What mint or candy has the best tin?

August 23, 2023 1:32 PM

I want to accumulate a bunch of small tins such as Altoids come in for a craft project. What mint or candy has the best/largest/most sturdy tin? Mints are preferred bc I like to eat them. Eagerly awaiting your recommendations. Size is a factor, as is aesthetic value.
posted by bq to Shopping (27 answers total)

Best answer: When I was little I thought the La Vie fruit candy tins were the height of luxury and class. If I ever got my hands on one I saved it to put my treasures in.
posted by phunniemee at 1:42 PM on August 23, 2023 [7 favorites]

Best answer: This is where Europeans defeat Americans, e.g., Marabissi cookie tin; Antonio Mattei biscotti; Rabitos Royale; D. Barbero torrone tin; Sweetestambul Turkish delights; lebkuchen (American entry). This list has as many round talls as flats, admittedly. Ines Rosales had a neat rectangular gift tin in the past couple of years at Christmastime; maybe it will recur. In general, you're likely to see more fancy tins at the holidays.
posted by praemunire at 1:50 PM on August 23, 2023 [6 favorites]

Best answer: Also some of the Economy Candy mints selection may take your fancy. These are smaller than the ones in my previous comment (I wasn't sure whether "size" meant you wanted bigger or smaller).
posted by praemunire at 1:52 PM on August 23, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Seconding La Vie and European brands in general. Abbaye de Flavigny ("Les Anis de Flavigny un bien bon bonbon" in several flavors, including mint) has some neat oval tins. You can bulk purchase blank mint tins in different shapes and sizes for projects, too.
posted by Iris Gambol at 2:00 PM on August 23, 2023

I don't know exactly what you're looking for in a tin, but Altoids have a really legendary hinged tin that has been repurposed for ages.
posted by hippybear at 2:04 PM on August 23, 2023 [1 favorite]

Oh, while I'm pro-candy, eBay & Etsy have vintage product tins (mints, candies, cough drops, makeup, typewriter ribbon) in lots, in a variety of shapes and sizes, with some pretty striking designs.
posted by Iris Gambol at 2:05 PM on August 23, 2023 [1 favorite]

I mildly collect altoids tins, wish I'd snagged more when more cool tins were available. Mini altoids are a nice size, too. an old laptop hard drive magnet will secure a tin to the back of a license plate in case that's useful. Would love to hear about the project.
posted by theora55 at 2:18 PM on August 23, 2023

They're probably mostly extinct now, but do you remember film strips from early school years? A lot of the early years of those came in metal cans. They've likely mostly been lost to school purging across the decades but they're nice little cylindrical cans if you can find any.
posted by hippybear at 2:24 PM on August 23, 2023 [2 favorites]

Best answer: With this question, I just learned of the tragic demise of Maple Ice Mints, which I purchased several years back in Friday Harbor, Washington. The yummy blueberry ones, in the blue wood-effect tin. I liked the tin so much I put some magnetic tape on the back so I could have it on the fridge. Maybe Etsy or eBay would have a tin.

Now, I'd have to go with Grether's Pastilles. Best cough quencher ever, too.
posted by jgirl at 2:45 PM on August 23, 2023

Best answer: Hint Mint is known for their collectable tins.
posted by dobbs at 2:54 PM on August 23, 2023 [1 favorite]

Pipe tobacco tins can be pretty handsome, and I bet you could find some vintage ones on eBay or similar.
posted by Ted Maul at 3:16 PM on August 23, 2023

Best answer: I love the tins that Rescue Remedy pastilles come in.
posted by xedrik at 3:16 PM on August 23, 2023 [1 favorite]

I also wish we had a little more clarification on use case or preferred shape. But I guess all tins are good for something, so I assume you're intersected in all good tins!
If you have Aldi access, their butter cookie tin is a classic large round size and shape, but much less expensive than the other stuff that comes in "sewing kit" sized tins.
https://www.aldi.us/en/products/snacks/cookies-sweets/detail/ps/p/bentons-danish-butter-cookie/
posted by SaltySalticid at 3:26 PM on August 23, 2023

