Afon Mêl - Heather Mead

Regular readers at The Amazing Blog will know, we can’t resist trying a new tipple! If you like us, you thought that honey was something reserved just for your tea and toast, then think again...  Let us introduce you to a honey-based wine, which we found to be so delicious that it rivalled even our most favourite of dessert wines. We’re talking about Afon Mêl’s Heather Mead, whose outstanding pedigree won a 3-Star Great Taste Award in 2019.  You can also see here the video of the judges sampling their Heather Mead here.

Afon Mêl is a family-run honey farm, founded by the Cooper family in 1995 in Ceredigion, Wales. They produce five types of raw honey all which have a unique flavour from the wildflowers from the cwms (a steep-sided hollow) and hedgerows which surround their rural farm. Their bees particularly love the blossoms from sycamore, hawthorn, willow trees, as well as the heather, rosebay, willowherb, clover, blackberries and many more. From one of their special raw honey comes the distinctive flavours that give their Heather Mead its original and characteristic taste.

Mead is made by fermenting honey and water together, this beverage has long earned heritage brewed by monks through the middle ages, and it’s thought to be the oldest alcoholic beverage in the world. Also known as honey wine, mead has been around for millennia with mead makers, sometimes being called ‘mazers’.  The word honeymoon originates from the early tradition of the drink being given to newlyweds. Mead’s been expertly crafted for generations and is mainly responsible for making the Welsh famous and the process of making mead takes place over two year period in order to perfect. One of the key factors in making this beverage is to ferment it at ambient temperatures during the summer months allowing it to mature

Beautifully designed in a slim and elegant bottle, the Heather Mead elixir is golden in colour and fermented using their heather honey which gives a rich almost sherry-like finish.  It’s not a sweet as you might imagine, and they say that it has a slightly smoky taste from the heather. We found it easy to drink (perhaps a little too easy!) and it paired well with pudding or cheese.  Apart from the Heather Mead, Afon Mêl also produce a variety of other flavoured meads including the rather delicious sounding Welsh Chocolate Mead and  Welsh Raspberry Mead. If you’re interested in trying an exciting new tipple, then Heather Mead is for you. The Afon Mêl- Heather Mead is 13% Vol and available in four sizes; we tried the 37.5cl which retails for £11.50 here. We can’t recommend this enough and are certainly tempted to buy a few more bottles of their other Meads and raw honey too.

Necta & Hive - Red Gum Unpasteurised Honey

How about a bit of Latin to kickstart the brain cells today? Eucalyptus Camaldulensis to be exact, for that is the Red River Gum Tree which gives us - with the help of an amazing colony of hard-working busy bees, the truly delicious Red Gum Unpasteurised Honey from Necta & Hive. In a world where some of our favourite things are being added to, or having bits taken away, it is so refreshing to open a pot of this wonderfully lusciously thick liquid that is unadulteratedly pure. The temptation for us at The Amazing Blog is to simply stick a finger in and devour the whole pot! This is a danger that has to be resisted as this is a honey from the serious shelf in the larder, primarily because it is considered quite rare owing to the unpredictable nature of it’s production. The flowering intensity of the Red River Gum Tree varies, and therefore the amount of pollen the bees can collect from the delicate creamy leaves is changeable from year to year.

However, the resulting nectar is well worth waiting for, as it contains naturally occurring powerful antioxidants, flavonoids, known for their anti-inflammatory health benefits. The numerical TA rating of active honey indicates the strength of the antimicrobial potency of the honey. This 10+ TA Red Gum Unpasteurised Honey has medium antimicrobial activity and healing properties to maintain good health. The fact it also tastes delicious is the molten icing on the cake.

We tried out three recipes using this jar of sweet wonder from the suggestions on Necta & Hives website here - waffles doused in the golden potion with blueberries sprinkled on top clinging to the viscous liquid; and a pear mocktail which of course proved a very popular choice here. Clearly this honey is a versatile addition to any well-stocked cupboard.

