45 unique Christmas gifts that will make shopping easier this year
As the holiday season approaches, it's time to start thinking about finding the perfect gifts for the foodies in your life. For those who have a passion for culinary adventures, we offer a treasure trove of flavour-packed gifts that will make your taste buds sing. In this blog, we've curated a Christmas gift guide that showcases some of the best seasoning products from BoTree, catering to different tastes and preferences.
Keep it simple and sophisticated: Kampot pepper
Kampot Pepper makes the perfect Christmas gift for foodies: The Guild of Fine Food judges described it as “a fabulous, outstanding condiment!” and “we can think of no way to improve it…There is so much fragrance.” It’s the only pepper in the world to have protected geographical indication and to receive 3 stars at the Great Taste Awards. And it can be used on literally ANYTHING you cook! For more reasons why Kampot pepper is your star gift this year, see our blog.
2. For the one starting out with spices: The Chef’s collection
This selection of spices is an absolute must-have. It covers an array of exotic cuisines from Italian to Indian and is fundamental to any pantry. Whether you’re seasoning veggies with Flowering Hyssop Thyme, grilling meats with Silk Chilli or baking with Buffalo Ginger, your foodie will be reaching into this collection on a daily basis.
3. For the Ottolenghi lover: The Ottolenghi collection
Who doesn’t love Ottolenghi’s ability to create feel-good dishes which taste indulgent? The secret to his recipes is the perfect blend of vibrant spices. From honeyed Saffron and cured Sumac to wild Za’âtar, this collection is everything you need to cook just like Ottolenghi.
4. For the know-it-all: Build your own collection
If you’re buying for someone who knows their Hungarian paprika from their pimenton, this collection is the best option. You can choose among our 30+ single-origin spices and pick eight which most tickle their fancy.
For the Christmas-obsessed
5. For the festive food lover: The Winter spice collection
This is a wonderful collection of warming winter spices which will fill your foodie’s kitchen with festive flavours in the run up to Christmas and beyond! It includes all the sweet and seductive spices you need to make your favourite feel-good Christmas recipes.
6. For the mulled wine lover
We all have that friend: they start dreaming of Gluewein in August! For those who just can’t get enough of this festive drink, this combination of spices is the best gift: Pemba Cloves, Royal Cinnamon, Star Anise. And if they need a little help with the recipe, here’s how we recommend you use our single orign spices to make the best mulled wine you’ll ever have.
7. The gingerbread lover
Our ginger is absolutely perfect for making baked goods like gingerbread biscuits, but it will also surprise your foodie friend, opening up new flavour profiles they never even dreamt of. It is an heirloom ginger variety, famous for its fruity and complex aroma, bursting with flavour. It elicits a powerful heat and incredible floral note.
Choose by experience level
8. For the beginner: Kampot black pepper in grinder
If they are just moving from supermarket pepper to single origin, they might need a little help with a good grinder, too. So, the BoTree grinder that comes with our Kampot pepper inside is the perfect gift. Diamond cut, spring loaded, ceramic mechanisms will give them a consistent grind every time and with adjustable settings they can start to play with their own grind coarseness. A lovely height at 170mm and each mill takes one of our 30g sachets.
9. For the pepper explorer: Kampot pepper gift set
Maybe they’ve tried our Black Kampot Pepper but haven’t ventured into the wonders of pepper pairing yet. Now is the time to introduce them to the nuances of using red Kampot pepper for seafood or white Kampot pepper with cheese. This set contains all 3 varieties of our lovely pepper, Black, Red & White. They will thank you for ever as their seasoning mentors!
10. For the upgrader: Three pepper grinders set
This grinder and pepper set is the perfect gift for those who want to upgrade their pepper game by having all three peppers ready to be ground at any given moment. It’s also a great-looking option as it comes in our lovely branded gift box.
11. The full monty: Kampot pepper and fleur de sel seasoning kit
This is for the seasoning expert who wants it all: All of our Great Taste Award winning peppers, our Kampot Fleur De Sel, and a Skeppshult SWING - Cast Iron Salt Pot and Pepper & Spice Mill with Walnut Wood Lids. It’s the ultimate seasoning gift.
