Ingredients · Herb

Spearmint

Mentha spicata · Lamiaceae (mint family)

Spearmint
Peppermint's gentler parent. Where peppermint delivers a sharp menthol punch, spearmint leads with carvone — a softer, sweeter, rounder mint. It is the everyday mint: easy, approachable, and the one to reach for if peppermint is too cold or too strong. It is also the mint of Moroccan tea, poured tall over gunpowder green and sugar.

What it’s like, and how to use it

The partHerb
KindHerb
CaffeineCaffeine-free
Where it is fromMediterranean
TasteSweet, cool, mild mint, softer than peppermint, refreshing
How to brew it
  • 212°F / 100°C
  • Steep 5–7 minutes
  • Use 1–2 tsp per 8oz
  • Milder than peppermint, won't overpower
  • Excellent iced

How to use it

Moroccan mint tea (with green tea and sugar — the traditional preparation). Mint julep. Tabbouleh and fattoush. Raita and yogurt sauces. Lamb dishes. Fresh spring rolls. Fruit salads. Muddle into cocktails. Garnish for desserts. Spearmint jelly (traditional English accompaniment for lamb). Chewing gum — most 'mint' flavoring is actually spearmint.

With food

Lamb (classic combination across Middle Eastern and British cuisine). Yogurt (raita, tzatziki). Cucumber (the cooling duo). Watermelon (summer refresher). Chocolate (milder than peppermint-chocolate — more nuanced). Peas and fresh vegetables. Berries. Citrus — lemon, lime, grapefruit.

With spices

Ginger (warming-cooling contrast, gentler than peppermint-ginger). Cinnamon (Moroccan tea-adjacent warmth). Cardamom (Middle Eastern tea tradition). Cumin (tabbouleh and Middle Eastern cuisine logic). Fennel (digestive trio with chamomile).

With tea

Green tea (Moroccan mint tea tradition — gunpowder green is classic). Chamomile (gentle calming combination). Lemongrass (citrus-mint refresher). Any fruit tea (spearmint brightens fruit blends). Rooibos (caffeine-free mint-sweet base).

Its story

Where it comes from

Native to Europe and the Mediterranean. One of the oldest cultivated mints — the Romans brought it to Britain. Unlike peppermint (a sterile hybrid), spearmint is a true species that reproduces by seed as well as runners. Major production in the United States (particularly Washington state and the Midwest), India, and China. Moroccan mint tea traditionally uses spearmint, not peppermint.

What happened

One of the oldest cultivated herbs. The Romans used spearmint to scent bath water and as a culinary herb. Moroccan mint tea — the national drink — uses spearmint with gunpowder green tea and sugar. In the American South, mint julep traditionally uses spearmint. The name 'spear' refers to the pointed leaf tips that distinguish it from the rounder peppermint leaves.

Good for

What the research looked at

Traditionally used as a digestive herb, and gentler than peppermint in every respect.
Studied in trials on hormonal markers in women; the findings are summarised in the ingredient guide and are not claimed here.
Rich in rosmarinic acid, which extracts well into water.
Naturally caffeine-free. The mint for anyone who finds peppermint too intense — and the one in a Moroccan glass.

What’s in the leaf

R-(-)-Carvone (50–70% of essential oil — the sweet minty compound that distinguishes spearmint from peppermint; much lower TRPM8 activation than menthol). Limonene (10–25%). Dihydrocarvone. Rosmarinic acid (shared with peppermint — well-extracted into water). Very low menthol content (<1% vs peppermint's 35–48%).

These teas are foods, sold as such. Nothing on this page is intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

On the shelf with it

Sold on its own, and in these blends.

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