First Bites: January 2022 Cold Weather Calls for Hot Drinks

Your new golden crush
Are you looking for a caffeine-free drink that isn't your usual coffee or tea? Something soothing and warm with perhaps a healthy dose of antioxidants and anti-inflammatories? Then look no further than Pestle & Pod's Golden Crush — Turmeric Latte Blend.

Pestle and Pods is the brainchild of Prem Pitchiah and his family. Pitchiah originally came to Ottawa in 2014 to finish his master's degree and later found work as a senior marketing engineer at a local tech firm. Fast forward to 2020, and the unthinkable happened. Pitchiah, a healthy, fit, young husband and father, contracted COVID and was bedridden, quarantined at home for weeks.

"It was frightening," he recalls, "especially since my child was so young. It took me a while to pull through. As I recovered, I craved the comfort food and drinks of my youth in Chennai, India. I remembered the homemade curries and turmeric drinks we enjoyed as children."

These memories and a newfound desire to promote wellness through food and drink brought Pitchiah to create Pestle and Pods, a company dedicated to bringing the wholesome spice blends of Tamilnadu, India, to Ottawa palates.

"The One Curry Masala blend was really to take the mystery out of how to make a proper masala, with quality-sourced spices," he says, "and the turmeric latte mix came from the same ethos: to bring something healthy to people who need it."

The flavourful, earthy and soothing turmeric mix can be made either as a latte or a tea. Pitchiah is looking to release more latte blends, such as beetroot, cacao and even a moringa latte mix in the new year.

Pitchiah sources the spices and ingredients as locally as possible, and he says the business is running at least 80 per cent organic right now, with an eye to becoming fully organic as it grows. So, feel good about what you sip, and let the age-old power of turmeric leave you feeling fit and ready to take on the winter.

Pestle & Pods
pestleandpods.com | @pestleandpods

Find it at: Stittsville Farmer's Market, Herb & Spice, Grace in the Kitchen, Around the Block Butcher Shop, Glebe Meat Market, Wellington Butchery and online.

Sustainable Tea That Isn't the Pits
Most of us already love avocadoes. The creamy texture and healthy fats always remind us of sunnier climes. But, we have guacamole, smoothies and avocado toast; do we really need to add another avocado item to the menu? What if we said it was good for you and the planet?

Avotea is a fascinating answer to the age-old question of "What do I do with the avocado pits?" Sustainability-minded Jacob Sugarman came across the idea of turning the pits into a tea blend while staying in a hostel in Victoria, B.C. A fellow backpacker was drinking avocado seed tea and showed Sugarman how to make the drink.

"I knew this was it," he recalls. "I was already looking for an idea that I could use to raise money to invest in other sustainable enterprises through the United Nations' sustainable development goals. This idea fit the bill perfectly."

Being sustainable, eco-friendly and upcycling a product that most just throw away appealed to him.

"I've partnered with a few local restaurants," Sugarman says, "like Corazon de Maiz, Freshii, Ahora, La Bonita Taqueria and Paradise Poké, among others. I provide them with sanitized buckets, they keep the avocado pits refrigerated and covered with fresh water. Then I come around once a week to collect. It turns something we already use into a zero-waste product."

Which is all well and good, but how does the tea taste?

"The taste is similar to green tea, but sweeter," Sugarman says. "It lacks the bitter notes that many green teas have. Plus, avocado tea is naturally caffeine-free, though some of our blends have caffeine added to them, for those who need an extra pick-me- up."

Sugarman works with Heather Wittig, chef at Green Rebel res- taurant, to create a variety of flavours using the original avo- cado seed tea. The current flavours include mango-sour cherry, lemon-ginger, chavo (chai-avocado), pomegranate-lavender and more; tasters are spoiled for choice. Tea sets and variety packs are also available and make wonderful gifts for the tea lovers in your life that are always on the hunt for something new.

Sugarman's thoughts are always on the future. "I'd love to grow the business and be in all of Ottawa's health-food stores and cafés. But really, what this is all about is becoming a symbol of sustainability and zero-waste. I want to grow Avotea to help grow other sustainable, eco-friendly businesses out there. A vote for us is a vote for the planet."

So, next time you're hankering for a cuppa, you can do something good for you and the environment.

Avotea
myavotea.com | @myavotea

Find it: Juice Monkey, Green Rebel, Silk Road Foods and online.