Liquid Ice Vodka is a unique vodka made by distilling five grains — wheat, corn, barley, rye and oats, all of which are certified 100% organic. The vodka is made with water from the Snake River in Oregon, which runs right under the distillery. It is distilled four times and filtered three times through lava… [Continue Reading]
Biota Spring Water: Biodegradable Bottles
October 31, 2004 by Leave a Comment
Biota is the first spring water to be packaged in a compostable bottle. The bottle is made of a corn-based bioplastic, which was exclusively created for Biota by Naturework PLA. The bioplastic is an alternative to PET which is the petroleum-based plastic commonly used to bottle beverages. PET takes about a thousand years to decompose.… [Continue Reading]
Shafer: A Sustainable Vineyard
October 17, 2004 by Leave a Comment
Shafer Vineyards practice organic and sustainable harvesting. They are also Napa’s first 100% solar powered winery. Organic Style and Wine Spectator liked their Firebreak 2001 offering. Donna Binder, co-owner of Counter, a hot Manhattan vegertarian restaurant and wine bar, says it is “A real crowd-pleaser, Firebreak has aromas of spicy black pepper, black currant and… [Continue Reading]
Another Efficient Tea: Honeybush
September 29, 2004 by 2 Comments
Honeybush is another excellent tea from Africa, like Rooibos, it is caffine-free and low in tannins. The taste is sweet with notes of apricot. It contains a high amounts of vitamin C, potassium, calcium and magnesium. It is traditionally used to treat coughs. This can be explained in part, by its content of pinitol, a… [Continue Reading]
Optimal Chocolate: Reviews
September 24, 2004 by 1 Comment
The cacao plant, which is indigenous to Central and South America, produces a multihued pod. It’s now grown in equatorial zones around the world. The three main categories of beans are criollo, forastero and trinitario, with a plethora of subspecies and clonal variations. Criollos, highest in grade, are produced in small quantities because they are… [Continue Reading]
Metaeffective Tea: Rooibos Red Tea
September 24, 2004 by Leave a Comment
Rooibos (pronounced “roy-boss”) is a red tea grown the mountainous Cedarberg area north of Cape Town in South Africa. During the summer months the Rooibos plants are harvested, fermented and dried in the sun. The sun induces the change from verdant green to the mahogany red of Rooibos tea. The slightly sweet tea is free… [Continue Reading]
Hyperoptimal Tea: Mate
September 24, 2004 by 7 Comments
Yerba Mate (Ilex paraguariensis) is a shrub from the holly family, native to South America, whose leaves are dried and made into a tea. It is very popular in South American, where it is consumed in a similar way to coffee or black tea. Yerba Mate is known for its effects of sustained energy, mood… [Continue Reading]
Efficient Sweetener: Stevia
July 28, 2004 by 2 Comments
Stevia is a herb native to Paraguay whose leaves are extremely sweet. In fact they are 10-15 times as sweet as table sugar, and refined extracts are 200-300 sweeter than sugar. I can’t abide artificial sweeteners, but I use Stevia to make lemonade, and it tastes great. It takes just one dash of the extract… [Continue Reading]
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