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Here's why your Thin Mints taste different depending on where you live
(Flickr/Marit The Girl Scout cookies you enjoy every year might taste different if you've moved since the last time you ate them. That's because t he Girl Scouts use two different bakeries to distribute the cookies.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the Thin Mint cookie that's "crunchier, with more mint than chocolate" comes from Virginia-based bakery ABC Cookies. The cookie with " a distinct peppermint taste" is produced by Kellogg's Little Brownie Bakers located in Louisville, Kentucky.
Since the cookies are coming from two different bakeries, the taste and appearance will naturally vary due to slight differences in the recipe and ingredients available to the bakers, a Girl Scouts of the USA spokesperson told Business Insider.
Most of the U.S. gets its cookies from Litte Brown Bakers, but major cities like Boston, Philadelphia, Houston, and Orlando are getting cookies from ABC Cookies. The L.A. Times created this interactive graphic that lets you search by ZIP Code to see which version of the cookies you're eating.
Here's a look at the cookies produced by each baker:
(Screen grab/Amanda Macias/Business Insider)
Regardless of the baker, Thin Mints carry the same name wherever they are sold unlike their cookie counterparts "Samoas" which are called " Caramel deLites," by ABC Bakers, and "Tagalongs," which are called "Peanut Butter Patties," by ABC Bakers. Three other cookies, called "Do-si-dos," "Trefoils," and "Savannah Smiles," by Little Brown Bakers are called "Peanut Butter Sandwich," "Shortbread," and "Lemonades," by ABC Bakery, respectively.
So, why do the Girl Scouts have two different bakers to produce two different types of the "same" cookie?
Because the annual cookie operation is massive.
Each year, Girl Scouts sell about 200 million boxes, which equates to $800 million worth. The most popular cookie, Thin Mints make up 25% of the entire sales, which is $200 million.
"Having more than one baker allows us to have greater production capacity to support the Girl Scout Cookie Program,"a spokesperson told Business Insider.
"During our busiest point in the season, our bakers make about 9 million Thin Mints daily."
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