Organic Christmas Chai Spice Mix - Steenbergs - 40g

Food lovers aka foodies are those people who simply love to eat. They often love to cook and bake as well. But be aware, they won't eat anything. Foodies often focus on the best quality foods and the best cooking ingredients. So when you want to offer them a gift, let it be the best foods you can find. Foodies will appreciate a Christmas hamper filled with organic produce, vegetables and fruits, whole foods, organic nuts, fermented foods, quality condiments and pickles, organic olive oil and premium herbs and spices. What to add to a foodie Christmas hamper? Here's the list of products you can be assure, a food lover will love! Rare whole foods & grains Wild rice, freekeh, kasha Wholegrain pasta & noodles wholegrain pasta in different shapes, Italian pasta, Japanese noodles Organic oils & quality vinegars Organic olive oil is always great gift option for a foodie. The best organic olive oil available on the market are Greek olive oil and Portuguese olive oil. There are also some speciality rare oils such as pumpkin seed oil, hemp oil, avocado oil, sesame seed oil and peanut oil as well as a good quality Balsamic vinegar will make a perfect addition to a foodie hamper. Organic nuts Organic almonds, macadamia, pistachios, chestnuts, whole walnuts Organic dried fruits Medjoul dates, dried Mediterranean figs, dried apricots, organic prunes, sultanas Premium herbs and spices Organic herbs: organic oregano, organic Basil, organic rosemary, organic bay leaves, organic thyme, organic sage Organic spices: Ceylon cinnamon, cinnamon sticks, organic black pepper, star anise, cardamon, organic chilli, chilli flakes, Harissa paste, varieties of miso, green, red and yellow curry paste, tandoori Salt Pink Himalayan salt, Kala Namal - black salt, Sea salt, Flor de Sal Pickles and fermented foods Kimchi is many flavours, sauerkraut in different versions, beetroot pickles, cucumber pickles, kombucha Organic tea & coffee Matcha powder, organic roasted coffee beans, 100% Arabica coffee beans, organic green tea, organic Earl Grey, fruit infusions, hibiscus flour

A warm drink ritual best accompanies cold winter evenings. Whether it's a cup of tea, coffee or hot chocolate, it always makes you feel good. As we are approaching the Christmas holiday season, perhaps it's time to consider adding some spices to your drinks. A nice cup of chai latte or a glass of mulled wine is the perfect pairing with sofa time or fireplace in the evening. What is mulled wine? Mulled wine is sweet, warmed red wine mixed with winter spices such as cloves, cinnamon, and citrus fruit peel. There is a mulled wine tradition in nearly every European country where it's particularly popular during Christmas time when the nights are the longest. This is when people like to gather on Christmas markets and enjoy a cup of this warming drink while outside watching festive decorations and enjoying Christmas songs and special treats. Mulled wine goes by many names, like glögg in Scandinavia, gluhwein in Germany and Austria, vin chaud in France, and grzane wino in Poland. These days you can buy it in many supermarkets, but it is also easy to make at home. What do you need to make mulled wine at home? When making mulled wine at home, you need to prepare a large pot and a bottle of some good wine. The wine should be fruity, slightly sweet and not too dry. You can also add some extra vermouth - which will add some bitter-sweetness. The essential ingredients are the Christmas spices, so your mulled wine is intense in flavour. What spices do you add to mulled wine? To make delicious mulled wine at home, you need: dried lemon zest, dried orange zest, cloves, Ceylon cinnamon sticks, dried ginger, brown sugar, star anise, whole allspice. Homemade Mulled Wine Recipe 1 bottle of red wine 1 cup of sweet vermouth 1 cup brown sugar 1-2 lemon zest (or dried orange peel) 1-2 orange zest (or dried lemon peel) 12 cloves 4 cinnamon sticks 4 dried ginger pieces 4 cardamon seeds 4 star anise 10 whole allspice Method: In a large pot, mix all the ingredients. Simmer gently for about 15 minutes until the sugar dissolves in the liquid. Remove the spices and dried fruit before serving. Drink warm!

In the UK, the sound of a whistling kettle is a national comfort. We are conditioned to wait for that 100C click before we pour. While this high thermal energy is necessary to break down the heavy tannins in a robust Black Breakfast tea, applying the same temperature to Green Tea is a chemical error that results in a bitter, unbalanced brew. At Whole Foods Earth, we prioritise the raw integrity of our leaves. To appreciate them, you must understand the thermal kinetics of extraction—the science of how heat moves molecules from a leaf into your mug. The Molecular War: Tannins vs. Catechins Every tea leaf contains a complex library of polyphenols. The two most important for your sensory experience are Catechins and Tannins. Catechins (The "Good" Stuff): These are the antioxidants, specifically EGCG (Epigallocatechin gallate), that provide the sweet, "umami," and grassy notes of green tea. They are delicate and soluble at lower temperatures. Tannins (The "Bitter" Stuff): These are larger, more complex polyphenols. They provide "astringency"—that dry, puckering sensation on the tongue. They require high thermal energy to break their bonds and enter the water. The 80C Threshold When you pour boiling water over green tea, you aren't just "brewing" it; you are performing an aggressive chemical extraction. The high heat forces the tannins out of the leaf far too quickly, overwhelming the delicate catechins. Scientifically speaking, you are scorching the leaf, denaturing its volatile aromatic compounds before they can reach your palate. Thermal Kinetics: The Solubility Curve Solubility—the ability of a substance to dissolve in a solvent (water)—increases with temperature. However, not all compounds in a tea leaf have the same solubility curve. At 70C - 80C: The water has enough energy to dissolve the sugars and catechins, but not enough to fully "unlock" the aggressive tannins. This results in a bright, sweet, and complex cup. At 100C: The kinetic energy of the water molecules is so high that it aggressively pulls everything out of the leaf at once. This leads to over-extraction, where the bitterness of the tannins masks the sophisticated botanical profile of the tea. Bioavailability and Heat Beyond flavour, there is the matter of bioavailability. Many of the health-optimising polyphenols in green tea are heat-sensitive. Subjecting them to boiling water can cause them to degrade, potentially reducing the antioxidant capacity of your brew. By using a lower temperature, you are preserving the molecular structure of the EGCG, ensuring your body gets the full benefit of the plant's chemistry. Practical Physics for the British Kitchen Most standard UK kettles only have one setting: "Boil." You do not need a laboratory-grade digital kettle to fix your brew. You simply need to understand a bit of heat transfer: The "Lid-Off" Rule: Once your kettle boils, open the lid and wait for approximately 2 to 3 minutes. This allows the water to drop to the 80C range through evaporative cooling. The Cold Splash: Add a small splash of cold water to your mug or teapot before pouring in the boiling water. This "tempers" the water, instantly lowering the average thermal energy. A high-quality, whole-leaf green tea is a living product. Treating it with the correct thermal kinetics isn't about being a "tea snob"—it's about respecting the biology of the plant and ensuring you aren't literally "boiling away" the benefits.