ESSENTIAL OILS & ESSENTIAL OIL PRODUCTS

Who is Peppermint Jim?

James A. Crosby, better known as Peppermint Jim, is the fourth generation of Crosby mint farmers and artisan distillers who grew upon the Crosby Mint Farm in St. Johns, Michigan. The farm was established in1912 by his great-grandfather.

Mint farming in the US quickly made its way from the East Coast to the fertile soils of the Midwest in the early 1900’s. Wrigley stood at the cradle of the once booming mint industry in America; the oil was in high demand for the candy industry and our country was, at one point, the world’s top producer of mint oils.

The Crosby Mint Farm was established during this high tide. Located in the heart of Michigan, in the small town of Saint Johns, dubbed “Mint City USA”, J.E. Crosby Sr. bought land in 1912 after losing his dairy farm in Dayton, Ohio to a flood. Michigan’s rich muck soil became home to many mint farmers after the turn of the last century.

During the 30’s and 40’s there were 60 mint distilleries in a 20-mile radius, and it was said that during harvest season in late July and August, one could see smoke circling from the mint steam distilleries, fueled by wood and coal, in all four directions and smell the sweet aromas for miles away.

Then the Mint industry changed its roots

Gone are the days of simple farming & distilling. Most of those farms had to make way for highways, factories, shopping malls, (GMO) cash crops and housing. Mint has become monopolized, and very few independent farms exist anymore. Corporate brokers have a hold on the world’s mint oil production.

Essential oils are picked apart, and the various chemical components – such as menthol and camphor – are sold to the cosmetic, confection and pharmaceutical industries.

Often, they will synthetically reproduce the components they take out of the essential oil, and add it back in, to create a “pure oil.” There’s virtually no labeling restrictions, as mint is considered a flavor product, and only 51% of the oil has to be pure to be labelled so. These altered oils have a very limited shelf life and have the potential to cause allergies, adverse reactions and have lost most of their therapeutic benefits.

At Peppermint Jim, we have been distilling oils since 1912 and we are proud to say that not a whole lot has changed in a century. From the field, to the barrel, to the bottle, to you – we’re a part of the whole process.

When you buy our products, you know you are not only buying quality, but you are also supporting an American grown and made farming operation. We work hard to bring you the best mint essential oils, mint products, and fresh mint ...