Kombucha – Slow Food in a Bottle

Daily Organics

Kombucha has become a popular source of gut probiotics but not all kombuchas are created equal. I talked to one of New Zealand’s leading organic kombucha-makers about the differences. Since 2013, sixty-nine commercial kombucha-brewers have appeared in the marketplace. Thirty remain with only two big certified organic players left (both from Australia) plus New Zealand’s […]

How to Make Kimchi

Theresa Sjoquist

Not only is kimchi delicious but it’s a probiotic that is great for gut health. I talked to two kimchi makers to find out how to make this moreish crunchy pickle. Kimchi is a traditional Korean condiment made from fermented vegetables and has a history dating back more than 3000 years. In the old days […]

Sweet spice – Vanilla from Tonga

Heilala Vanilla

Photos: Copyright Heilala Vanilla On 31 December 2001 the island of Vava’u in Tonga was struck by Cyclone Waka. In winds of 190 km per hour, tree trunks snapped, houses were reduced to matchsticks, and crops destroyed. From that destruction however grew something sweet. This is the story of Heilala Vanilla. Today Heilala Vanilla is […]

Beauty and the Feast

Theresa Sjoquist

A passion for our natural heritage, an imaginative artistic vision, and some determined scrounge-hounding has resulted in the destination café that is Eutopia, in Northland’s Kaiwaka. Here’s to checking the coffee and finding out what’s behind the scenes. First opened in 2001, Eutopia Café had fallen into disrepair when Marijke Valkenburg and her husband Robert […]

Ethics in a cup

There’s a fair bit of hoopla involved in creating your morning cup of coffee, as IncaFé’s Joop Verbeek explains. When you choose a brew of certified organic and Fairtrade wake-up juice, you also contribute to the creation of many jobs, strong communities, and actively help sustain the planet. Ensconced in the Taranaki port city of […]