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Summer in the Tri-Cities smells like menthol. The Columbia Basin is hot, arid and generous, and the river that carves through it feeds some of the finest mint fields in the world. By July the farmers here are deep in harvest, eager for the bounty of a season's hard work.
We've known these fields a long time. Steve Smith began working with Columbia Basin mint farmers in the 1970s, back when the region grew plenty of mint and none of it went into tea. Oregon and Washington peppermint and spearmint were prized for their higher-than-average oil content, and nearly all of it was distilled for chewing gum and toothpaste. Then a tea-loving hippie drove a rickety truck down I-84, knocked on a farmer's door and the American mint tea market was born.
Peppermint is a natural hybrid of spearmint and watermint. It carries the boldest expression of menthol, the compound behind that unmistakable cooling sensation. Spearmint runs sweeter and softer. Its signature comes from carvone rather than menthol, which is why it reads as gentle and green where peppermint reads as brisk and bracing. Same family, two distinct personalities. The Pacific Northwest grows both beautifully.
This July, our tea and sourcing teams visited the Basin for the first cutting of the season's peppermint. There are typically two harvests. The first is lighter, brighter and fresher than its late season counterpart. By October the summer sun has concentrated the oils in the leaf, creating a richer, deeper, more potent flavor profile. Both are exquisite.
We had the great fortune of spending time with the people who cultivate and nurture the crop we are, perhaps, most proud of. Peppermint tells a story of the Pacific Northwest that we Teamakers feel to our core. This region is resilient, courageous and deeply devoted to its agriculture. Blanketed by grey skies and rain for nine months of the year, summer is our time to shine. That is precisely what PNW peppermint does best. It outshines everyone else.
From left: Sara, Product & Innovation; Kait, Strategic Tea Sourcing Specialist