Ginger is that deformed-potato-looking-thing in the produce aisle. It is actually the root of the ginger plant that you’re seeing. Historically, ginger has been used around the world for a wide variety of ailments. Interestingly enough, recent research is proving what nutritionists, herbologists, wisemen, and grandmas have known for centuries… food makes the best medicine!
In the historical literature, it is “la fée verte” (the Green Fairy). It is said that one sees green fairies everywhere under the influence of this strong (and some contend, dangerous) anise and herbal drink. Originated in the canto of Neuchatel in Switzerland, absinthe gained green popularity in the 1840s, when it was given to the French troops as a malaria treatment. The Bohemians (luminaries like Baudelaire, van Gogh, Oscar Wilde include) quickly embraced the drink, which ironically required almost dandy-esque preparation (Absinthiana). It is preparing by pouring ice water over a sugar cube placed atop of a specially designed slotted spoon patched on a glass of absinthe. [Above absinthe, below 'green' tea]
Do a little damage the night before? Need a little wake-me-up? Try a cup of the delicious and smooth Kopi Luwak coffee. With a rich, heavy flavor hinted with chocolate and caramel, a cup of this heaven-on-earth will tempt your body out of that funk.
Kopi Luwak coffee comes from the Indonesian island of Sumatra, and area well-known for its excellent coffee. Only 500 pounds of the beans are produced annually, making this coffee a bit outrageous in price.
Cocoa : 'The food of the gods', as cocoa was called 500 years ago when the Spanish came upon it in South America, remains a precious commodity.
A cocoa tree growing in the wild can live up to 200 years but a cultivated tree is usually replaced after 20 to 30 years.
The cocoa tree is a small tree. It produces cocoa pods on its woody trunk and brunches. The 20cm long pods are red or yellow and are hard. Cocoa pods are produced throughout the year.