Tried & Graded

WITS: a focus mint with saffron

Saffron has good evidence — for mood, over weeks. Not for focus in minutes.

WITS sells peppermint “focus mints” listing 50 mg caffeine, 80 mg L-theanine, 80 mg theobromine and 30 mg saffron. Short answer: we found no trial of the mint. Its caffeine-and-theanine pair has early evidence for a short lift in attention. Its saffron, at the 30 mg most trials used, has strong pooled evidence — but for easing self-reported low mood and anxiety over weeks, which is not what the ad promises.

Related: Magic Mind · energy without caffeine

How the evidence flows

Flowchart for this page: each claim, the studies that tested it and what they found, and the grade that follows. The same studies and grades are listed in full below.

Each claim (middle), the studies that tested it (left) — green found it, red found nothing — and the grade they add up to (right). Drawn from the same records as the grades below. Tap to open full size.

Before you buy

  • Each serving has 50 mg of caffeine — about half a cup of coffee. Count it with the rest of your day.
  • If you take medicine for depression or anxiety, talk to your doctor before adding saffron.