#like--- someone gifts them a jar of cardamom

[narcissa-black-supermacy]

CARDAMOM IN COFFEE????? it’s a tea spice/desert flavouring for us and i’m so intrigued rn?! do u just,,,put a couple pods in while brewing the coffee? is it taken fully black? no milk or sugar? (i’m from the land of filter coffee but for this, i will make an exception bc i’m both baffled and so so interested)

????????????????

a DESERT SPICE???

we literally have prepared mixes of black coffee with cardamom (hel) in shops, including espresso capsules:

fully black, no milk, little to no sugar (if you try to put milk in your coffee in an arab country you will get kicked out), just black coffee that you mix with boiled water and ground cardamom.

why, how do YOU use cardamom???

[cantripsandcampfires]

Spell Jar: Fuck You; Not Today Bitch

Today, I present you with the “Fuck You; Not Today, Bitch” spell jar. It was supposed to be a standard protection charm, but once I sniff-checked some of my ingredients, I decided to get nasty with it. This jar is a gift for a friend of mine who’s going through some hard shit.

Here is the most important takeaway from this spell: it is not meant to be a containment trap. It is meant for the diversion, capture, and neutralization of negative energy. If the jar is broken, unsealed, or otherwise compromised, it only ceases to work; It does not release a huge store of negative energies back into the world (or back onto the bearer or caster). At the end of it’s cycle, there is no need to elaborately cleanse or ritually dispose of the contents (but you can if you want to).

This also means it has little to no maintenance required, so it’s a good charm to gift to someone who has little experience with magic or spellcraft.

+How It Works+

Negative energies seek out the bearer: weaker energies are warded off by the armored scale, and the more powerful ones are lured by the shininess of it. These predatory energies then see the fluff of white wool, and believe it is an easier target than the bearer; because of the lavender, it cannot detect what lies in wait beneath the cork. The energy enters the jar.

Upon entering, it is distracted and disoriented by the tiger’s eye bead, driving it away from the lid and down past the pins. Once it bypasses the heads of the pins, it cannot reach the lid of the jar again. It is cut, divided, and weakened by the jagged topaz inside. The herbs act as purifiers, but also poke, burn, and disinfect the energy trapped in the jar. The process repeats itself, powered by the presence of the oak, and the energy—already weakened—becomes mildly intoxicated.

Finally, after being exhausted and cleansed, and too sluggish and weak to fight, the energy becomes inert. It is then filtered out through the salt layer, rendering it harmless, and expelled through the bottom of the jar.

+ Materials and Composition +

1. Grounding Material: Pink Salt

You need a good grounding material for the bottom of your jar. This is going to be what cleanses, filters, and dissipates the negative energies that get trapped inside. If I was going to be pleasant about it, I’d have probably used sand and some very fine gravel, but I wasn’t being pleasant. I chose salt for three reasons: salt in the wound stings like a bitch, salting the earth means a lack of return, and I specifically chose pink salt, since the mineral impurities bring it closer to the earth element from which it comes.

2. Filtering Materials: Black Peppercorn, Cardamom Seed, Lavender, Wormwood, and Rosemary

You might notice that all of these fall under the “herbs used for protection” header, and you’d be right, but I chose them for their secondary properties.

Peppercorn and cardamom because of their hardness and bite/spice/heat; rosemary for sharpness (scent and physical; I think pine needles would serve the same purpose); wormwood for counteracting disease; lavender for fragrance and masking the presence of the other herbs.

I used five pieces of each (five for the cardinal forces, and it’s generally an inoffensive and deceptively simple number).

3. Power, Intoxication, Chastisement: Vodka-soaked French Oak

I happen to have a bag of French oak chips that we used to make a flavor tincture, using vodka. I included one of the dry, used chips, for...let’s be honest, it’s oak. The vodka essence brings a quality of intoxication, while the oak itself provides a number of benefits: naturally enhancing the power of the spell, a conduit for your standard Pagan Goddess/proxy for the caster (or as I think of it, a presence of “NOW you’re in for it”), and it also brings positive energy into the jar to act as a battery to keep the whole thing running.

4. Purification, Refraction, Cutting, Heat: Topaz

I used this in place of another type of quartz (like amethyst), because I wanted the heat of the yellow stone, and also because all of my other quartz pieces have been tumbled, and smooth/round shapes were the opposite of what I wanted here. The piece I used a rough piece of topaz that had both rocky edges, and some napped edges, which gave it both a transparent crystalline quality and a foggy coarseness, all in the same piece. This was perfect here, because I needed the crystal to cut, refract, and purify the negative energy, but I was now able to disorient it by leading it into dead ends (the foggy, coarse sides).