Necta & Hive pride themselves, quite rightly on sourcing the very best honeys to bring to the market place, it isn’t simply a matter of tickling the taste buds favourably, but also ensuring the provenance of each product. The purity of their honeys is paramount, with attention paid to the exact location of the apiaries, often in remote and protected places, making sure that they are located away from pests, chemicals and other contaminants. Each batch is regularly tested by an accredited laboratory to measure Total Activity levels (this one has a TA of +10), ensuring the integrity of the honey. For further details of the whole Necta & Hive range, visit here, where there are countless more recipe ideas too. To purchase you own pot of yummy Australian Red Gum Unpasteurised Honey see here it is £30 for a 250g pot, and a little really does goes a long way.

Friday Favourites: Body Care Products

When The Amazing Blog did a quick beauty poll amongst some friends, it seems that body care products are something frequently overlooked. We all take great care to moisturise our faces, but what about our poor hard-working bodies? Today we have reviewed some of our #amazingfinds for the body, which we hope will tempt even the most sceptical or lackadaisical among you.

Let’s begin with Lavera, a brand that we know and love (see here for more). Lavera never fails to live up to our expectations with their 100% certified organic ingredients, all of which are dermatologically proven, vegan and with all the free-froms. We like a good multi-tasker and with their Firming Body Milk we have found just that. Not only does it help to moisturise, but it also works to firm up the skin too. Lavera claims that when used every day, there will be a noticeable difference in your skin texture within two weeks – quite a claim, but one we can justify! Gently fragranced, the use of key ingredients, organic green coffee bean and green tea, help to stimulate the skin, for a soft and smooth finish. On the other hand, the use of rosemary and grape help to leave skin feeling silky-soft. It is lightweight to use and absorbs quickly, thankfully leaving no sticky residue. They suggest exfoliating first (Lavera has a rather lovely Smoothing Body Scrub) and applying daily. Whether you’re looking for body firming or not, we really liked the fragrance, feel and texture. Sensibly priced at £10.95 for a 200ml tube , it is available here.

Next, we have CeraVe’s Moisturising Cream, an impressive hyaluronic acid and ceramide based barrier cream, suitable for use on both the body and face, and gentle enough for eczema-prone skin. What are ceramides, I hear you ask; they are lipids that not only help to form the skin’s barrier and retain moisture but also protect against environmental pollution. This body moisturiser is particularly suitable for anyone with dry or very dry sensitive skin. CeraVe is a US brand developed in tandem with dermatologists, they have over 70 products to offer and what makes their product unique is their revolutionary delivery system: MultiVesicular Emulsion Technology (MVE). This technology releases moisturising ingredients over a 24 hour period, layer by layer, to help keep skin soft all day long. Ingredients are not natural, but they are fragrance free, non-comedogenic and hypoallergenic. CeraVe are also quick to point out that they have received more Seal of Acceptance awards from the National Eczema Association than any other brand, which makes them a very tried and tested brand. Available from Boots or Superdrug, this is an economical product, £8.50 for 177ml.

Our third body moisturiser is from the award-winning British brand PHB (Pure Handmade British) Ethical Beauty which is stuffed to the gunnels with delicious superfoods. This 2-in-1 Hand & Body Moisturiser has had us all cooing and oohing. We’ve been long-standing fans of PHB Ethical Beauty and have reviewed several of their products (and we hope many more) - see here. So when given the opportunity to try their new Hand & Body Moisturiser – we leapt at the chance! This brand is very special with 20% of their profits going to The OneLove Foundation (founded by PHB Ethical Beauty in 2015). All their products are made with ethically harvested and responsibly sourced ingredients that are 100% natural, vegan, cruelty-free and alcohol-free (Halal certified). They call this a “no-nonsense moisturiser” and we couldn’t agree more. It absorbs quickly and comes with a list of simple, natural and certified organic ingredients that perform; it feeds the skin with a pure and powerful blend of mango, shea butter, apricot and pumpkin seeds – we love both the fragrance and simplicity. It is available on the PHB website here for £16.60, in a 150ml recyclable tube.

