This is a mint that is best grown in a large pot as it sends out root runners out that will take over your herb bed. All mint is invasive, and needs to be treated as such. The leaves taste best before it has flowered so pick the leaves when needed and use them straight away. They also freeze well. To extend the season, cut down mint plants before they flower to make them produce fresh young growth that you can carry on picking.

If pot grown, it is best to pull the roots to pieces in early spring and repot healthy bits of root in fresh compost. Otherwise, you end up with weedy, virus prone plants.

The mint tea that is popular across North Africa is made by steeping green tea with mint leaves; invariably offered to guests and visitors, Moroccans drink it throughout the day and evening.