I accidentally cut my thumb open while putting the shard into the jar. I can’t say I’m surprised or disappointed. I managed not to bleed on anything on my work station, but for this application it seemed more than fitting. At the worst, it’s an extra level of “fuck you” infused into the topaz. I knew I had the right piece for the job after it bit me.

5. Entrapment and Protection: Sewing Pins

Five white-headed sewing pins, placed needle-down. White for protection, and to keep the energy of the pin from flowing through both ends of the steel (you definitely want this directed away from the opening). The pins themselves keep the things that get into the jar from getting out again.

These are taken from the box of applique pins that I have used many times, so they are infused with a strong, stable energy of patience, quiet determination, and the love of building something to make someone else happy.

6. Disorientation: Blue Tiger’s Eye Bead

Before sealing up the jar, I drilled a small hole in the cork stopper, just large enough for a beading pin to be pushed through. Then, using a silver beading pin, I secured a small synthetic blue tigers’ eye bead to the underside of the stopper and glued it in place on the outside of the cork.

The bead is meant to be flashy, shiny, and disorienting. The purpose for the bead isn’t for purification or other filtering purposes, so it didn’t matter if it was synthetic. I chose the color for purification, and also because it looks really pretty. Being round doesn’t hurt either, and neither does the material of the silver pin.

Instead of the bead, I’m sure you could substitute a crinkle of aluminum foil, a couple of sequins, or a shred of holographic-print cellophane. The purpose here is confusion.

I left the pin un-crimped, for assembly purposes.

+ Assemble the Jar +

I glued the cork into the jar, carefully spreading the glue on the cork itself, close to where it would meet the lip of the glass. I didn’t want a bunch of it getting into the jar and gluing salt up near the lid where it wouldn’t look as nice. This is a mundane application, just to keep the jar together.

Once the lid was in place, I melted some beeswax and poured it around the join of the cork and jar, to create a seal that would be difficult for negative energy to bypass. This is a magical application, as bees and their wax are both symbols of protection and defense against disease, bla bla bla. Crayon wax would’ve also been fine, but I already have a jar of beeswax pellets for spellcraft.

7. Decoy: White Wool

To the top of the jar, I secured a small bundle of white wool made from five separated strands of yarn. The wool, by color and content, are both purifying elements, but the softness of it suggests purity and tranquility. The wool is meant to be bait for negative energy: it’s an easy target.

8. Lure and Protection: Aluminum Scale

The final piece was the addition of an aluminum scale, of the kind used in chainmail. This scale offers some armored protection and shielding from smaller energies, but the shininess and brightness of it is meant to attract the attention of larger, more predatory negative energies.

+ Finishing +

After I put the scale on a small split ring, I used jewelry pliers to twist down the beading pin and secure them together. This not only holds the scale in place where it can bobble and move, but it also gives the jar a small loop so it can be hung from a necklace if that’s what you’re after.

Did you try this spell jar? What materials did you use? What substitutions did you make?

[xellawritesx-blog]

Victuuri Witchcraft fic

TLDR; Victuuri Witch Fic where Viktor is a witch and Yuuri is just a regular human and they are an adorable couple. They own a little perfume shop called Agape & Eros where they sell charmed scents. Not only do their scents smell amazing, they’re blessed with a little magic. For those who need some magic assistance and are willing to pay a extra, you can have Viktor make a special perfume potion or aphrodisiac for you (and of course, the creators totally test all their sexytime perfumes on each other). It’s my brain dump of the perfume and witchcraft fic absolutely no one asked for. 

There was something strange about the perfume shop on Third.

If you knew the neighborhood, you knew the tiny storefront sandwiched between the bakery and a shoe shop was once upon a time a barbershop until the mid-century when it was converted into a bookstore. Decades later, it was a coffee house. It was a shame when the coffee house went, because the drinks were good and there was always plenty to watch as the uptown crowd filtered in and out of the boutiques that lined the street. The space sat for a good while empty, and there was a flood a while back that left the floorboards rotted and the walls chewed with mildew. So, it was a surprise that anyone would see something in it - especially a guy like him, with his fashionably cut silvery-blonde hair and expensive leather shoes. He walked right in, took one look at the cobwebs and rot, and turned to his dog. The poodle was feverishly sniffing every nook and cranny. “What do you think, Makkachin?”

The dog’s tail wagged. He took that as approval, because he turned to the landlord next and said, “It’s a real mess. And it smells like a dead animal. But I’ll take it. At my price, of course - but I’ll take it.”

