A speciality coffee flavour note across London.
Spearmint in speciality coffee presents as a cool, clean herbal freshness rather than the sharp intensity of peppermint, often sitting alongside floral or bright citrus notes in the cup. It tends to feel lighter on the palate than other mint expressions, with a gentle sweetness that can make a coffee feel particularly refreshing when brewed as a filter. This character is generally linked to specific aromatic compounds, particularly linalool and certain terpenes, that develop in high-altitude beans with naturally high acidity and are preserved through lighter roasting.
Spearmint notes are typically associated with washed Ethiopian coffees, particularly those from high-elevation growing regions where slow cherry development encourages complex aromatic compounds. Kenyan coffees processed using the traditional washed method can also exhibit a similar herbal freshness, often appearing alongside blackcurrant or tomato-leaf qualities. Natural and anaerobic processing methods can occasionally amplify these herbal notes, though they are more consistently found in cleanly washed lots where the bean's inherent aromatics are not obscured by fermentation-derived fruit characteristics.
On a bag or cafe menu, spearmint is often listed alongside descriptors such as jasmine, bergamot, green tea, or lime zest, which tend to appear in the same flavour family. Looking for coffees described as having herbal or floral qualities at a light roast level is a reasonable starting point. Pour-over and filter methods such as the V60 or Chemex tend to highlight this note well, as they preserve delicate aromatic compounds that can be lost in higher-pressure or higher-temperature brewing.
Take our 60-second flavour quiz and discover roasts across London that are aligned with your palate — including ones carrying spearmint notes.