Spearmint EO

Latin name :

Mentha spicata

Botanical profile :

Mint is a perennial herbaceous plant belonging to the Lamiaceae family and the genus Mentha.

Geographic origin :

India and the USA (mainly Idaho and Michigan) are currently the main producers and exporters of mint essential oil in the world, followed by China, Egypt, Japan and Brazil. In recent years, Australia has also grown and marketed this species of mint, although the olfactory quality has not yet been aligned with that of other producing countries.

Chemotypes :

There are more than 30 varieties of mint, all of which grow in the temperate and subtropical regions of the globe.
In perfumery, it is possible to find several of these varieties that can be grouped according to their major components:
The Carvone mints: Spearmint EO (Mentha spicata), horse mint EO (Mentha longifolia).
The Menthol mints: Peppermint EO (Mentha piperita), Corn Mint EO (Mentha arvensis).
The Pulegone mints: Pennyroyal EO (Mentha pulegium).
The Linalool mints: Bergamot Mint EO (Mentha citrata), also called ''Eau de cologne mint ''.

Spearmint is olfactorily the greenest and the most alimentary. It is also used for crossings, giving birth to peppermint, associating it with the so-called water mint (Mentha aquatica). Mint is one of the plants with the easier hybridization: planting two mints side by side is enough to create a new variety.

Extraction process :

Mint draws its essential oil from its leaves. When growing, it is usually possible to make two harvests on each foot. The plants are mown right before they bloom, and dried for 2 to 4 hours.
The essential oil is extracted by steam distillation for about 2 hours. It is collected in an essencier by decantation, at the refrigerant outlet, with a yield of about 0.5 to 0.8%.

Major Components :

L-Carvone (60-70%)
D-Limonene (15-20%)
Myrcene (≈2%)
Beta-Caryophyllene (≈1%)
Dihydrocarvone (≈1%)