His price was low. But it was better than anyone could expect to get for a flood-damaged shack of a space - so the landlord easily took the money and ran, glad to have dumped it on some other sad sack who had big dreams and a big budget to waste.

But within a month, there was an Open sign hanging in the glass-paneled front door, and the floor was replaced with marble and the interior brick painted fresh-white. Inside, alabaster shelves lined with hundreds of jars and vials decorated the walls. The shop sign read: Agape & Eros. Third Street’s first perfumery.

But this perfumery, despite being wildly popular, was strange. The hours were wacky and unpredictable. Randomly closed on the odd business day, open on holidays, occasionally taking customers past nine p.m. Occasionally, there’d be a piece of paper, ripped out violently from a notebook and taped to the front door. In someone’s handwriting it read in cyrillic: Time to eat! Be back sometime.

It was difficult to get an appointment if you wanted a custom order. And that was the very thing everyone recommended. People all over the city insisted thirty minutes with Viktor Nikiforov was well worth the wait.  

So, like everyone else, you put your name on the list and you waited.

And on that day, when you managed to find an hour when they were open, and someone was actually there, and there wasn’t too many customers causing a line out the door, and it was long past lunch hour, you’d be able to take your appointment. The first thing that hit you was scent. Spices. Flowers. Delightful and clearly curated depending on the day and mood, and god it was delicious. Better than a pastry shop.

The next thing that greeted you was a whirlwind dog. She was a large, teddy bear of a poodle and eager to make sure she took in every scent you brought along with you. Nuzzling her snout into your hands, bag, unmentionables, until the young man with dark hair and glasses sitting at the counter looked up from his book at scolded, “Makkachin!”

The dog, all the sudden deflated, would mosey back to its bed.

“Sorry,” he said. He was nondescript and quiet, and greeted you in shaky Russian, then in English before turning back to his book.

The shop was bright with natural light, chic white with fresh flowers in the window sills. Hundreds of glass vials reflected the sunlight, filled with liquids and dried flowers and spices - like an apothecary or science lab - but delicate as a dream. For a moment you’d think your friends were shitting you with all this talk of voodoo and hocus-pocus. Clearly it wasn’t happening in this place. It was chic as a fashion showroom with a guy manning the counter that was as regular as regular could get, wearing jeans and a polo shirt. Hiding behind his glasses.

He didn’t say anything at all, letting you curiously peek at the contents of the jars and vials - cardamom, musk, lavender, sea salt - until he all the sudden he piped up. “Premade scents are over here.” He’d get up and show you. “There are some for spring and summer. The mood and inspiration is written on the bottle. You’re welcome to test any of them.”

But, if you heard the rumors, you knew you weren’t looking for pre-made scents. Everyone knew you’d have to let him know you had a custom order. When you did, his expression would shift ever so slightly and you couldn’t decide if you had asked the wrong question or not. He nodded. Then, he’d gesture for you to follow him into the back.

It was a small room and there was a couple chairs and a table. It was still just as plain and regular as the front - no witch’s lair hiding back here. He’d sit you down and offer you tea. “Viktor will be down in just a moment,” he said, turning to leave. “If you need anything in the meanwhile, I’m right out here. My name is Yuuri, by the way.”

The owner, Viktor Nikiforov, was very handsome. This was just as widely whispered about as the shop’s mystical reputation. So, when he came in the room fifteen minutes or so later, you knew exactly who was standing in the doorway.

He was gorgeous in the way that supermodels and film stars are gorgeous - and clearly he knew it made people nervous around him. And he didn’t like it. Because of this, he was quick to bring himself to your level. Bright as sunshine, looking into your eyes as he said, “Welcome!” He’d take your hand to shake and put on this affectionate smile, like all his life he’d been eagerly waiting your arrival. “So pleased to meet you. Come. Sit. Let’s talk.”

You’d chat and it’d be so easy to talk to him. He’d ask a million questions and indulge you with the little details of his own life. That he was working on new perfumes, and reading Faust, and he had forgotten to do the laundry after his boyfriend (the guy at the front of the shop nonetheless) had asked him to a million times.  He had a sweet, self-amused little laugh that made you laugh too.

Before long, without you even realizing it, the consultation began.

He always knew what you were looking for before you did. Love? Good luck? Confidence? Without a word, he just knew. It was surprising, when he’d suddenly ask a question like: What is their name?

Whose name?

Their name of course. The one you desire.