12. For the busy gourmet: Herbs de Kampot
If your foodie knows its herbs and seasonings, but every once in a while likes to have something easy to turn a dish from good to special, they’ll love our Herbs de Kampot. it combines Kampot Black, Red and White Pepper, Kampot Fleur de Sel with a top secret blend of aromatic herbs and spices created for us by Christian Buchot, a revered mixologist from Brittany (France) who already graces the top tables in Paris and Lyon with his herb blending wizardry.
13. For the experienced baker: Pure Bourbon Vanilla
If they like to bake, our Pure Bourbon Vanilla is the way to impress them. This vanilla bean powder consists of whole vanilla pods that have been cured, dried and finely ground. The powder is packed with vanilla flavour without the alcoholic harshness that you often find in vanilla extracts. They are sustainably sourced beans from small village farms in Sava region of Northern Madagascar that are reviving artisanal farming methods. You will have to tell them to replace 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract with 1/2 a teaspoon of Vanilla Bean Powder- as it’s so powerful!
14. For the bread-maker: White Kampot pepper
They can’t stop talking about their latest loaf, the sourdough starter and the moisture in the oveen.. you can wow them with gifting them with the secret ingredient to exceptional home made breas: Kampot White pepper. This special ingredient adds a zesty, nutty flavour which creates an underlying heat that just keeps going. It adds vibrancy and clarity to your home-made loaf, bringing your baking to another level. Read more about using white kampot pepper for bread making here.
By prestige
15. The best fish sauce in the world: Red Boat
With a worldwide reputation as ‘the purest fish sauce on earth’,, Red Boat fish sauce is the perfect gift for the foodie who likes to have the best umami booster in their pantry. Red Boat’s fish sauce is made with just two ingredients: wild-caught black anchovies from the crystal clear waters of Phú Quốc, a Vietnamese paradisiac island off the coast of Cambodia, and sea salt. It’s not watered down, there’s no MSG or any preservatives. Just two simple, tasty ingredients: anchovies and salt. it has double the nitrogen content than any other fish sauce. Find out why this matters here.
16. The world’s most coveted soy sauce: Shibanuma Barrel Aged Soy Sauce
Also known as the best soy sauce in Japan, this sauce is made by fermenting organic soybeans and wheat in 100 year-old wooden barrels to create a complex umami flavour with an earthy depth and natural sweetness. And it’s not just great in taste, it comes with proper pedigree, too: It is produced by a 330-year old company founded by Shozaemon Shibanuma in 1688. To know more about why it’s so special, see our blog.
17. Japan’s best artisanal BBQ sauce: Shibanuma Yakiniku sauce
Upgrade your friend’s BBQ experience with Shibanuma's artisanal barbecue sauce. Created at one of Ibaraki prefecture's famous breweries and made from an exclusive blend of rich wood-barrelled raw soy sauce with onion, apple and sansho Japanese pepper, this decadent barbecue sauce makes for a key component in perfecting Japanese grilled barbecue. They can then cook for you like a pro, with Masterhcef the professional finalist Bart van der Lee’s grilled pork fillet recipe.
18. The best posh salt: Kampot Fleur de Sel
If they have their Himalayan salt and rave about flake salt, you must introduce them to the only posh salt that matters: Kampot Fleur de Sel. Unlike most famous salts like Maldon, it is truly artesanal and sustainably obtained. It is made on the salt marshes of Kampot on the far south coast of Cambodia in the crystal clear waters of the Gulf of Thailand, a short cycle ride from our Botree farm. The fine sea salt blossom is the purest and most valuable type of sea salt. It forms only in extreme heat and low humidity into flower-shaped salt crystals. To preserve the fragile structure the salt is harvested by hand using special salt rakes. To know more about the different types of salt (and why Fleur de Sel is best), check out our blog.
