Printed from smellbook.com/smells/mint. This printout keeps the entry for Mint itself: its description, reference card, Connections, questions, evidence, related smells, record details, states, names and citation. It leaves out your own notes, the map, the lists of paths, routes, stories and fragrance directions, and the lists headed “Also linked to” (other entries that share its place or material) and “Linked from”; they are on the page online. The entries this one links to are still printed under Connections and Related smells.
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Spanish (pilot): Menta · pending native-speaker review · Leer en español (piloto)
A cool herbal-green direction associated with fresh mint leaves and aromatic brightness.
Its type, Source, means the smell is named after “a physical origin that can contribute a smell”; it is not an evidence source, such as a study or a book. The origin page for Mint (the plant, not this smell entry) lists every smell recorded as coming from it.
Mint smells cool, green and herbal, with a fresh, slightly sweet lift that clears the nose. EDITORIAL
Named in the VERIFIED claims about this smell: not a list of what it is made of, and not its cause.
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Links SmellBook records for this entry: what it comes from, where you meet it, molecules, related smells and comparisons. EDITORIAL links are chosen by SmellBook editors and VERIFIED links come from VERIFIED claims. Nothing here is a ranking, and a molecule is not presented as the cause of the smell.
QUESTIONS ABOUT MINT
Mint smells cool, green and herbal, with a fresh, slightly sweet lift that clears the nose. A crushed leaf is bright and lively; a whole plant in the garden is gentler and greener. The cooling impression is soft rather than piercing, and the smell lingers on the fingers. It is close to peppermint, though rounder, greener and less sharp.
It is met in herb gardens and pots on windowsills, in kitchens where leaves are torn into salads, sauces and drinks, and in teas served after meals. Many people link it with summer and freshness.
Typical settings: herb garden, fresh leaves, food and drink.
SmellBook links it to 2 place pages: see them in Connections.
2 VERIFIED scientific claims from 2 published sources are recorded for this entry: Menthol and menthone in peppermint oil and How five mint species differ in aroma. Each claim says only what its source supports, in the scope shown with it.
5 molecules are named in one of these claims, Menthol and menthone in peppermint oil; see the evidence for the role the claim gives them. Each molecule this claim names has only the role the claim states.
Mint is a broad public profile. Peppermint receives its own page because its sharper cooling identity is culturally distinct.
SmellBook records 2 written comparisons with other smells: see them in Connections.
Words that are easy to mix up: Is fresh the same as clean?, How do green and herbal differ? and Is citrus a kind of fresh?
No historical source or heritage record is linked to this entry yet.
Answers marked EDITORIAL are written by SmellBook editors to describe the experience and add no scientific fact. Answers marked VERIFIED point to claims on published sources, checked against each source's own summary where one was available (each claim's page says how); what each claim supports is in its own text and scope.
Scientific evidence · 2 claims
How it is described or perceived
How five mint species differ in aroma
Quantitative descriptive analysis of five mint species found a pronounced lemon-like note in Mentha citrata, citrus and floral aromas in M. suaveolens, a prominent minty flavour in peppermint (M. piperita) and a spearmint-like note in M. spicata and M. persicaria; across the five species, 41 odorants were characterised with odour activity values of at least 1.
Five species compared by a sensory panel and odour activity values; the abstract does not say which plant material was used, and the compounds it names separate the species rather than define each smell.
How this was found: Odour analysis with human assessors. People smelled the separated compounds or the material itself (for example gas chromatography–olfactometry, dilution analysis, recombination or a sensory panel). Source: primary study; sensory or perception work. Studied: five mint species, by a sensory panel and odour activity values.
Jiguang Zhang et al.
DOI 10.1016/j.foodchem.2021.131104Chemistry reported
Menthol and menthone in peppermint oil
GC-MS analysis of the essential oil of one peppermint cultivar identified menthol and menthone as its main components, followed by limonene, menthyl acetate and β-caryophyllene.
One peppermint cultivar ('Kristinka'); composition only, and it does not cover spearmint or other mint species.
How this was found: Chemical composition. Compounds were identified or measured, without any assessment of their odour. Source: primary study; chemistry work.
Ippolito Camele, Daniela Gruľová & Hazem S. Elshafie
DOI 10.3390/plants10081567Each molecule is named by the claim shown after it. Each molecule named here has only the role the claim states. About molecules in SmellBook
Links chosen by SmellBook editors, not a ranking.
Associations can vary strongly by person, place and culture.
PATHS FROM HERE
Each step is a relationship SmellBook editors recorded in the knowledge graph, named as it is published there. Paths are not ranked or personalised, and they do not mean the smells smell alike.
Each step is a molecule that a VERIFIED claim names for both smells, in whatever role the claims state. Sharing a molecule does not mean two smells smell alike.
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WHERE THIS SMELL APPEARS
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IN FRAGRANCE & SPACES
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FOR RESEARCHERS AND EDITORS
Identity, revision history, corrections and how to cite Mint.
CULTURAL: This entry's associations depend on context, language, memory or culture; its description and smell words are editorial. It says nothing about research or historical evidence; evidence for this entry is shown separately: VERIFIED.
How this entry is identified and named, for citing it or matching it with other records.
SmellBook SB-0032 — Mintsmellbook:smell:minthttps://smellbook.com/smells/mintSmellBook. (2026). Mint (revision 4, 2026-10-14). SmellBook Public Atlas. smellbook:smell:mint. https://smellbook.com/smells/mint@misc{smellbook_mint_r4,
author = {{SmellBook}},
title = {Mint},
year = {2026},
note = {SmellBook Public Atlas, revision 4, 2026-10-14, smellbook:smell:mint},
url = {https://smellbook.com/smells/mint}
}TY - ENCYC ID - smellbook-mint-r4 TI - Mint AU - SmellBook T2 - SmellBook Public Atlas PY - 2026 DA - 2026/10/14 ET - revision 4 UR - https://smellbook.com/smells/mint N1 - SB-0032; smellbook:smell:mint; resolver https://smellbook.com/id/smell/mint ER -
The citation names revision 4 of 2026-10-14, so a reader can tell exactly which version was cited. Citing records what was read; it does not grant a licence.
Mint is a broad public profile. Peppermint receives its own page because its sharper cooling identity is culturally distinct.
Other entries whose editors linked to Mint:
Added VERIFIED evidence through source intake.
Created 2026-09-22 · Updated 2026-10-14Dataset history In the SmellBook dataset since the first of three dataset releases of 2026-09-30.
No correction notices published for this entry. Corrections policyEVIDENCE MATTERS
SmellBook separates cultural association, community perception, verified evidence, prediction and experimental relationships rather than presenting them as the same thing. Read the evidence guide ↗ See the evidence coverage report ↗