He was intuitive in that way. Read you like a deck of cards. And that’s when you’d realize, those blue eyes were calculating and that his dizzy way of conversation was well-choreographed waltz. The questions eventually got more pointed. 

Are you in love with this person? Or do you just want to sleep with them? Is there anything in the way of this happening?  How long do you want the spell to last?

Of course, this was more than perfume.

Finally, he’d say: “I know exactly what you need.”

He came with a pad of paper, and jotted down a list of things you needed to bring to him. 

A lock of your lover’s hair. Soil from the neighbor’s yard. An eyelash. A sparrow’s feather.

Depending on the weight of your request, he’d ask for more peculiar things. 

Dried leaves. Salt. An enemy’s spit. Blood.

“When you’ve gathered this list of items, bring them back in a single package, individually wrapped. You can use jars, sandwich bags, whatever you’ve got around the house. Leave them in the mail slot at the back door. Makkachin won’t bother them I promise.” Once you supplied the items, he told you to return in two weeks and provide whoever was working at the time with your name to receive your package.

When you did return, (on a day when they were open, and not out to lunch or walking the dog, and it wasn’t too busy to breathe) the dark haired man was there to take your name. He handed over a small box wrapped in foil-paper, pretty as a Christmas gift. With a card on top. It read:

Designed for uniquely for you. In a full moon, apply the perfume the pulse points and let it warm on the skin of whoever you’d like the spell to take effect upon. Within 7 hours of application, recite these words…

Underneath, he’d written what appeared to be a spell. First in Latin. Then, in cyrillic.

Two nights and your spell will take effect.

Blessed by,

Agape & Eros.

[mistressofmuses]

What Were the Odds?

Jesse was the first awake, and it was very tempting not to get up. The bed was warm, Natalie and Yvette were both still sound asleep, and dragging himself out the door to go shopping was one of the absolute least appealing things he could imagine. But he’d had one of those realizations—one of those wake-you-up-at-3-am-in-a-cold-sweat realizations—that he hadn’t done his Christmas shopping yet. He’d been putting it off for more than a week, always finding a reason to push it forward, and he was rapidly running out of days to push it to.

Today was one of the few days all three of them had off, so he was loath to spend it elsewhere, but it had to get done.

He slid out of bed, made coffee to fortify himself against the early hour and the winter air, and then headed out into the cold to visit the mall.

~

Natalie’s alarm on her phone went off, and she’d shut it off within a second, the reaction to that particular tone ingrained into every fiber of her being, awake or asleep. She’d shut it off fast enough that Yvette hadn’t even stirred.

She got dressed in the dark in the bedroom so she wouldn’t disturb her girlfriend, and then started on making breakfast. Jesse had already made coffee, as usual, a fact for which she remained profoundly grateful every single morning. They all hated fighting with the cranky old coffee maker, but he seemed to have slightly more success than she did, despite being the one who hated it the most. He’d left a sticky note on the top of the old machine, the message written in his tiny, precise writing.

Hey, loves. I’m going to be gone for at least a few hours running errands. Send me a text if you need anything while I’m out! You two have a good day. Love you! –J

She finished cooking her pancakes and sat down to eat. At least she wasn’t the only one who’d be out running errands. She’d managed to cross everyone off her Christmas list except for the two most important people: Yvette and Jesse. She knew what she was getting them, but had to actually get the items. Hopefully Jesse’s errands wouldn’t take him near the mall.

~

Yvette’s phone buzzed, alerting her to a new email. “SHIPPING NOTICE:” was the subject line, and she opened the message.

Due to weather along the shipping route, all shipments have been delayed by up to five days. We have refunded any priority shipping charges, and apologize for the inconvenience caused by the delay. New anticipated arrival date is December 28.

“Shiiiiiit,” she groaned. There went those Christmas gifts. She’d still give them to Jesse and Natalie, of course, but wrapping up an IOU under the tree was no fun. She had to get them something for the day itself. She was the last one in bed that morning, taking full advantage of the day off. At least that meant she had time to go shopping today.

She heard the front door close, alerting her that someone else had just left the house.

Yvette got dressed in what felt like record time, running a brush and some gel through her short, spiky hair, and grabbed her wallet.

Getting downstairs, the whole house smelled delicious, though no one seemed to be around. There was a covered plate on the stove with a note in Natalie’s nice cursive.

Morning, Yvie! Help yourself to pancakes! I’m heading out to run some errands, and it sounds like Jesse will be out for a while, too. Let either of us know if you need something. There’s some coffee in the pot, too.

