Peppermint, spearmint, and the other mints are rather unique, like wine and coffee the attributes and flavor of mint will vary from region to region. For example, peppermint from the Willamette Valley in Oregon is very different from peppermint grown in Yakima, Washington. Willamette peppermint oil is very light and airy in taste and smell, while Yakima oil is more pungent and herbal.

We source our oil from a variety of locations, both domestic and foreign. Our primary sources for U.S. peppermint essential oils are growers in the Pacific Northwest. We also import oil from India, and several other overseas locations.

One of the most common uses for our peppermint oil is as a flavoring for oral care products and confectionery products, such as gum and some candy. Additionally, our dried mint leaves are used in tea products.

Throughout history mint has been used for a variety of purposes, including medicinal, as a preservative, and as a deterrent for certain pests. Additionally when mint oil comes in contact with human skin it creates a cooling sensation.

Core Botanica was founded in 1993 by the founders of Essex Laboratories and Tea Master Barry Cooper. Core Botanica operates independently of Essex Labs but remains in cooperative alignment with Essex. They are the leading dry mint leaf exporter in USA. Core Botanica has extensive propagation abilities and has access to a number of proprietary mint varieties, with unique tastes and high oil contents. Core's quality of leaf meets the most stringent legal requirements of the European Union.
The company stays current on all legislative and regulatory changes in the U.S., EU and Asia. The management team of Core Botanica consists of experts preeminent in their respective fields.

Essex Essentials is our proprietary breeding program; we have built a unique library of thousands of peppermint and spearmint varieties to serve as stand-alone products as well as novel component-elevated specialty oils. These varieties (varietals) come from hybrids of the most vigorous and productive breeds, from the optimum climate and soils for mint production globally.
These varieties (varietals) function as a core capability for us in replicating other breeds, providing us with an undeniable edge over every other source of mint.

Originally trademarked by the H.G. Hotchkiss Essential Oil Company in 1839, the founder of H.G. Hotchkiss was known as the “Father of the Peppermint Industry” and as the “The Peppermint King”. H.G Hotchkiss oils won seventeen Prize Medals at World Expositions. Hotchkiss peppermint oil was declared, by German chemists, as the purest and best tasting peppermint oil in the world. H.G. Hotchkiss continued to make their peppermint oil until they were bought by Wm. Leman Company in 1982, who continued to make the oil. In 2003 Essex Laboratories acquired the formulation and rights to Hotchkiss from Wm. Leman Company. This makes Hotchkiss the oldest trademarked and continually produced essential mint oil recipe in the USA.

Essex Labs oversees the analysis of raw peppermint and spearmint oils on a component and sensory level. Additionally, it handles the creation, blending, and compositions of new oil formulations.