With the increased availability of Fair Trade and ethically sourced cocoa products, it isn’t hard to find excellent chocolates these days—but if you’re anything like me, you just have to try making a batch yourself. With such a variety of ingredient options and applications, how could I not? Luckily the basic recipe isn’t difficult, and it pairs well with a variety of fillings.

The weather is getting cooler, leaves have changed colors, and in some regions the snow has already begun to fall. Family and friends gather to celebrate and reminisce. It’s holiday season! This time is notoriously known for eating a lot of food and drinking your favorite drinks, most of which contain alcohol. If you don’t drink much alcohol or prefer to enjoy an evening without feeling woozy the next day, you can still experience the magic of the holiday season with this maqui berry holiday mocktail.

A fantastic scrub butter like Neroli or Awapuhi leaves the skin feeling moisturized, exfoliated, and loved—these body scrubs are a wonderful way to practice self care! However, for some people (like me), salt- and sugar-based body scrubs aren’t as ideal. No matter how gentle I am, the intensity of salts and sugars rubbed into my skin always leaves me feeling like I lost some epidermis that I actually wanted to keep. This has become truer as I’ve aged. Exfoliation is important for happy skin, but I want a gentler touch these days… which explains my recent quest to perfect a DIY “microderm” body scrub that does a good job, but dials back some of the scrubbing fierceness of sugars and salts.

With the holidays just around the corner, the question on everyone’s mind is, “What can I gift my friends and family with this year?” Fortunately, we have compiled a handy gift guide sure to fit the versatile range of important people in our lives. Hopefully these ideas might also add to the joy of this season with the gift of herbalism as its focal point.

Getting started with creating your own personal care products can be a daunting task. How do we make quality natural products without all the chemical mumbo jumbo? Without time and practice, we realize that it can be a hard project to tackle, so we came prepared! Our new line of natural bases make it easy for you to scent and create your own bath and body products without a doctorate in chemistry! All you need are your favorite essential oils!

In college, I befriended an exchange student from France who arrived in NYC just before fall term. Sonia and I would often meet at coffee and tea shops during our break from classes. After discovering a shared love of baking, we made plans to meet at her dorm and make a quintessential American apple pie together. Since she was French, I entrusted her with the pastry making, and I would bring everything for the yummy apple pie filling. To say I was excited was an understatement.

Most of us are familiar with the ubiquitous black, green, and white teas. Their incredible popularity and immense history make the tea brewed from Camellia sinensis the world’s most consumed beverage (after water of course!).

I have to admit, the concept of this recipe came from an herbal preparation flop. As I was getting ready to hunker down for the colder months ahead, I began my seasonal tradition of making elder berry syrup. Wanting to expand the flavor profile and add a little seasonal boost, I decided to include some rosehips. As it turns out, if you add too many rosehips, your syrup will take on a jam-like texture due to the natural pectin. But all was not lost as it was quite a delicious mishap, and one that I wanted to explore further.

Homebrewing is equal parts science and sorcery. On one hand, it requires having a firm grasp of the chemistry of the process insofar as water, mash, temperature, pH, and other factors have a big impact on your final beer. On the other hand, artful ingredient pairings are just as important, as your choice of malts, yeast strain, and other adjuncts like candi sugar or organic herbs all combine to add an intangible magic to a brew.

Throughout spring and summer, I crave the fresh, creamy texture and flavor of a nourishing matcha latte—first hot, then iced, and then in cooling dessert form. When I discovered homemade matcha ice cream, I wasn’t sure I could take my green obsession any further. But when my friend suggested a mid-July home spa day, and we started brainstorming ideas for herbal tea facials, I found myself thinking about matcha in a whole new way.

With the start of autumn come vibrant red maple leaves, cooler temperatures, and the ubiquitous resurgence of pumpkin pie spice. Our blend of organic and fair-trade ingredients is the perfect way to welcome back the season of sweaters, ciders, pies, and family gatherings.