Max’s Organic mints (from The Netherlands)

If you want fresh breath, a far better idea is simply to carry a tin of organic mints around, just like your grandpa did! Or just hold a slice of cucumber on the roof of your mouth for 90 seconds!

Unfortunately, most stores in England no longer stock them, instead preferring to sell plastic packs of mints. So stock up from The Netherlands with packs of Max’s Organic Mints, sold in sweet little tins (or compostable bags).

Organic mints also don’t give you jaw ache, and are free from pet-toxic sweetener xylitol (in most gums, and lethal to wildlife and dogs, if littered on streets. Unlike chewing gum (use a gumdrop bin, which is also available in a personal size, if you use it).

Another good brand to inspire mint-makers is Vermints (US), again organic and sold in tins. Why with all England’s litter problems, are no makers here offering something similar?

The history of using mints to freshen breath

Mints have been used since Egyptian times to freshen the breath. Usually flavoured with peppermint or spearmint and sweetened with sugar, they were also used as a digestive aid. Greeks and Romans also used them.

The first commercial breath mint was sold in 1780 in London. And during Victorian times, apothecaries began to sell mint-flavoured lozenges to mask the taste of bitter medicines.

The cooling menthol is what makes mint taste fresh, but most brands on sale now contain lots of other rubbish too!