By healthiness or…naughtiness
19. For the G&T lover: Salted pepper berries
The talk of the town, our Salted Pepper Berries are going down a storm. Already in the hands of some of our favourite Michelin Star Chefs, including Peter Sanchez-Iglesias, Michel Roux Jr and Tom Kerridge to name but a few. Fresh green Kampot pepper berries are perfectly preserved in our Fleur de Sel to give you a seasoning sensation like never before. Pop one in your mouth for an explosion of the prefect balance of salt and pepper.
BBC Good Food editor agrees they are perfect in a G&T and they won 3 stars at thee Great Taste Awards, with judges raving that they are “a very complex tasting product which is having a true party in your mouth, great balance, depth and length producing a truly wonderful product.”
20. For the Bloody Mary addict: Red Salted pepper berries
Our Red Salted Pepper Berries are similar to the original Salted Pepper Berries, but fruitier, sweeter and more complex. They will completely transform your cocktail game!
The red berries are more mature as they are picked at a later stage in the harvest, so they develop a more natural sweetness to them. They are then tightly preserved in our smooth and creamy Fleur de Sel, keeping them fresh and delicious.
Give them to that friend who cannot do without a good Bloody Mary’s- and rest assured, these little berries will soon become as just as important in their cocktail as crushed ice!
21. For the health conscious: Palmyra flower sugar
For the less cocktail-oriented and more health conscous we recommend our Palmyra flower sugar aka the world's most nutritious and delicious sugar. Despite its seductive appearance, you can enjoy our sugar without regret: it’s glucose free with sucrose and fructose, trace elements of potassium and magnesium, as well as vitamin C and the amino acids glutamine and arginin. This natural sugar doesn't cause insulin secretion, so it is the ideal sugar for diabetics with a very low glycemic index of less than 30.
By cuisine
22. For the Asian cuisine lover: White pipali pearls
If your friend is a fan of true Asian cuisine, then the tiny White Pipali Pearls are the perfect gift that willmake you look sophisticated and knowledgeable. Rarely seen today, long pepper was once commonplace in cuisines around the world. This ancient exotic treasure, White Pipali Pearls could be found gracing dishes across Asia as well as in ancient Rome and Renaissance Europe. Today, pipali (or piper lung, long pepper) still lends its warm and pungent aromatic flavour to preparations in Nepal, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and of course Cambodia. They can be used as they are - just need to sprinkle these little gems, no grinding or chasing around a mortar and pestle required. Add to your favourite curry blend for an elevated garam masala taste. Wonderful in Thai and Japanese soups and stews.
23. For a Caribbean taste: Grenada Gold Nutmeg and Caribbean bay leaves
Our Gold Nutmeg and Caribbean bay leaves are the perfect combo from Grenada- called spice island!- to pleasantly surprise the friend who loves to cook with Carribbean flavours. Both spices won 2 stars at the Great Taste Awards this year and both are unique in their flavour profile and provenance (both from the renowned Belmont Estate). They will allow your friend to make the perfect jerk chicken, but also to experiment with traditional rice and peas, as well as a Caribbean bay leaves-infused creme caramel. More recipe ideas can be found here.
According to GTA judges, our nutmeg has “such fresh perfumed aroma! Light and fluffy, but the flavour is incredible - so aromatic and again perfumed. There is a real depth and warmth in flavour with a citrus, grapefruit, flavour! It would liven and excite any dish it is added to.”
And if they are really serious about authentic taste, our Caribbean bay leaves are really going to make them happy: Completely different from the better known bay laurel leaves (it’s a different tree altogether!), this versatile ingredient adds depth and complexity to stews, curries and baked goods. Ideas on how to use them in your cooking can be found here.
24. The Japanophile: Shichimi Togarashi, Yuzu powder
Shichimi Togarashi is a fundamental 7-spice blend with tremendous history and importance throughout Japanese cuisine and represents the history and cultural refinement of their cooking. Anyone claiming to love Japanese food will welcome this gift, as it can be sprinkled over udon noodles, vegetables, steamed rice, eggs, added to grilled meats, chicken (e.g. yakitori) fish and marinades, used in rubs, soups, tempuras and salad dressings. A simple way to give a Japanese taste to almost anything!
