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All about Ethiopian Berbere, Spice Blend
What it’s like, and how to make it
HeatMedium
CuisineAfrican
Best forBraising, slow cooker, quick weeknight
Goes inSoups stews, curry dal, rice grains
WithLamb, beef, chicken, vegetarian
What’s in itchiles, ginger, cloves, black pepper, cumin, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, garlic, onion, coriander, fennel, fenugreek, ajowan, paprika, sea salt
How to use it
Ethiopia in a jar. Two tablespoons sautéed in butter with onions is the base for doro wot (chicken stew) — the defining dish of Ethiopian cooking. Also essential for misir wot (red lentil stew) and tibs (stir-fried meat). Bloom in butter first — the chiles, cloves, and fenugreek need fat to open up. Mix with oil for a quick marinade on lamb or chicken. The heat is present but balanced by the warm spices.
What’s in it
Every herb in the blend, and where to read about it on its own.
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Spice · Caffeine-free
Chile
Capsicum annuum
Dried chile peppers, whole, crushed or ground — the generic heat in twenty-nine products here, from curry powders to jerk to Tex-Mex. Heat comes from capsaicin and is measured in Scoville heat units; the shop's blends name theirs where the supplier gives a figure. The...
Heat first, then a dry, fruity red-pepper taste; the darker dried chiles run raisiny and the lighter ones bright and tannic
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Herb · Caffeine-free
Ginger
Zingiber officinale
The universal connector — ginger appears in more products than any other ingredient in the collection. The dried root is chemically distinct from fresh ginger: drying converts gingerols to shogaols, which are about twice as pungent, and that is why dried ginger tastes deeper and...
Pungent, warm, slightly sweet, citrusy (fresh); warm, mellow, deep (dried)
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Spice · Caffeine-free
Cloves
Syzygium aromaticum
An unopened flower bud, picked and dried until it looks like a small nail — which is where the name comes from, via Latin clavus. Cloves are the loudest spice in the cupboard: eugenol makes up somewhere between 45 and 90 per cent of the...
Hot, sweet, numbing and medicinal-warm
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Spice · Caffeine-free
Black Pepper
Piper nigrum
The dried unripe berry of a climbing vine — the mill on every table, and the most travelled object in any kitchen. Black, white and green pepper are all the same berry, picked at different moments and treated differently: black is picked unripe and dried...
Warm, woody, resinous and sharp; the bite is piperine, roughly a hundredth as potent as capsaicin
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Spice · Caffeine-free
Cumin
Cuminum cyminum
A small ridged seed with a deep, earthy, faintly smoky smell — cuminaldehyde is the compound doing most of it. Cumin is one of the oldest travelling spices there is, and in this catalogue it is one of the busiest: twenty-three products carry it, which...
Deep, earthy, warm, a little smoky and bitter, with a musky edge
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Spice · Caffeine-free
Allspice
Pimenta dioica
One berry that tastes like three spices — cinnamon, nutmeg and clove at once, with a peppery, woody edge. The English were calling it allspice by 1621 for exactly that reason, and it confuses people to this day: it is a single dried berry, not...
Warm clove, cinnamon and nutmeg at once, with a peppery, woody edge
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Spice · Caffeine-free
Cinnamon
Cinnamomum verum, C. burmannii, C. loureiroi
The inner bark of a laurel tree, peeled, dried and curled into quills. Three different trees are sold under the one name, and the shop carries all three: Ceylon (Cinnamomum verum), the soft, papery, floral one from Sri Lanka; Korintje (C. burmannii) from the Kerinci...
Sweet, woody, warm — Ceylon floral and citrusy, Korintje smooth and familiar, Saigon bold and fiery-sweet
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Spice · Caffeine-free
Nutmeg
Myristica fragrans
The seed of a fruit that also gives us mace — mace is the red lace wrapped around the shell. Nutmeg is warm, sweet and distinctly pungent, and it is one of the few spices where grating it fresh makes an unmistakable difference: whole nutmeg...
Warm, sweet and pungent; noticeably brighter grated fresh than pre-ground
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Spice · Caffeine-free
Garlic
Allium sativum
A bulb, dried and broken down to three different coarsenesses, and the single most common ingredient in this catalogue — forty-three products carry it. Granulated is coarse and blooms slowly in hot oil; minced is visible pieces that plump up in a sauce; powder disappears...
Sweet, toasty and savoury; deeper and rounder than fresh garlic, without the raw bite
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Spice · Caffeine-free
Onion
Allium cepa
Dried onion, in three grinds: granulated blooms in oil, minced rehydrates into pieces you can see, and powder disappears into a dip or a rub. Twenty-seven products carry it. Drying takes 96 per cent of the water out and, with it, the sulfur compounds that...
Toasty, sweet and savoury; none of raw onion's sharpness
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Spice · Caffeine-free
Coriander
Coriandrum sativum
The round, ridged seed of the same plant whose leaf is cilantro — and it tastes nothing like it. Where the leaf is green and divisive, the seed is warm, citrusy and floral, closer to orange peel than to anything herbal. That is why plenty...
