Have you ever been so acclimated to something that when a
newer, fresher, tastier option came around, you didn’t know what to think. “This
is what I’ve been missing all along?” you’d say to yourself as you consider the
artificial concoctions you used to eat.
I’m not just blowing smoke here; that’s how I felt when I
bit into a Seely Mint Patty. For years I’ve settled with the sometimes chalky
texture of mint patty fillings. I’ve unwrapped plenty of mint chocolates in my life
just to be disappointed with the factory-made quality that would just barely
satisfy my after-dinner sweet tooth.
This is not the case here, folks.
Every year, Seely Mint Farm in western Oregon transforms into
a candy factory as its kitchen team busily handcrafts a range of all-natural
mint confections, including hand-rolled candy canes, chocolate mint patties,
white and dark chocolate mint melts and peppermint bark.
The chocolate is melt-in-your-mouth amazing, and the mint is
something like I’ve never tasted. It’s fresh and real and screams “this is the
quality you’ve been missing.”
Mike and Candy Seely, third-generation Oregon mint farmers,
never dreamed of being in the candy business; In 2007, however, the demand for
their all-natural essential mint oil used for toothpaste, chewing gum,
mouthwash and perfume was shrinking because global manufacturers took to less
expensive synthetic flavoring options.
"We needed to create new uses for the mint oil before
we lost everything," says Mike, whose family began growing heirloom Black
Mitcham variety peppermint and spearmint in the early 1940s.
In 2008, Mike and his wife, Candy, made chocolate mint
patties to show customers at the farmers market new ways to use the fresh mint
oil. They became a hit, but customers didn't want to take the time at home to
make them from scratch; they wanted the quality delights the Seely’s were
making themselves.
As word of the mint patties spread, local stores in the
Pacific Northwest added the confections to their shelves. It’s transparent
sourcing that’s winning over the customers who continually tell Mike and Candy
they care about what's in their food.
“Our mint confections are all natural in an industry that is
saturated with artificial flavor variations of mint in toothpaste, chewing gum
and candy," says Mike.
If this is the real deal mint, I’m sold.
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