Herb Journal: Poleo Mint

Poleo Mint, what the heck is that? Right? We all know what mint is, but I'm guessing most of you have never heard of this particular species. To start, it's mint. It's really sweet, delicious mint. In the US it grows in the wild in the Southwest; in Southern California, Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado. It is, as most mints are, extremely cooling. Taking it as a tincture is not bad, the one that we were given was only 25% alcohol, which although I like the idea of less alcohol, perhaps took away a little bit of it's potency, I do like my mint strong enough to have that sting, so maybe that's why this tincture is not exactly my favorite, but it does have a great taste, and would be good to add to lemonade, or some sort of iced teas in the summertime. Mint is known for its digestive aid properties, it also just chills you out overall, it is an extremely cooling plant. This cooling nature makes it good for spasms and inflammation, mint is always good to clear the sinuses, and I can feel it making its way down the back of my throat, where there is some stored up mucous from the place I slept last night, which always stuffs me up. It's just yummy, however, in the particular climate that we are in at the moment, it is incredibly brisk and cold out, this herb doesn't seem like something I will be using regularly, as I feel my body getting colder by the moment. One side-note, the poleo mint infused honey that a classmate made was absolutely delicious. I wouldn't have thought to infuse honey with mint, but of all of the concoctions people came up with throughout the course of our class, I have to say it was one of the just purely satisfying edibles to my taste buds that I came across. This is a super idea, for colds and flu especially, or allergy/sinus relief to use this honey in a hot tea with lemon (I'm thinking hibiscus tea...  it would be perfect!)