Formosa 121°E
Star Anise / Sesame / Mandarin / Honey
Solaris White
Black Rice Syrup
The island of Taiwan also commonly known as Formosa, was partly under control by the Dutch Republic from 1624 to 1668.
In the context of the Age of Discovery, the Dutch East India Company established its presence on Formosa to trade with the Ming Empire in neighbouring China and the Tokugawa Shogunate in Japan.
Makes a superb martini with good quality gin and a twist of lemon. Otherwise, stack a tall glass with ice and top up with tonic water.
Star Anise
Star Anise has a very strong, distinct flavor that is sweet, warm and spicy. similar to licorice, fennel seed, clove, and obviously aniseed.
Star Anice (Illicium verum) is a medium-sized evergreen tree native to southwest China. It also contains a highly fragrant oil used in cooking, perfumery, soaps, toothpaste, mouthwash, and skin cream.
Star Anise contains anethole, the same compound that gives the unrelated anise its flavor. It has recently become a less expensive substitute for anise in baking, as well as in liqueur production, most distinctively in the production of the liqueur Galliano.
Star Anise greatly enhances the flavour of meat, and as a result, is widely used in Chinese, Malaysian and Indonesian cuisines, as well as French recipes such as vin chaud (mulled wine).
Sesame
Sesame seeds have a slightly sweet, nutty, taste and aroma which is enhanced by toasting.
Sesame (sesamum indicum) is a flowering plant in the genus Sesamum. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cultivated for its edible seeds which grow in pods.
Sesame seed is considered to be the oldest oil-seed crop known to humanity, having been domesticated well over 5000 years ago.
Sesame has one of the highest oil contents of any seed, and with a rich, nutty flavor, it is a common ingredient in cuisines across the world.
East Asian cuisines, such as Chinese cuisine, use sesame seeds and oil in many dishes. Sesame flavour (through oil and roasted/raw seeds) is also used to marinate meat and vegetables.
Mandarin
Mandarin oranges have a spicy vanilla component in their flavor profile. They also have a strong, fresh citrus aroma. More subtle than the fruit's citrus aroma are the nutty, woody, and floral notes.
The Mandarin Orange (citrus reticulata) is a small citrus tree fruit. Treated as a distinct species of orange, it is usually eaten plain or in fruit salads.
Mandarins are thought to have evolved in regions including South China and Japan. Mandarins appear to have been domesticated at least twice, in the north and south Nanling Mountains, each derived from separate wild subspecies. Wild mandarins are still found there, including Daoxian mandarines.
In traditional Chinese medicine, the dried peel of the fruit is used in regulation of ch'i and to enhance digestion.
Honey
Honey can be floral, fruity, smoky, woody, spicy, nutty or earthy. It can smell fresh as grass or pungent like aged cheese. It can look nearly clear as water or dark as molasses.
Honey is a sweet, viscous food substance made by honey bees. Bees produce honey from the sugary secretions of plants (floral nectar) or from secretions of other insects. Bees store honey in wax structures called honeycombs.
The main uses of honey are in cooking, baking, desserts, as a spread on bread, as an addition to various beverages such as tea, and as a sweetener in some commercial beverages.
Possibly the world's oldest fermented beverage, dating from 9,000 years ago, mead ("honey wine") is the alcoholic product made by adding yeast to honey-water must and fermenting it for weeks or even months.
