Summerdown Farms

At the start of the 20th century, England was famous for producing the best mint in the world — the French still call peppermint menthe Anglaise, or English mint. Over the years, pressure to grow food crops and the cost of labour brought a decline in cultivation, leaving the US to become the centre for commercial production.

Summerdown's mission to reintroduce this traditional crop began in the mid-1990s as part of a trend towards authentic food created for its quality and character.

We felt the food industry was selling its customers short by offering cheap peppermint oil blends that feature harsh-tasting imports from China and India — and we were sure that, once people experienced the clean, intense taste of pure English mint, they would appreciate the difference.

This is mint as your grandparents and great-grandparents would have known it!

Fresh, smooth and bright, the taste has been lost for generations. It is very different from the harsher, blended, imported peppermint of recent decades. To discover what you've been missing, you can order our award-winning chocolates, tea and oil here or find them at leading retailers worldwide.