Warm, citrusy and floral, a little sweet — orange peel and pepper together
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Herb · Caffeine-free
Fennel
Foeniculum vulgare
A sweet, anise-scented seed — the anethole in it is the same compound that makes anise and star anise taste the way they do, though the three plants are unrelated. Fennel is the sausage seed and the after-dinner seed at once: nineteen products here carry...
Sweet, anise-like, green and warm; toasted seeds pop and deepen
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Spice · Caffeine-free
Paprika
Capsicum annuum
Dried sweet red peppers, ground. It is in twenty-eight products here mostly for colour and body — paprika gives a rub or a stew its red without adding heat, and it carries a soft, sweet pepper flavour that fills in the gaps between louder spices....
Sweet red pepper, no heat, vivid colour; the smoked one adds deep oak smoke
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Salt · Caffeine-free
Sea Salt
Sodium chloride
Seawater, evaporated. It is in twenty-five products here, which understates it — salt is the ingredient that makes every other ingredient taste like itself. Fine sea salt dissolves on contact and is the everyday cooking salt: a teaspoon in a soup pot, half a teaspoon...
Clean salinity with nothing else in the way
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Spice · Caffeine-free
Fenugreek
Trigonella foenum-graecum
The curry spice nobody talks about, and the one that smells like maple syrup. That is not a metaphor: the compound is sotolon, and it is the same thing used to make imitation maple flavouring. Fenugreek is bitter raw and bitter if over-toasted, and turns...
Maple syrup and burnt sugar; bitter raw or over-toasted, sweetening as it cooks
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Spice · Caffeine-free
Ajwain
Trachyspermum ammi
A small, oval, seed-like fruit that looks like caraway or cumin and tastes like neither — bitter and pungent, closer to anise and oregano, and it smells like thyme because it contains thymol. One product carries it. The thing to know before using it is...
Bitter and pungent, like anise and oregano, smelling of thyme from its thymol
What it goes with
Beneath the chile heat, Berbere is loaded with clove and allspice — both share eugenol with our Jasmine green tea. Brew it alongside doro wot for an unexpected floral complement to the warmth. For something bolder that handles the heat, our Assam with milk cleanses the palate between bites.
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Silk Dragon Jasmine, Organic
Regular price From $9.00 CADRegular price -
Assam Estate TGFOP
Regular price From $8.00 CADRegular price -
Masala Chai
Regular price From $9.00 CADRegular price
Reviews
What the time-travelers say
206 of the shop’s 213 reviews are five stars — left by people who actually bought the tea
Write a review
Great products and great service
I had a slight mix up on my order, they were quick to reply and correct my order with no issues. Amazing service and great…
I had a slight mix up on my order, they were quick to reply and correct my order with no issues. Amazing service and great products.
— Nick C. Verified
Great tea
A lovely, delicate tea. The peach is strong without being overwhelming or cloying, and the calendula is a nice addition. Very…
A lovely, delicate tea. The peach is strong without being overwhelming or cloying, and the calendula is a nice addition. Very tasty!
— Zoe R. Verified
Maple Peach
The maple peach is delicious. What a beautiful combination. I will most definitely order it again, and a higher quantity of it.
— Gerda S. Verified
Always handy
I use dillweed often. This dill is fresh and has a nice aroma. I use it in marinades, salad dressings, and on fish. Good stuff.
— Jennifer D. Verified
Great stuff
This has helped my household a lot with circulation and alertness when we had it everyday. Will be ordering again soon. Thanks
— Dave G. Verified
Love this tea. Hands down my fav rooibos. This store is our one-stop-shop for tea and spice. Great service, top notch product.…
Love this tea. Hands down my fav rooibos. This store is our one-stop-shop for tea and spice. Great service, top notch product. 10/10!!
— Erin Poeta P. Verified
Delicious
I love this black tea, it has a really nice smooth flavour and love how it’s Swiss water method decaf. Will be buying again!
— Jessica A. Verified
Great flavorful tea
Toffee Ole is one of our favorite teas to share with friends in the evening, when we want something non-caffeinated but quite…
Toffee Ole is one of our favorite teas to share with friends in the evening, when we want something non-caffeinated but quite flavorful.
— Joel R. Verified
Another full bodied ‘real tea’ . ie It is not a flavoured tea. However, we do very much enjoy the Cafe Latte tea which is a…
Another full bodied ‘real tea’ . ie It is not a flavoured tea. However, we do very much enjoy the Cafe Latte tea which is a flavoured tea!!!
— Ted H. Verified
teas
love , love, love and they shipping is very fast. the headache tea works great, the throat coat tea works great as well
— Miranda A. Verified
4 stars
It worked beautifully; perhaps if I add a little more honey, it would make it better… It is a wellness tea, after all!
— Merrilee B. Verified
Bancha with a splash of lemon
A wonderful Green Tea. Smooth in taste. Also suitable as a summer tea with a splash of lemon. A second infusion makes an…
A wonderful Green Tea. Smooth in taste. Also suitable as a summer tea with a splash of lemon. A second infusion makes an enjoyable second cup!
— Monika F. Verified
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Ingredients
Every plant, seed, bark and salt in the shop on one page — what it is, why it is in the blend, and where it comes from.
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How it reaches you — free Calgary delivery over $60, one flat rate for every province, and what happens if it is wrong.
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