Yvette couldn’t restrain a joyous sound at the note, pulling back the cover and looking at the pancakes. Natalie’s cooking was never something to be missed. And they were still slightly warm. Taking a bite, she tried to identify the flavors—Nat was always trying new combinations. She thought that today’s were almond, orange zest, and… some spice she couldn’t name. And there was a very light, clearly homemade, orange syrup in a jar when she opened the fridge.

It was well worth the extra ten minutes she sacrificed to enjoy them.

~

Jesse hoped to be in and out of the mall as quickly as possible, gifts in hand, so he could get home and spend the day with his girlfriends. Sadly, it was not to be. Even getting there a mere twenty minutes after the mall opened didn’t save him from the crowds. Navigating the walkways was an exercise in patience and judging how to dodge between hazards.

He visited a clothing store first, hoping it would have things that suited both Yvie’s and Natalie’s wildly different styles. His luck started off all right, finding a long pastel scarf that would be perfect for Nat. And a black fitted t-shirt with the words “Shopping Maul” on the front in gold was absolutely the kind of thing Yvette would wear.

It was his second goal of the day where his luck ran out, because just as he was about to make a move toward the door of a kitchen gadgetry store, he saw Natalie walking the opposite way through the crowds. He altered his course, cutting in the middle of a large family group, and ducked behind a kiosk so she wouldn’t see him. He ignored the man in charge of the kiosk, who was trying to sell him on the benefits of whatever too-good-to-be-true miracle product he was hawking, in favor of sneaking a look past the edge. He saw Nat heading into the same store he’d been planning on going into, blonde ponytail swaying.

He breathed a sigh of relief at having been lucky enough to see her before they’d wound up in the same store, but of course it figured that she’d come to the mall on the same day that he did. He’d just have to try to avoid anyplace else she was likely to go.

~

When Natalie pulled into the mall parking lot, she almost couldn’t believe it. The car she’d pulled in next to was Jesse’s car. Glancing through the passenger side window and seeing his novelty geek steering wheel cover confirmed it. She groaned out loud, smacking her head lightly against her own steering wheel. Of course he’d left early to come here. Well, with hundreds or thousands of people here, how likely was it really that they’d run into each other?

Her first store was safe; her absolute favorite kitchen supply store. She glanced wistfully at some of the aisles containing items off of her wishlist, but wasn’t here for herself. Instead, she headed straight for a display of high-tech automatic coffee makers. While it was the kind of gift all three of them would use, Jesse by far would be saved the most hassle by replacing the piece of junk they currently relied on. She found one that seemed the best suited to their needs, and grabbed a package of reusable self-fillable pods as well. The process of checking out took far longer than usual. The poor cashier was by herself, and the line was stretching into one of the aisles.

After making sure it was okay for her to come back and pick the heavy coffee maker up at the end of her shopping trip, she headed out for her second destination; a high-end makeup store.

They had an enormous limited edition eyeshadow palette that Yvette had been drooling over, but had lamented being unable to justify buying for herself. It contained a rainbow of vibrant, jewel-toned and metallic shades that looked stunning on Yvie. Anything that bright tended to look garish on Natalie, but Yvette could make anything look like she was ready for a photoshoot. And Natalie was (slightly selfishly, but mainly appreciatively) looking forward to seeing the looks she created.

She just had to make it back to the kitchen supply store to pick up the coffee maker, and then she’d be free.

Until she literally ran into someone she hadn’t been expecting. Not Jesse. Yvette.

“Yvie!” she squeaked, hiding the tell-tale bag behind her back. If Yvette saw it, she’d absolutely know what was likely to be inside.

“Natalie!” Yvie jumped as much as Nat had, though she recovered a bit faster. “How’s it going, stranger?” she asked, winking and aiming a finger gun at Nat, while trying to hide her own bag behind her back with her other hand.

“Pretty good,” Natalie said. “Just, er, picking up a couple things. Here. At the mall.”

“Yeah, yeah, me too. Those pancakes were amazing! What were they? I got almond and orange and?”

“Cardamom!” Natalie said. “Thanks! They did turn out pretty well.”

“So… I have to get… going…” Yvette said, starting to edge around Natalie while keeping her bag behind her back.

Natalie turned with her, in order to keep her own bag out of sight.

After they’d managed a total 180 degree turn, Yvie darted forward, pressing a quick kiss to Natalie’s lips. “See you at home in a little while!” Then she ducked into a large group of shoppers and vanished into the crowd.

Natalie smiled as she headed to pick up Jesse’s gift.

~

Yvette let out a sigh of relief as soon as she was out of sight of Natalie. She thought she’d managed to keep the bag containing the box of extremely high-end chocolate out of sight.

