I'm pretty sure anyone trying an experimental terminal-based e-mail client has already tried mutt. Personally, the flow never suited me. I'll probably give aerc a try soon.

i used mutt for many years. i even used to hang out with mutts creator. but when i discovered sup with its tag based virtual folders and the ability to keep state in multiple buffers at once i never looked back. i'll look at aerc and meli once they support notmuch...