And if you love Japan, you cannot resist the flavoru of yuzu, a cross between grapefruit and mandarin that will awaken all of your senses with a delicious, exotic, sweet flavour. This orange peel substitute will transform your dishes with its divine bitter citrus aroma. Our Yuzu comes from the Kochi prefecture, which is synomim with this fruit. As over 80 percent of Kochi Prefecture is covered in forest, it has an ideal environment for yuzu cultivation. Starting in the 1960s, Kochi decided to reduce logging and concentrate on the eco-friendlier cultivation of yuzu instead. These days, many mountain slopes are covered with yuzu groves, and the region has become the nation’s biggest producer of the citrus.
25. For the Mexican food lover: Sweet allspice berries
If they’re naturally inclined towards Mexican cuisine, our Sweet Allspice berries are a cabinet must-have. The sugar-spicey combination is the ideal base for mole sauces and piclking spice, used in adobo and the seed-based pipian sauce, and is also common in desserts and cookies.
This spice has a smoky warmth and comforting sweetness, with a rich flavour which can be paired with an infinite number of recipes. Infuse it into your pumpkin pies, festive desserts, stews and sauces, spice up your cocktails and teas, and jazz up your meats and BBQs. It’s also a fabulous base for bolognese, chillies and curries too.
26. For the Med-lover
If your’re buying a gift for the friend that always goes to Italian, Greek and Lebanese restaurants, these spices are what you want to gift them: Flowering Hyssop Thyme, Turkish Oregano Buds, Sundried Tomato Powder, Cured Sumac and Wild Za’atar from Palestine. They will ensure they can cook the staples of Mediterranean cuisine, like pasta and Greek salads, while also experimenting with the Med flavours that touch on the Middle East with sumac and za’atar.
27. For the BBQ lover
Now, who doesn’t love a barbecue? But we all have that friend who doesn’t just like it, they are obsessed! So here is the perfect BBQ kit:
all 3 varieties of our lovely Kampot pepper, a staple of every BBQ: Black, Red & White.
Our Kampot Fleur de Sel, because there’s no meat without salt!
three different paprikas for all the rubs they can experiment with: a special heirloom variety from Hungary, the Szegedi 178 hot paprika, DOP-certified Spanish Smoked pimenton and a Noble sweet paprika
Our Shibanuma soy sauce and Yakiniku BBQ sauce for top notch marinades.
By obsession
28. For the tea expert
Maybe they are not so much into cooking, but oh do they like teas and herbal infusions. Say no more: you can give them our Desert Fennel seeds, Hibiscus flowers (both from Egypt) and our Euphrates mint from Turkey.
29. For the curry lover
It’s all they can talk about: how to concoct the perfect curry powder. So give them the best cumin, turmeric and coriander seeds. All these BoTree spices are Great Taste Awards winners, with our Wild Mountain Cumin Seeds getting the GTA judges to comment “Certainly the best cumin we have encountered.”
30. For the chilli nerd
Get them the trifecta of our single-origin chillies: Black Urfa, Cobanero and Silk chilli flakes from Turkey and Guatemala. You won’t be sorry. All won Great Taste Awards and will provide a much needed respite from the usual suspects from supermarkets that offer no real range of spiciness. You cannot get more sophisticated that these three varieties, with the medium heat Black Urfa Chillies (which are cured by ‘Master curers”), the sweet and hot Silk chilli flakes (which will awaken smells of honey and roasted tomatoes) and the smoky Cobanero variety- a rare and really quite special Mayan chilli varietal only grown in the mountains around the city of Cobán, Guatemala.
31. For the paprika enthusiast
You thought there was only one paprika to make goulash? You’re wrong. But if you’re planning to buy a present for somebody who knows about pepper-based spices, we’ve got you covered. We have paprikas to suit every taste and cuisine: a special heirloom variety from Hungary, the Szegedi 178 hot paprika, a Noble sweet paprika and the world famous DOP-certified Spanish Smoked pimenton. All Great Taste Awards winners and all with flavour and heritage to impress your friend.
