OUR INGREDIENTS

We try to keep our ingredients as natural and holistic as possible. Many were used as ancient medicines.

Allspice is a dried unripe berry from the Pimenta dioica tree that tastes like a combination of clove, cinnamon, pepper, and nutmeg. It provides a warmth of flavour.

Apple Peel Powder is dehydrated apples peels which are ground into a powder. The peel of an apple contains 6x more antioxidants than the flesh. Besides vitamins, it can also help maintain blood sugars and is an excellent source of fibre.

Bergamot adds a hint of acidity and sweetness. The beauty of this plant is seen in its colourful buds. It is grown across the world, including Canada, from where we obtain ours. When used as a supplement, Bergamot can help lower blood glucose, reduce inflammation, and help prevent cardiovascular disease.

Black Ceylon leaves produce the woodsy base of some of the infusions. It starts out sweet and can have a spicy bitterness.

Black Peppercorns are picked before the berry is ripe and are slightly hot with a hint of sweetness. They can have multiple health benefits including providing vitamins and minerals, preventing constipation, and providing antioxidant properties.

Blue Cornflower, also known as Bachelor’s Buttons, adds a mild hint of acidity and sweetness. More than taste, it is known for its intense and beautiful colouring.

Brazilian Pink Peppercorns are brighter and fruitier than black peppercorns. Their tree is part of the cashew family. Providing a flavour that is slightly sweet and mild with floral undertones, they have disinfectant, antiseptic, and diuretic properties.

Cinnamon is the juicy inner bark of the Cinnamomum tree which is then dried. Cinnamon can be sweet, woody, smoky and spicy.

Cloves are buds of the evergreen and are sweet, bitter, and astringent. They can be used to counterbalance sweetness and provide warmth to a flavour combination. They are an antioxidant, and can support liver health and regulate blood sugar.

Coarse Sea Salt is usually unrefined from a sea or ocean, so contains traces of other minerals. It can enhance infusion flavours by interacting with taste receptors to decrease bitterness and intensifying sweet, sour, and umami flavours while leaving its own distinct taste.

Dehydrated Apples add a subtle flavour that balances sweet and acidic. Apples contain fibre and are high in antioxidants but contain sugar and carbs.

Dehydrated Garlic is often sweeter than fresh but can also have a sharper and more intense flavour. It may lose some of its nutritional value during the drying process but still contains minerals and vitamins. It also helps to keep vampires away.

Dehydrated Lime is a more intense flavour than fresh lime. It is fermented, tart, and refreshing. As with any citrus fruit, it can elevate immunity.

Dehydrated Orange Peels are more mellow and less sweet than fresh oranges while still providing vitamins C and A to help the immune system.

Dehydrated Pineapples blend sweet and tangy sensations to create a refreshing tropical experience. Pineapples are high in vitamins, manganese, and fibre.

Dill Weed is the leaves of the dill plant. It has a distinct slightly sweet and liquoricey flavour. When dried, it loses some of the grassiness of fresh dill, but the anise becomes more prominent. Dill is an excellent source of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

Freeze Dried Jalapenos are more concentrated than fresh. Removal of water during the freeze-drying process creates an intensity to this small pepper. Jalapenos have a green pepper flavour that ranges from 2500-8000 Scoville Heat Units.

Fukamushi is a green tea sencha that is steamed longer than traditional senchas. This green tea boasts an umami (deep ocean) flavour and is characteristic of southern Japan. It differs from sencha in the deepness and intensity of steaming leaves. This leaves a more sweet, rich, and bold, but delicate flavour.

Ginger is warm, invigorating, fiery, and unmistakably spicy. It has been used for years in ancient medicines to help with gastrointestinal maladies.

Gold Sprinkles may not be natural, but they are sweet, and add colour and fun.

Green Cardamom is native to southern India. The pods each have 8-16 seeds, and both the pods and seeds share the same flavour. Their flavour is punchy, citrusy, spicy, and a bit minty. It can also aid digestion.

Lapsang Souchong is a tea from southeast China and is made from Camelia Sinensis leaves that are smoked over pine wood. Its unique aroma and flavour is smoky, dry, and spicy.

Longjing (translated to Dragon Well) is a Chinese tea that is rumored to have been named for a well with dense water. After a rain, the rainwater floated on the surface and the resultant movement resembled a Chinese dragon. The leaves are distinctly flat and green, while the flavour of Longjing has a subtle sweetness which can be slightly nutty.

Maple Chunks are made from maple syrup, a Canadian staple. The flavour is sweet with notes of vanilla, nuts, and spice.

Nutmeg is the seed of the Myristica evergreen tree, while mace is the seeds’ covering. It has a warm, sweet taste with hints of pine and cloves. It can be used in desserts or savoury dishes.

Peppermint Candy is a sweet treat often consumed around Christmastime. It contains sugar and artificial flavours but is eye-catching and decorative in many desserts. The oil in the peppermint is refreshing and cooling.

Peppermint Leaves have a high menthol content with pungent top notes and spicy undertones. It is a hybrid of spearmint and watermint. Its health benefits include improved digestion, headache relief, clearance of respiratory passages, decreased anxiety, and fresh breath.

Pickling Spice is a combination of whole and broken spices and has a mellow flavour which helps to cut the acidity of vinegar in recipes. Ours contains mustard seed, coriander, bay leaves, dill seed, fenugreek, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, red pepper, black pepper, and sunflower oil.

Pu-erh is fermented tea leaves from the Yunnan province of China. After the leaves are picked, they are briefly tossed in a wok to halt oxidation, and then sun-dried over years/decades. The flavour is earthy, nutty, smooth, and woody, with a sweet aftertaste. It can help to control blood glucose levels.

Pumpkin Seeds have a subtle nutty flavour. They can be slightly sweet or bitter. They are a good source of protein, healthy fats, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. We use pepitas, which are pumpkin seeds without the shell.

Red Pepper Flakes are made from a variety of crushed chilli peppers. The flavour is fiery, pungent, hot, and sharp. They have anti-inflammatory properties and contain vitamin C.

Rosehips develop on a certain rose plants after their petals have fallen. They taste sour and tart, similar to a cranberry. There is a high vitamin content although some is lost in the drying process. They have long been used in First Nation cultures for medicinal purposes.

Spearmint Leaves have been used since at least the first century AD and can be found in ancient mythology. The lance shaped leaves are usually stemless. The flavour is sweet and cool, and is more subtle than peppermint.

Star Anise is the seed pod from an evergreen shrub in southwest China. They are picked before they are ripe and then allowed to dry in the sun. Each pod averages 8 points, each of which can contain a seed. It has a potent liquorice taste and can be used as an antimicrobial or an anti-inflammatory.

Vanilla Bean orchids are difficult to grow. Progressing from a green seedling to a dried brown stalk involves sun-drying during the day and sweating at night.  The flavour is marshmallowy, sweet, and bold. They are known to contain properties of mood elevation, including libido.

White Vinegar Powder is 12% acetic acid and contains maltodextrin to make distilled vinegar into a powder. It is acidic and subtly sour and is used to balance flavours in a recipe.

WARNINGS

Some of these infusions can interfere with electrolytes, blood thinners, blood glucose levels, diuretics, and irritable bowel syndrome.

Should not be used by children or pregnant/breastfeeding women.