isn't quite as suave as spearmint. It has a strongly penetrating menthol aroma with a sweet undertone. Its balance of sharp and sweet aroma characteristics support this classification. The oil is distilled from freshly cut, partially dried plant tops.