She’d spent quite a while picking them out. Varieties of chocolate combined with unlikely flavors like “rose petal” and “chai pear cordial.”  Yvette had always been fond of mostly the basics: dark, milk, and white chocolate, maybe with caramel or nuts, or chocolate covered fruit if she was feeling especially fancy. But Natalie loved unexpected flavors, and the things that Yvie found bizarre were the sorts of things she adored.

Finally catching her breath, she headed for her last stop, the bookstore.

She wanted to get Jesse one of his favorite trilogies of books that had just been released in new editions. He’d been so excited about them, thrilled that they contained new short stories and whatever the writer version of liner notes would be called. But he hadn’t gotten them because he already had the books themselves, and didn’t want to blow his book budget. Which, as far as Yvie was concerned, made them perfect as a gift.

She’d just picked up the three books, when she caught sight of the one other person she was hoping to avoid running into coming around the corner of the shelf. Jesse.

She backpedaled so fast she almost dropped her armload of books, but made it around the far end before he saw her, though she bumped an end display, knocking several other books to the floor.

“Crap!” she said before darting into another aisle. She’d come back to pick up the books. If he hadn’t already noticed her, having said something out loud was going to make it a lot more likely he would.

Feeling silly, she crouched down and glanced around the edge of the shelf, and saw him picking up the books she’d knocked down. He glanced around, but didn’t seem to see her.

“Yvie?” he asked.

She bit her lip and tried to keep from laughing. If he wasn’t sure she was there, she wasn’t going confirm it.

Finally he left, and she felt she’d killed enough time to make it safe to check out.

~

Jesse walked back to the car, scarf and extensive set of silicone baking molds for Natalie, and the shirt and a set of queer-themed comics for Yvette safely acquired.  Natalie hadn’t seen him, at least. He was almost positive he’d heard Yvie in the bookstore, but maybe it had been his imagination. What were the odds that all three of them separately wound up at the mall on the same day?

~

Natalie was the first one to get home, which was a relief. Jesse’s car had still been there when she left, so maybe he wouldn’t even know she’d been to the mall today. Yvie knew she’d been there but hadn’t seen her gift, Natalie was pretty sure. Now she had time to hide her presents away before either of her lovers caught sight of incriminating bags. Really, what were the odds that all three of them had gone to the mall at the same time?

~

Yvette hid her purchases in a canvas bag so that she could bring them into the house without anyone seeing what they were. Being the last one to pull into the driveway, she had to laugh a little. If they’d known, they could have just carpooled. But what were the odds that the three of them had all had the same destination in mind?

~

@yourbookcouldbegayer

Prompt was: "Two or more of your characters have just realized they didn’t get anything for each other for the holidays! They all rush to the nearest shopping center, coincidentally on the same day, and desperately attempt to not let them see each other. Or, if they do see each other they try to play it off real cool like and try to hide the presents.”

For being another slice-of-life happy fluff story, I actually enjoy this one quite a bit. :) Maybe because I spent a good chunk of today doing my holiday shopping...

[ealinginsider]

You need to taste Lucy’s heavenly chocolates

I am always excited to discover talented people in Ealing and am delighted to introduce you to Handmade in Ealing’s wonderful Lucy Savage – our very own chocolatier.

Read on to find out how you could win a hamper of her delicious chocolates and where you will be able to meet her this Saturday 16th September with samples and special offers! 

How did you start making chocolates?

About 16 years ago I decided I would make my own chocolate Easter eggs so I taught myself chocolate tempering and stocked up on moulds and couverture chocolate from ‘The Home Chocolate Factory’, a start up company selling chocolate to home bakers.

Wow self taught! As a non-expert, is making chocolates hard to do?

If only I had known just how troublesome chocolate making really is! Yes, it is hard. It doesn’t always work, it is extremely time consuming and the science behind tempering must be ‘felt’. You can’t ‘see’ when it is correct. But when it does go right, it makes for unique and beautiful products which are worlds away from high street chocolate. I have been on a variety of courses, including at Barry Callebaut, one of the biggest chocolate companies in the world who have their huge UK headquarters in Oxfordshire.

When did it start becoming a business?

When I heard about the new Ealing Food market, run by Kate McKenzie at EatMeDrinkMe in Autumn last year, I suddenly thought ‘I want to sell at markets’. I had always been a keen baker and all round foodie and thought if I was ever going to produce products for a market, they would be made of chocolate. 

