“Take it back inside and give it back to the man at the counter.”

My mom looked at me pointedly. Tears welled in my eyes. I clutched a box of Junior Mints, a box my mother knew the cashier hadn’t seen and she hadn’t paid for. I was four.

“That’s called stealing,” Mom said. “Take it back in and say you’re sorry.”

I did. To this day, I pay for every box of Junior Mints I consume. Looking back, I’m not sure what made me choose Junior Mints that fateful day. Maybe it has something to do with the glossy chocolate coating and how it encapsulated a perfect, creamy mint center. A retro candy staple first released in 1949, Junior Mints were my first mint love. Now that I’m older, I love garden mint body spray, mojitos, and any combinations of mint and chocolate I can find. Junior Mints were my candy gateway to all things mint.

They certainly don’t seem to compare to the other candies I preferred when I was a child. I loved bright, colorful, fruity candies, sweets so chewy they tugged at fillings. I fell for gimmicks, like special candy I could squeeze from a tube or wear around my wrist. But Junior Mints didn’t have to look cool. They tasted cool.

I’ll never forget them, because they taught me a pretty valuable lesson. Just because you can easily swipe a box of Junior Mints without paying doesn’t mean you should do it. Thanks, Ma (and delicious Junior Mints).

• Junior Mints website

Buy Junior Mints online:

• at Old Time Candy
• at Candy Crate
• at Candy Direct
• at Amazon

junior mints, mint, chocolate