Clove

Aromas of bourbon vanilla !

Clove has a punchy sharp yet fresh attack with enchanting flavours of menthol, camphor and eucalyptus. The heat and texture of clove means it can withstand the heat of infusions and cooking. Be careful not to cook it for too long though as this may make the aromas too strong. Perfect with: chocolate desserts, lamb stews, soups, beef stews and mulled wine.

Cloves come from the dried flowers of the clove tree.

This tropical tree from the Myrtaceae family comes from the Moluccas archipelago in Indonesia. Over the centuries, the tree has been introduced to South America, Africa, India and Asia. Traces have even been found on the ground of a burnt down kitchen in on the Mesopotamian site of Terqa in Syria dating back to 1700 BC.

In 3rd century BC Chinese courtiers chewed cloves to refresh their breath before meeting the emperor. Cloves were introduced to France in the 18th century by the French agronomist Pierre Poivre who retrieved some plants from the Moluccas islands whilst the Dutch tried to monopolise the spice trade. The flowers are picked by hand when the buds turn slightly red. Cloves are then then dried in the sun on mats and moved around to avoid fermentation before being graded and sorted by hand.