32. For the chocolate addict
It’d be easy to just buy them some chocolate, but why not introduce them to Morogoro cacao, which can be used to cook savoury dishes, too- not just desserts! It is made from organic cacao beans grown in Kilombero Valley, Tanzania. Instead of roasting the cacao beans, they are naturally fermented and sun-dried, which creates a deeper, fruitier flavour.
Our Morogoro cacao is 100% cacao bean solids ground. It boasts a full-body kick and sparks depth into sweet and savoury flavours. It can be used as a substitute for paprika in stews and tomato sauces. We highly recommend sprinkling some into your caramelized onions!
33. For the citrus lover
If they love all things citrussy, you can gift them with our Kochi Yuzu peel powder, Ground Black Lime, and Shibanuma yuzu ponzu sauce. They will be able to experiment with citrus flavours across the whole spectrum, not just adding a a lemony kick at the end.
Of our Black Lime, the judges at the Great Taste Awards said “An intriguing flavour - part lime, part preserved lemon and with smoky back notes. A bit sumac-y and really thought provoking, with lots of different flavour notes. No doubt a rewarding ingredient to use.” And our Shibanuma yuzu ponzu sauce has a stellar balance of salty, tangy and umami flavours, it’s perfect for enjoying as a marinade or salad dressing.
34. For the cinnamon junkie
Cinnamon rolls, buns, twists, panckakes, crepes… where does it end? Well, if your friend is one of those that put cinnamon everywhere, you can gift them not one, but two types of cinnamon- so they can work with this amazing spice on both sweet and savoury recipes. You can give them our Royal cinnamon together with our Cinnamon Verum
Royal Cinnamon is an heirloom variety, harvested in the Quang Nam Mountains, Vietnam- and it was originally produced for the Vietnames royal court! It is the ultimate seasoning companion for all things sweet: baked goods, cakes, desserts, yogurts and smoothies. Cinnamon Verum instead is more herbal and savoury. It can be added to transform tomato sauces, stews and chilli & BBQ rubs. Perfect to infuse in tea and to garnish cocktails, creating a warm and comforting festive feeling.
Did you know (does your friend know?) that most store-brand cinnamon is far away from the real stuff? Importers use a cheap substitute in Indonesia – a variety called Korintje. It’s a botanical cousin to Saigon cinnamon, but it’s much more bitter and doesn’t have the same depth of flavor. Cinnamomum verum, however, is a ‘true’ cinnamon.
35. For the umami slave
If you’re giving a present to someone who’s constantly talking about ‘umami’, you are going to want to give them our umami trio:
Our Sundried Tomato Powder, for a subtle yet powerful umami flavour, like a paprika without the heat
Wild Icelandic Kelp, which Great Taste Awards judges called “a huge umami hit, and an undertones of ozone, make this salty treat rather exciting”
and the world’s purest fish sauce, Red Boat, “Think of it as liquid umami” as the GTA judges said.
By Lifestyle
36. For the bon vivant: Herati Saffron
Is there a more luxurious spice than saffron? Our Herati Saffron is as good as saffron gets, from the home of saffron itself, Afghanistan. It comes from beautiful white and purple crocus flowers. Each saffron flower only produces three threads, so it can take thousands of flowers to get just one ounce of saffron. And all harvesting must be done by hand. So it’s the perfect gift for those who appreciate the finest things in life and the most authentic flavours on the dinner table.
37. For the aesthete: Turkish Oregano Buds
Our Oregano Buds are not just delicious, they are oh, so pretty! They are the perfect gift for the friend who enjoys taste with a side of beauty. If looks matter and presentation is important this is the spice for them. They can enjoy crushing them between their fingers to experience the burst of flavour, “reminiscent of the aroma of wild oregano on a walk by the Mediterranean and without the bitter dustiness of some dried oregano”, as judges from the Great Taste Awards describe it. They also added: “An innovative way of presenting oregano, we feel pride has been taken in this product and the flavour is excellent.”
