Chocolate mint
Mentha x piperita f. citrata 'Chocolate' · Herb
Top 10 pairings
Chocolate mint is a peppermint cultivar grown for its scent rather than its colour — dark green leaves flushed reddish-brown along the stems and edges, and an aroma that genuinely recalls an after-dinner chocolate-mint — cool, menthol-led mint over a warm, faintly cocoa-like, coffee-ish undertone. It contains no actual cocoa; the impression is pure aroma, and it goes to desserts, hot and iced teas, syrups and garnishes.
Picking a good onedrag
Just cut, standing stiffLimp, yellowing, slimy
Shop freshEveryday bestThe all-rounder: salads, sauces, yoghurt, drinks.
Leaf colourGreen, a pale lower leaf or two
The bunchSoftening, leaves starting to cup
Cut stemCut end drying brown, stem stiff
Smell when bruisedScent comes when a leaf is rubbed
These cues are Mint's, and hold across its varieties; where this one differs, its own page says so.
Keeping ittap a temperature
A domestic fridge holds it about 6× longer than the counter.
95-100%
Humidity
Vented bag, not sealed
Airflow