If you're in the US, I think this is what Trader Joe's was made for. Fancy flavors, fancy tins.
posted by atomicstone at 4:31 PM on August 23, 2023 [1 favorite]

I like the Newman’s Own candy tins that look like Altoids but cooler (dragons, goats, etc)
posted by music for skeletons at 5:38 PM on August 23, 2023 [3 favorites]

Yeah, too bad you don't want the square tallish Altoids tins, I have a serious long habit and have simply scores and scores of them. More useful for nuts and bolts sort of things that you dump out when you need them than opening up to peek/poke around inside though.
posted by zengargoyle at 5:58 PM on August 23, 2023

Best answer: A friend gave me a tin of mystifying mints, I loved the tin so much I've made it into a wee sewing kit
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 7:01 PM on August 23, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Leone's violet candy drops.
posted by virve at 7:14 PM on August 23, 2023

Best answer: The Vermont Country Store does retro candies and cookies etc. Many come metal boxes of various sizes.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:13 AM on August 24, 2023

Best answer: If you're looking for cute pictures, the Unemployed Philosopher's Guild has a dizzying array of wee mint tins.

Jones Soda makes a carbonated candy that comes in a tin with an usual tall form-factor.

VerMints come in tins that are a little smaller than regular Altoids tins. (Also they are tasty.)

If you would like to skip the eating-the-candy part and are okay with plain tins, you can buy empty tins from a packaging company.
posted by BrashTech at 6:22 AM on August 24, 2023

Best answer: SMINT mints from Europe have vertical hinged metal tins of various flavors, including XL and XXL sizes.
Wrigley's has some Eclipse mint and vintage Doublemint / Juicy Fruit gum and Lifesavers candy tins that you may be able to find on Ebay.
As mentioned above, Trader Joe's has/d windowed mint tins of different flavors like chai and green tea as well as more standard rectangular and round ones of organic pepper/gingermint.
If you're willing to expand to tea, Adagio has custom tins.
posted by eyeball at 6:37 AM on August 24, 2023

Amarelli liquorice tins would be ideal if you don't despise liquorice like I do. There are lots of variants.
posted by guessthis at 9:55 AM on August 24, 2023

Response by poster: These are a delightful array of suggestions and I will probably spend much too much on candy to evaluate all these possibilities.

The project is assembling first aid kits with individually wrapped bandaids, medications, ointment, etc. Altoid tins are about the right size for this - the idea is it can be thrown into a purse or a glove box. Trader Joe’s mint boxes are slightly smaller which makes everything tighter - ideally I’d find something just a little bit bigger than Altoids.

As these are intended as gifts, the more awesome looking the tin, the better. Thanks all.
posted by bq at 1:08 PM on August 24, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: bq, I've used a metal cigarette case for that purpose, because the clips inside keep small items from shifting (and/or spilling out upon opening). If the ideal candy container for doesn't turn up, attaching elastic bands inside the Altoids tin might help organize supplies? A standard Altoids case has a 1.76 oz candy weight; looking for candies sold in hinged, flip-open tins in greater weights unearthed vintage Altoids whoppers and, from Simpkins, mints in a round "travel" tin (3.86 x 3.78 x 1.54 inches). One would hope the lid would close securely on version marketed for travel, but it's hard to tell and some brands listed above use similar containers with simple lift-off tops.
posted by Iris Gambol at 5:17 PM on August 24, 2023 [1 favorite]

Great idea and gift.
posted by theora55 at 10:46 PM on August 28, 2023 [1 favorite]

It's also worth asking if anyone has been saving unrecyclable tins they want to give away, on buy nothing or a neighborhood group. You never know what people have around and would be happy to share.
posted by blueberry monster at 1:01 PM on September 10, 2023

Response by poster: The project is complete! An image of the final product and contents is available here.

The winningest tin for both price and capacity is Myntz! Breathmints, available at Trader Joe’s for a reasonable price, the same size as Altoids tins, but smooth.

Contents: tweezers, folding scissors, safety pin, various size bandaids, antibiotic ointment, Benadryl, tiny screwdrivers, and tiny flashlight.
posted by bq at 8:26 PM on December 5, 2023 [2 favorites]