Kaapstad 18°E
Rooibos / Tamarind / Buchu / Mbongo
Rondo / Cabernet Cortis Red
Caramel
In 1652, Jan van Riebeeck and other employees of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) were sent to the Cape to establish a way-station for ships traveling to the Dutch East Indies, and construct the Fort de Goede Hoop.
Located on the shore of Table Bay, Kaapstad (Cape Town) was the first permanent European settlement in South Africa. Cape Town outgrew its original purpose as the first European outpost at the Castle of Good Hope, becoming the economic and cultural hub of the Cape Colony.
Our after-dinner vermouth. Serve at room temperature with cheese and mostarda.
Rooibos
Smoky, sweet, woody, grassy, vanilla, floral, honey, herbal and caramel are just a handful of the words that can describe the flavor spectrum of sipping a rooibos tea.
Rooibos meaning red bush is a scrub-like member of the plant family fabaceae that grows in South Africa’s fynbos. The leaves are used to make a herbal brew that is called by the names rooibos (in Southern Africa), bush tea, red tea, or redbush tea (predominantly in the UK).
The tea has been popular in Southern Africa for generations, and since the 2000s has gained popularity internationally.
Our Wild Rooibos is provided by the London’s Rare Tea Company. It is hand-picked in the Cederberg Mountains, a small area in the region of the Western Cape province. The description ‘beyond organic’ does not do it justice.
Tamarind
Tamarind's flavour varies hugely from sweet and sour, to a tangy yet tart flavour being akin to lemons, apricots and dates.
Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) is a leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is indigenous to tropical Africa. It belongs to family of Fabaceae. The tamarind tree produces brown, pod-like fruits that contain a sweet, tangy pulp, which is used in cuisines around the world. The pulp is also used in traditional medicine and surprisingly as a metal polish.
Tamarind grows wild in Africa in locales as diverse as Sudan, Cameroon, Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia, Somalia, Tanzania and Malawi. In the 16th century, it was introduced to Mexico, Central, and South America by Spanish and Portuguese colonists, to the degree that it became a staple ingredient in the region's cuisine.
The fruit of the tamarind has many medicinal uses; in SE Asia as a poultice applied to foreheads of fever sufferers. The fruit also exhibits laxative effects due to its high quantities of malic acid, tartaric acid, and potassium bitartrate. Its use for the relief of constipation has been documented throughout the world.
Drink up!
Buchu
Buchu has a minty green odour, often unfairly described as sulphurous or catty. It has a woody, blackcurrant-like flavour, with bitter phenolic notes.
Buchu (Agathosma) formally denotes two herbal species, prized for their fragrance and medicinal use despite their toxicity. Many of the species are highly aromatic, and the genus name Agathosma means "good fragrance". Some species of the genus are used as herbal remedies.
Two species of endemic to the Western Cape mountains of South Africa and colloquially referred to as Buchu is cultivated on a commercial basis for their essential oils; Agathosma betulina and Agathosma crenulata. The leaves of Agathosma betulina have traditionally been used as a herbal remedy for ailments of the gastrointestinal and urinary tracts, as it has diuretic and antiseptic properties due to various phenolic compounds. Bottled agathosma infusions were widely sold in English-speaking countries as "buchu tea" in the 1860s and 1870s. Although demand declined in the 1880s consumption has continued to the present day. As of 2012, bottled infusions continue to be prepared from agathosma leaves.
Mbongo
Mbongo is an aromatic seed with a pungent, hot peppery flavor and a slight citrus finish. It is also a little nutty, earthy, and can even have menthol and eucalyptus notes
Mbongo, which is also known as alligator pepper or hepper pepper, is an African spice made from the seeds and seed pods of Aframomum Exscapum. Aframomum exscapum is a species of plant in the ginger family Zingiberaceae. It was first described by John Sims and got its name from Frank Nigel Hepper, the English botanist.
The plants which provide alligator pepper are herbaceous perennial flowering plants of the ginger family (Zingiberaceae) native to swampy habitats along the West African coast. Once the pod is open and the seeds are revealed, the reason for this spice's common English name becomes apparent as the seeds have papery skin enclosing them and the bumps of the seeds within this skin are reminiscent of an alligator's back.
Mbongo spice (and the seeds of alligator pepper) are often sold as the grains isolated from the pod and with the outer skin removed. It is a common ingredient in West African cuisine, where it imparts both pungency and a spicy aroma to soups and stews.