Our final discovery are Liquid Body Washes from Fil Blanc (meaning “white thread” in French), perhaps best known for their high-quality Hammam Turkish cotton towelling (we have our eye on their multi-coloured hand woven bath robe). The brand’s inspiration is taken from Mediterranean luxury living, with a touch of bohemia thrown in. Fil Blanc is based in historical St. Nicholas Market at the Exchange Hall, Bristol where they started three years ago. All products are sourced or designed by the founder Gulsum Gok. She very kindly sent us two of their body washes Relaxing and Orange & Jasmine. All body washes are 99% natural with a 81.98 % organic base, also vegan, cruelty and paraben free. Again they come with a very simple list of ingredients: Relaxing is made with essential oils of geranium, lavender, orange and ylang-ylang; whereas Orange & Jasmine has only these. Both contain honey and aloe vera with an Argan oil base. At a reasonably priced £12 for 259ml you can purchase both here, or alternatively make a visit to their Bristol HQ.

Now there is no excuse not to implement a little body pampering!

BEE Good - Honey & Camelina Facial Exfoliator

Radiant skin is something everyone wants, but not everyone can get. Here at The Amazing Blog, we are one step closer to the skin of our dreams thanks to BEE Good’s Honey & Camelina Facial Exfoliator. Exfoliators are an essential component in our skincare routine; they remove dirt, dead skin and leave the skin feeling as smooth as silk. BEE Good have gone a step further to create an exfoliator specifically targeted at improving skin’s radiance. It's perfect if we want to keep our summer glow going into winter.

This creamy facial treatment is packed with an array of hard-working British ingredients. British Wild Flower Honey is sourced from suppliers and beekeepers within the UK, then combined with British Beeswax, Camelina Oil, Propolis Extract and Lavender. Honey and Camelina deeply moisturise the skin, meanwhile the lavender gently exfoliates. The addition of Wheatgerm Oil adds a boost of hydration for particularly dry skin as well as working as a soothing agent. It's positively brimming with fantastic British ingredients, with a heavenly scent which certainly reminds us of the English countryside. Massaged into the skin after cleansing a couple of times a week, it left our skin feeling wonderfully soft, and not at all tight or stripped of hydration. At the same time, we are helping to support a rural tradition at the heart of the Britain. It's certainly a winner all round for us. 

If you want to try an essentially British exfoliator that will leave your skin feeling great, and looking radiant, get yours here for £10.50.

Vallebona – Cheese and Honey

We here at The Amazing Blog always have an appetite for exploring new gourmet foods, so when our friends at Vallebona Sardinian Gourmet  contacted us, our stomachs were rumbling!  This family owned delicatessen is a proud, leading supplier of gourmet Sardinian and Italian produce within the UK.

With history dating back to the 1890’s, this business has been providing genuine Italian foods to homes, restaurants and cafés in the UK for over a decade.  Vallebona offers Artisan Cheeses, carefully selected Italian wines, various honeys, salami and other Italian delicacies that provide healthy, modern options to British cuisine and home cooking.   The company is currently owned and operated by the Stefano Vallebona, the great grandson of the original owner and continues to maintain connections with suppliers from that date to the start of the business.  Vallebona’s dedication to its roots assures customers of its truly authentic Italian foods.

Sensing our hunger for something new, Vallebona delivered delicious Pecorino Rosso Cheese and Honey with White Truffle to our office doorstep!  Pecorino Rosso is a Sardinian pecorino cheese (from the island of Sardina) and is made primarily of local Sardinian sheep milk.  The creamy, medium texture of Percorino Rosso makes the cheese easily scoop-able and the perfect accompaniment to Honey with White Truffle.  This speciality cheese is offered in blocks of 200g and 1kg.  A 200g block of Percorino Rosso Cheese can be found here for £3.20 .  The Vallebona Sardinian Gourmet Honey with White Truffle is a light acacia honey dotted with generous pieces of truffle.  This delectable combination makes for an intensely flavoured honey; Honey with White Truffle is an ideal complement when drizzled over the Pecorino Rosso.  The honey is offered in various size containers of 45g, 120g and 250g.  A 45g jar of Vallebona’s Honey with White Truffle can be found here for £3.92 .  The Pecorino cheese and Honey with White Truffle can also be purchased as a set, along with a suggested recipe and a 50g bag of Music Paper Bread for £12 here .

 Vallebona also invites you to sample their authentic Italian goods, in-store on Saturdays while you shop at their warehouse deli in Wimbledon .  Vallebona Sardinian Gourmet Pecorino Rosso cheese, Honey with White Truffle and other gourmet items can be purchased online here  with free delivery for orders over £50.  Buon Appetito (Good eating)!