Stories of scent and flavour
Where spices come from, the blending room, and the shop in Kanazawa. Writing about scent, one piece at a time.
What makes the six CHAInstant chais different? One trunk of twelve spices, six layers on top
The six CHAInstant chais share one trunk — the same twelve spices, tea leaves and red sugar — with one to four
How to Fix a Curry That Came Out Too Hot | Why Adding Water Does Not Dilute It
A curry that came out too hot does not come back with water. Capsaicin does not dissolve in it. What works is
Turning a flavor met on a trip into a household staple | A table that continues from Kanazawa
"The whole family is hooked on the curry kit we met on a trip to Kanazawa" — voices keep arriving of travel fl
What to use instead of doubanjiang | "Adding heat" and "adding heat with its aroma"
No doubanjiang for your mapo tofu — what stands in? The answer changes depending on whether you add heat alone
Vetiver Tea: How Long Can You Keep Brewed Tea? | Storing a Batch and When to Finish It
Store brewed tea in the refrigerator and finish it between the same day and the next. A note on making preserv
Why We Chose Tea Bags | Used Right Down to the Spent Leaves
Inspice Chai and Vetiver Tea are not powders you dissolve; they are tea bags. Part of the aroma moves into the
When to Add Spices | The Three Moments: Oil, Liquid, Finish
There are three moments to add spices: into the oil, before the liquid, and at the finish. Whole spices go int
What is the difference between cinnamon and cassia? | Two barks, told apart by the cut end
Cinnamon and cassia are both dried bark from trees in the laurel family. They are, however, different trees. M
Searching by ingredient is faster | Let the fridge decide dinner
On the days when dinner refuses to decide itself, try searching recipes from what is already in the fridge. Th
A Blueprint of Exacting Precision | How an Aroma Comes Together in Our Kanazawa Atelier
Inside Inspice's blending workshop, where each aroma is drawn as a blueprint to an exacting degree of precisio
Why Is Butterfly Pea Blue? Why Lemon Turns It Purple
The blue of butterfly pea is the color of a pigment called anthocyanin. Why a squeeze of lemon turns it purple
What Is Craft Cocoa? How It Differs from Ordinary Milk Cocoa
Craft cocoa is cocoa in which the maker selects the cacao and supporting ingredients, and the drinker decides
Sichuan Pepper vs. Sansho: Same Genus, Two Aromas — Sichuan and Hida
Huajiao and sansho belong to the same genus, Zanthoxylum, and share the numbing compound sanshool. Where they