An In-depth Look at What Mint and Menthol Really Are

What Exactly is Mint?

Mint, as we’re sure you know, is a family of plants that grow in the form of herbs.  Mint is frequently used for culinary applications, and members of the mint family are often turned into essential oils that are used for a wide variety of purposes.

The mint family includes lavender, peppermint, spearmint and wintergreen. We’re all familiar with the cool and refreshing taste of mint by now, aren’t we? This unique flavor is often found in vape juices because of its ability to balance out richness, bitterness, sweetness, and tartness.

What Exactly is Menthol?

The mint plant boasts a wide variety of chemical compounds, but menthol is the compound for which it is best known.  Menthol is the chemical compound that gives mint its unique coolness.  Menthol is commonly isolated and extracted from the mint plant and used in medicines and beauty products because of its ability to provide a cooling sensation on contact.  In its isolated form, menthol exists as a crystal.

Menthol, like mint, is frequently added to an e-liquid.  However, menthol, unlike mint, has no flavor.  That’s because the mint plant’s flavor molecules have been removed in the process of extraction.  When you extract menthol from the mint plant, all that you have left is a chemical compound that creates a physical sensation of coldness.

How are They Used in E-Liquids?

Both mint and menthol are frequently found in e-liquids, and while they are similar in terms of origin, they produce different effects.  As we explained earlier, mint is a flavor.  Therefore, adding mint to an e-juice recipe provides a minty taste.  However, the mint that’s used to flavor the juice does not contain menthol, and, therefore, it won’t provide the cooling sensation that menthol provides.

Menthol, meanwhile, is found in many e-liquids. Menthol-flavored juices cool the throat when the user inhales, and many find this sensation uniquely refreshing and invigorating.

Many vape juices combine these two ingredients, but they aren’t used interchangeably, because one is a flavor while the other is a sensation.

Also, it’s worth noting that not all e-juices contain authentic menthol or authentic mint.  There are many imitation extracts out there that companies may choose to use.

What Happens When You Add Menthol to an E-Liquid?

Adding menthol to an e-juice will make the vapor feel cold as it moves along the mouth, down the throat, into the lungs and back out again.  When you add menthol to a freebase juice, it has the ability to refresh the vaper as though a cool breeze were passing through them.  It also increases the throat hit a little bit, which many users enjoy.

Adding menthol to a salt nic e-liquid intensifies the throat hit even further because of the unique way in which nicotine salts behave.  For this reason, menthol salt-based vape juices are extremely popular.

What Happens When You Add Mint to an E-Liquid?

Adding mint to any e-liquid will intensify its flavor profile while providing a uniquely refreshing note.  With a nicotine salt e-juice, the mint will be very prominent because of the way in which this style of vaping intensifies certain flavor notes due to the wattage level and coil resistance level.  With a freebase juice, mint will be a little more subtle, but will still be noticeable and enjoyable to anyone who is a fan of the flavor.