It was super busy in the run up to the Christmas period. I was flat out preparing during the week whilst still trying to work. I generally work a couple of days a week for a film company (my previous working life was in Film Distribution), with a great team. I equally love this work and in truth it is paying for me to make chocolate at present.

How has this evolved?

After a few market appearances over Christmas and a period selling in a local gift shop, Jane West from All Original on Ealing Green approached me to stock some Valentine’s Day Chocolates. Around the same time Kate (EatMeDrinkMe), asked if I wanted to be part of a team of four seller/designers taking over an empty shop in Acton as a ‘pop-up’ for eight weeks.  We spent time working in the shop as well as making products, so I was working non-stop to create Valentine’s Day, then Mother’s Day and then finally Easter products.  I chose this route as opposed to investing in a market stall which I realised I just wouldn’t have the time to do. I also hosted a chocolate and wine tasting event at Abbotshill Wine Bar with the owner Susie. 

Fast forward to summer and my products are doing really well at All Original and I’ve been able to attend quite a few markets, meeting and sharing chocolate with keen local chocolate enthusiasts. I have also graduated from my home kitchen to a commercial kitchen in Park Royal (just two days a week at present) which has allowed me to increase my production level five fold. I am now bursting with products which I need to find homes for!

What’s next for you?

To invest in a market stall and prepare for Autumn and Winter including the Christmas markets.  I love meeting customers and seeing them try my products and then buy them. Customers tell me what they like about my products and I can see what price points work, which adds to the ongoing learning experience. I am also launching in a deli in Ealing in October (watch this space!).

I would really like to get into as many Ealing based food establishments as possible, including coffee shops. I am currently developing bespoke small bars which could contain their own coffee. I look forward to presenting them to our excellent Ealing coffee shops.

I also want to branch out into corporate gifting, creating wedding favours and petite fours for events. 

I am hosting a chocolate making event for the WI and a chocolate party for teenagers and I would like to do some more tasting events or chocolate making classes.  Can you imagine a prosecco and truffle making afternoon for example? [Yes please! – Ealing Insider]

What is the best advice you have had about your business?

It was early on and it was from someone who had set up their own business from a passion like mine and it was to think very hard about whether you just want to turn a passion into a hobby or seriously into a business. Could you live with it 24/7 and can you really make it a viable business. I think I am still questioning this and it will take some time until I can realistically see me making a living from making such an artisanal handmade product.  

What are your favourite chocolates?

There are so many chocolates I love and chocolatiers I admire. My favourite producers include The Chocolate Society in Somerset, Leeds based Lauden Chocolates, Eponine in Cheshire and chocolate God that he is, London based William Curley.  They all create the most amazing flavour sensations and are award winning.  I do a lot of research (!) and am currently collecting ‘bean to bar’ produced chocolate bars in the UK which is a growing part of the chocolate industry.  I’ve also just attended the Speciality Food and Speciality Chocolate show in Olympia and got to meet chocolate couverture producers and chocolatiers.

My base foodie desires involve peanut butter and chocolate, (even spooned out of a jar and mixed with melted chocolate!) or any caramelised nuts mixed with chocolate. I love real fruit purees in silky smooth ganaches like passion fruit which I recently used paired with dark chocolate. Also crunchy poppy seeds and blueberry puree caramel paired with the strong flavour of pine nuts caramelised into a hard caramel and crushed in make a crunchy base layer. Using herbs or flowers, such as lavender or fresh mint and spices from fennel to cardamom, cinnamon and sumac which when paired with different profiles of chocolate can make strangely perfect pairings.

What is your most popular chocolate?

Salted caramel is still very popular and I get asked for it a lot.  I make a milk chocolate based salted caramel chocolate with either a hazelnut paste layer or more recently a chai spiced version.  I also make my own caramelised white chocolate (Caramac anyone?!) but it is darker and richer in flavour (and I am told mine is better!)

Dark chocolate is also becoming more popular with people who see it as a more healthy option for a sweet treat as well as appreciating the deeper and more multi layered flavour profiles you can get. I also think palates are becoming more refined and we are more intrigued by deeper flavours. In the cooler weather my single origin dark chocolate bars, (chocolate made from beans sourced from particular cocoa bean growing area) were popular. This Autumn/Winter I am adding more ‘inclusions’ into the bars.  New flavours include smoked sea salt and green raisins and raspberry oil and crystallised rose pieces.

What is your favourite chocolate?

I can’t choose just one! I love pomegranate molasses (sharp), rose oil (perfume) and pistachio (crunchy aromatic nuts) in dark chocolate. I also really like lime with dark chocolate so I mix crushed cardamom seeds with lime zest which has been steeped in cream for an hour, then mix with a dark fruity chocolate, cream and butter. 

