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THE MINT SITUATION Words Nathan Kramer
The following is a confession: I have developed a ‘thing’ for mint syrup. There are quite a bunch of those aluminium bottles with the greeny, gooey, sticky, funky fresh liquid staring at me from the fridge. Not to even mention the bulk bottle staring down from the countertop, judgingly. My friends had gotten air of this and given me beakers with mint leaves and what not at parties. I’m not complaining.
So what led to all this? A bit of digging reveals that it might have been my high school chemistry book to blame: one exercise specifically mentioned the drink as a way to teach about concentration: a little too much syrup and “you’d feel disgusted”.
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There is, however, a slight catch. Mint syrup is not available on the Dutch market yet. Sure, there might be ‘lemon-mint blends’ or ‘virgin mojito specials’, but those are but feeble simulacra of the Green Giant’s nectar and taste nothing like the real thing. No, this green stuff is something more of the French-speaking countries. But surely, there must be a way to get mint syrup somewhere in the Netherlands? Well, there are import options to consider, such as getting it via a detour through electronics shops, but spending €7 on a single bottle of toothpaste broth feels like a bit of a waste. However, I found out that the most cost-effective way of getting the stuff is to simply know who in my social circle is in French territory at points in time. Trade routes were established, bottles passed under tables during lectures, paper cups were filled. My parents were one of the first to get in on the stuff with me: the bottles started coming in more and more regularly. One per month at first, two, six. At a
