Colonial Remedies No. 3 - PeppermintPeppermint 20 Teabags Quickens the Occasional Absent Minde (Increases Alertness)* Description: The smell of Mint doth stir up the minde, and the taste to a greedy desire of meat. (The Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes (1597) J. Gerard). A good posie for students to oft smell. It quickened the brain. (Herbs and Herb Lore of Colonial America). Peppermint was carried to the New World by European immigrants, where it escaped and grew in the wild.