Last week as we officially started Autumn I took my new ‘adult’ toffee apple chocolate to Ruislip’s Duckpond market and it went down very well.  I did a version with spiced honey vodka and another with apple vodka.  The hard caramel pieces mimic the toffee apple biting experience of our childhood.

I like pairing chocolate, whether in a bar or a truffle, with contrasting flavours like sweet white creamy chocolate with finely ground strong almost bitter coffee granules and stringent cocoa nibs or dark chocolate with salted caramel crunchy pieces and candied orange.

Where do you source your ingredients?

I source my high grade couverture chocolate from a French brand owned by a Swiss company. It contains cocoa butter. I also use mainly single origin chocolate from cocoa bean growing areas with varieties in flavour and mouth feel, rather than mass produced chocolate designed to be the same every time. 

I am very keen to use local and UK based products where I can. I’ve made Lavender truffles using Ealing honey (by Clare Vernon).

I have also used Lavender gin from a Yorkshire based gin distiller. Today in the kitchen I made up some mini milk chocolate bars flavoured with real lavender steeped first in cocoa butter. Tomorrow I’ll be using some of my garden mint in a dark chocolate.

I’ve just contacted a gin distillery in Cornwall who have a gin product profile based on clotted cream.  I want to attempt to produce a cream tea based chocolate with a strawberry jam layer, white chocolate ganache and sultanas. If it works it will be on the menu for Summer ’18.

What do you like most about Ealing?

Green open spaces and a feeling of community. After commuting to Soho for so many years Ealing provides a wonderful contrasting place to a hectic work environment. 

It also offers all kinds of inspiration for me, for example the excellent Persian food stores we have around West Ealing with their rich abundance of nuts and other delicacies. I have started using barberries (a very tart fruit often used in savoury Persian dishes which I hadn’t come across before). I add them to dark chocolate, slightly salted almonds and green raisins.  

What are your favouring places in Ealing?

There are so many and most are focused around food! Pitshanger Lane as a whole street as it is a peaceful place to hang out on a Saturday morning after the working week. I love sitting for hours in Oscar’s Café, appreciating the warm hospitality of Ben (don’t tell him I said this) and his team. I like buying the beautiful bread from Pitshanger Bakery. 

Abbotshill Wine Bar, with gorgeous deli food and the best wines, friendly staff and great events. Charlotte’s Place and W5 which are so classy and up there with West End eateries. Beehive Café for healthy food, great staff and excellent coffee, and cakes from 11 Coffee & Co. in North Ealing and Papillion on Northfield Avenue.

Non food related I love the parks, in particular Pitshanger Park for tennis and running. And lastly, the best gift shop All Original who are so supportive of local designers/makers and an absolutely perfect retail partner.

Where can people buy your chocolates?

My chocolates are stocked in All Original at Ealing Green, and this Saturday 16th September I will be there from 11am to 4pm for a ‘Meet the Maker’ session. Please come along and say hello and try some samples of my chocolates. I will also have some special offers. 

You can order any products by sending me a message via my social accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. 

I will be at selected markets from now until Christmas - just see my social pages for market details. I hope to have my website up during the Autumn ready for Christmas orders where I shall be introducing e-commerce so you’ll be able to order direct from the website.  

Facebook competition time!

To be in with a chance of winning a gorgeous seasonal mixed chocolate hamper similar to the one pictured above, simply like or share the original blog post on Ealing Insider’s Facebook (the pinned post at the top). Easy!

The competition is running from Tuesday 12th to Monday 18th September 2017 and the winner will be announced on Tuesday 19th September.

The hamper will be hand delivered to the winner in the Ealing area.

Thanks Lucy 😊

Love, 

The Ealing Insider 

Xoxox

 Competition Terms and Conditions

To enter the competition simply like or share the blog post from the Ealing Insider’s Facebook page (the pinned post at the top of the profile).

The competition is running from Tuesday 12th to Monday 18th September 2017.

All entrants names will be entered in to a ‘hat’ and the winner will be selected at random on Tuesday 19th September.

The winner’s name will be published across the Ealing Insider’s social media platforms and we will contact them directly to arrange delivery of the prize within the Ealing area.

The prize hamper will be similar to, but not exactly the same as the one pictured. It will feature a selection of seasonal chocolates by Handmade In Ealing. 

The competition is open to anyone who follows the guidelines above, except for Handmade in Ealing and the Ealing Insider. 

The competition is not endorsed by Facebook.