Since this past summer, I've become somewhat of a mint connoisseur. If I see a tin of mints that I haven't tried yet, I buy it. By doing this, I've discovered that there are many variables that contribute to the mint experience.
I've tried many, but I'd like to physically have the mints when writing my review. Right now, I have some Starbucks mints that I bought at the gallery above Market East station in Philadelphia, but are available at any Starbucks.
Starbucks sugar-free Vanilla after coffee mints:
I feel bad that I'm not trying them after drinking coffee. I don't really see why it's necessary, though. I like them. Small, white, 1/2 centimeter diameter. With mints this small, I have 2 or 3 at a time. They taste like solidified vanilla flavored cream. Delicious. Non-mint flavored mints usually just taste more like candy and don't actually affect my breath, but these actually do make my breath smell like vanilla, and they aren't overly sweet. At $2, they're a little more than other mints, but definitely worth a try.
Starbucks sugar-free classic peppermints:
More of a traditional mint that the vanilla mints. The box design is irritating. It slides open, like most do, but there's a thick sheet of wax paper on top of the single layer of mints inside the sliding tin. I guess it's to keep mints from accidentally falling out, because you have to lift it up a little to get the mints, which is annoying. When I just now tried to open it, the paper got stuck, and the tin wouldn't slide open. I had to forcefully slide it, tearing the paper in two and leaving a little in the very back for me to fish out because I don't want a random piece of paper in my tin making weird noises when I open it. The mints themselves are basically altoids, except without the chalk-like consistency. They're extremely strong mints, which is strange considering their large size (about 1 cm diameter). I don't enjoy having it in my mouth. The tin, besides having the above complaints, is larger and much thicker than a credit card, and feels awkward in my pocket. The mints themselves don't taste good. Overall, they're very disappointing. If you have the $2 that this would cost, spend it on the vanilla mints instead.
EDIT: I tried the After Coffee mints after I had Coffee yesterday. They actually are better.
