Chocolate mint is said to have a flavor and smell like a York Peppermint Patty (the chocolate coated mint candy:). It is to me just a stronger flavored peppermint. It is not available as seed as is no cultivar of mint. Mints cross very easily which is why if you have more than one variety of mint don't let if flower and go to seed as the seed will often propagate and often will not have the best of the two strains involved with the cross. A muddled flavor is the most common result. As to where to get cutting types of mint you should be able to google chocolate mint and get several mail-order options. Park Seed sell cuttings types of several mints as one example I can think of off the top of my head. There may be a nursery close by (not a big box as these will often have only seeded types of mints but a real traditional type nursery (getting rarer these days with all the big box competition). Hope this helps,as this is all I can think of at the moment Good Luck and Happy Growing David

It makes a great tea, 1 teaspoon dried chocolate mint to 1 cup hot water. You can also infuse it in cream or milk and then use that in a recipe. So, if you were making a chocolate ganache to go on a cake, warm the cream with 1 tablespoon of the dried chocolate mint until just under a boil. Turn off heat and let it sit for 1/2 hour or so, strain the mint out. Then, use the infused cream as the recipe instructs. You could also flavor vodka with chocolate mint. Put a bunch of dried chocolate mint into a clean canning jar and then fill with vodka, making sure the entire bit of mint is covered at least by an inch of vodka. Wait 2-3 weeks, strain and enjoy.

Common names do you no good, you need the scientific name. Here are some examples of scientific names: Melissa officinalis, Lemon balm Mentha x piperita, Peppermint Mentha spicata, Spearmint Mentha arvensis, Wild mint On Wikepedia, I see Chocolate mint listed as a cultivar of Mentha x piperita. The "x" means it is a cross, and peppermint was a cross between a wild european swamp mint, Mentha aquatica, and Mentha spicata. Chocolate mint is a botanical cultivar of Peppermint. That means the breeders noticed certain peppermints with a hint of chocolate smell and bred those plants specifically. But it is not different enough from Peppermint to be a whole other species. Common names are easy for a lay person to use, but often don't tell you very much about the plant, it's origin or it's cultivation. Here is a link that might be useful: Peppermint on Wikipedia

Here is one that Maryel posted on another forum a few weeks ago. I have made it twice and we love it. It is really so simple to make. Tarte Tatin á la Tomate Tomato Tatin from Chocolate & Zucchini: Daily Adventures in a Parisian Kitchen by Clotilde Dusoulier As someone who cherishes words just as much as food, christening my dishes is an important part of my cooking pleasure. I like to make sure that the name is simple although I occasionally lapse into fancy restaurant style just for the fun of it and that it hints at the composition but retains an element of fun or mystery. One of the naming tricks I favor is using a dessert name for a savory course, and vice versa. It gives the dish a playful persona, and points out the many bridges that can be crossed between the sweet and the savory. Pâte Brisée; alternatively, you can use a sheet of uncooked store-bought puff pastry, thawed according to package instructions if frozen. FOR THE FILLING Extra virgin olive oil 2 pounds Roma or plum tomatoes (substitute any other firm and not too juicy variety) Fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper Herbes de Provence (or a mix of dried rosemary, basil, oregano, and thyme) 1/4 cup black olive tapenade, store-bought or homemade 6 ounces fresh goat cheese 1/3 cup (loosely packed) fresh basil leaves Serves 8 as a starter, 4 as a main course. Chilling time: 30 minutes for the dough This tomato tart is a glorious example: the tomatoes are topped with goat cheese and tapenade and cooked under a layer of pastry in classic tarte tatin fashion. This allows the filling to bake softly without drying out, and provides a bit of an adrenaline thrill when you have to flip the tart on a serving platter dont worry, it will slip right out. 1. Prepare the Pâte Brisée. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes, or up to a day. 2. Preheat the oven to 350̊F and grease a 10-inch ceramic quiche pan with 1 teaspoon olive oil. 3. Halve the tomatoes lengthwise and core them. Run your thumb in the hollows of the tomatoes to remove the juice and seeds. Arrange in the pan, skin side down, in a circular pattern. You can crowd them a little; they will shrink as they bake. Season with salt, pepper, herbs, and a good drizzle of olive oil. Bake for 30 minutes, until softened. Remove from the oven (leave the heat on). 4. Remove the dough from the fridge and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. Working on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough in an 11-inch circle and prick all over with a fork. Spread with tapenade, leaving a 1-inch margin all around. 5. Cut the cheese in 1/3-inch slices and arrange over the tomatoes in the pan. Lay the dough, tapenade side down, on the cheese, and tuck in the overhanging flaps of dough. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the crust is golden. 6. Let cool for a few minutes on a rack. Run a knife around the crust to loosen. Put on your best-looking oven mitts, cover the pan with an overturned serving plate, and flip the whole thing carefully. If some of the tomatoes stick to the bottom of the pan, just place them back on the tart where they belong. Serve warm or at room temperature. Just before serving, snip or tear the basil leaves and sprinkle over the tart. VARIATIONS: Instead of tapenade, spread the dough with onion confit, anchovy paste, or pesto. Instead of goat cheese, use slices of buffalo mozzarella, drained and patted dry with paper towels.