Puremint Chocolate Creams

Puremint Chocolate Creams. After Dinner Mints with a fondant centre from Summerdown.

Puremint Chocolate Creams are filled After Dinner Mints from Summerdown, with a soft peppermint fondant centre encased in dark chocolate and made with mint oil from the farm’s own fields in Hampshire. No thin mint thins, no milk chocolate, no sweets.

Puremint Chocolate Creams are After Dinner Mints from Summerdown, made with a Black Mitcham peppermint oil fondant centre and a dark chocolate shell. After a long menu, the same question always arises. Dessert is too much, nothing feels quite finished, and coffee alone leaves the palate feeling heavy. In England, this has been solved for decades with a box of mint creams served with coffee. One cream per guest, and the evening has a clean finish. Summerdown’s creams are that solution, made with mint grown on the farm’s own fields.

Soft centre, bitter shell, long cool finish

Puremint Chocolate Creams taste of light, sweet fondant and dark chocolate at the same time, united by a peppermint that infuses both layers. The shell gives way quickly and cleanly, then the centre follows. It is soft, not runny, and melts at the same rate as the chocolate.

The fondant makes up the majority of the cream, and therefore it is sweeter than the house’s thin mint thins. The dark chocolate with its bitter cocoa balances this and prevents the sweetness from lingering. Black Mitcham brings a coolness that is more reminiscent of fresh leaves than chewing gum. It lasts long after the cream has melted.

In the 200-gram box are round creams the size of a one-euro coin, each individually placed. The shell is thin, the centre light and smooth. An enzyme called invertase keeps the fondant soft by slowly breaking down the sugar into glucose and fructose. This is why the centre is creamier after a few weeks than on the first day. This is common and intentional with fondant chocolates.

Anyone expecting mint chocolate without a sugar centre will find the creams too sweet. The fondant is their essence, not their flaw. Anyone who wants it more bitter will find the dry version in the thin peppermint thins from the same farm. Both together on a plate show how far an aroma can be stretched.

Chilled with coffee, cubed in the mousse

Puremint Chocolate Creams show their contrast best from the fridge, when the cold centre stands against the melting shell. Take the box out ten minutes before coffee. One cream per person is enough for an espresso or a strong filter coffee without milk. It is equally suitable for an afternoon Earl Grey, because the bergamot picks up the mint. At room temperature, the centre becomes softer and the cream sweeter. Both have their admirers.

For a quick dessert, cube four creams and fold them into 250 grams of whipped cream with a spoonful of cocoa. Chill for one hour and serve in glasses. In a mousse au chocolat, two creams replace the mint from the bottle, because their fondant blends with the chocolate as it melts. If you have guests, place one cream on each saucer. This finish needs no more effort.

They pair with anything with roast or bitterness. An espresso, a dark roast filter coffee, a glass of port or an amaro. A dessert wine is not suitable, as its sweetness doubles that of the fondant. Anyone who prefers tea after a meal should choose a strong Assam without milk.

From experience: The creams are not suitable for hot dishes. The fondant dissolves in warm sauces and makes them crystallise. They are also not suitable for baking, as the centre runs in the oven. They are made for the coffee table, and that is where they are best.

The mustard family that came to mint

Sir Michael Colman comes from the family whose name stands for mustard in England. In the 1990s, he was looking for a new, strong flavour. On a trip through the United States, he tried oil from the Black Mitcham variety, an English peppermint that had disappeared from its homeland. He took cuttings back to Hampshire and began growing it on a tiny plot. By his side was Ian, whom the farm still calls its mint master today.

Black Mitcham grows more slowly than modern varieties and places high demands on soil and care. The first years brought little harvest and many questions. Today, the plants cover around 28 hectares, and the farm works regeneratively, with crop rotation and soil building instead of artificial fertilisers. The oil is distilled on the estate and then stored in barrels. This maturation takes the sharp peaks out of the mint. Summerdown is certified as a B Corporation and won the BBC Food and Farming Award in 2022.

For the creams, the matured oil is added to the fondant and the chocolate. Both layers carry the same aroma, which is why the cream feels seamless rather than like a centre with a coating. The shell consists of dark chocolate with at least 55 percent cocoa, drawn so thin that it protects the centre without dominating it.

The English classic that needs no explanation

After Dinner Mints are as self-evident in England as espresso after a meal is here. Summerdown’s creams are the version with mint from the farm’s own fields. Anyone who puts them on the table needs to say nothing. The box explains itself. And unlike the well-known supermarket brands, there is a manufacturer behind this one who grows, harvests, and distills the mint themselves.

As a guest gift, it is suitable for an invitation where the host takes care of dessert and you still want to contribute something. For a dinner with eight people, one 200-gram box is enough for two rounds. Anyone who wants to gift the full range of the farm will find four varieties in one box in the Ultimate Mint Collection. Other manufacturers with dark varieties can be found under Chocolate.

Bring the English finish to your table, and the question of dessert will never arise again.