38. For the hunter and game-lover: Red kampot pepper
The absolute best pepper to cook game is Red Kampot pepper, no doubt. So if your gift is for a hunter or someone who really enjoy their venison and game in general, Red Kampot pepper is what you want to give. The unique sweetness in our late harvest Red Kampot Pepper works particularly well with foods that have (or need) added sweetness. Our friend Bart van der Lee, Masterchef: The professionals finalist, uses it in his Christmas venison loin recipe and we can guarantee it made a difference!
39. For the salt lover: BoTree Olive Wood Salt Pot
Beautiful and practical, our Olivewood Salt Pot keeps salt dry and within easy reach of your hob, so it’s great for that friend who can never put enough salt in their food!
Handcrafted from olivewood after the tree no longer bears fruit, the pot has a swivel lid with magnetic closure. Wood naturally absorbs moisture making it the best choice for a salt pot.
40. For the hoarder: 500gr packs of BoTree Kampot pepper
Do they worry they’ll run out of pepper? Like having a good stash in the pantry just in case? Then you can give them our 500gr packs of Kampot pepper. It’s usually restaurants that purchase these, but who are we to judge? Get them their pepper reserve and provide them with some peace of mind- that’s what Christmas is for, right?
41. For the minimalist: Menu grinders
Designed by Norm Architects, these sleek bottle-shaped grinders make for the perfect gift for the friend who loves a minimalist aesthetic. Their bottle-like shape is important to the whole experience. Designer Kasper Rønn says, “From a shape like this, you’d expect the content to be something liquid like oil or dressing, you’re not at all expecting dried up spices or nuts. We used this shape to surprise and somewhat trick the users. Sometimes people need a bit of a surprise in order to change their habits”.
The Menu Bottle Grinders come in a range of beautiful, soft Scandinavian colours. Every grinder we sell arrives to you full of BoTree Kampot Pepper, so you can start grinding right away with the world's finest pepper.
42. For the practical chef: 3-in-1 Peugeot maestro grinder
The fight over red, black or white pepper is over. No more bulky grinders crowding the shelves of your friend’s kitchen: you can gift them the 3-in-1 Peugeot Maestro grinder, which allows you to easily switch from one pepper to the other. It’s an ideal instrument for tasting and using all of our peppers- you get 3 interchangeable jars pre-filled with 30g of our Black, Red and White Kampot Pepper.
43. For the experiential freak: Skeppshult Lilla Swing Spice Mill
If they like the showmanship of spice grinding and want to have all their senses involved, a Skeppshult spice mill is the answer. They can see the elegance of this round mill, feel the touch of the cast-iron material, hear the sound of grinding, the smell of the spices coming through and of course, taste at the end! These spice mills come in small and big versions: whichever you choose they will make a great rustic and practical addition to a modern kitchen. We love them as we can use all of our peppers and spices without the need to fill individual grinders.
44. For the traveller: Peugeot pocket mill
For the friend who cannot go without their Kampot pepper, the perfect gift is Peugeot pocket mill. Whether they love picnicking by the waterside, hiking over snow-capped peaks, dining at a restaurant or socialising with friends, they can bring their pepper with them!
Equipped with a lifetime-guaranteed mechanism for precision and adjustable grinding. The pepper grind size can be adjusted in a single motion by tightening the button (from a fine grind for a powerful aroma to a coarse grind to release the true flavour of the pepper). It comes complete with a felt pouch and 30g of our heavenly pepper (of course!).
45. For the colourful soul: Peugeot Tahiti summer duo
On the other end of the spectrum from the minimalist, this friend is all about colour, fun and summery vibes. So, the Tahiti manual mills duo is what you should give them. Ultra-trendy blue tones make these grinders a fun centrepiece on the kitchen top and on the dining table. The pepper mill is recognisable by its intense petrol blue, and the salt mill by its fresher shade of sky blue. Each mill in the Tahiti duo is equipped with a Peugeot steel grinding mechanism, which comes with a lifetime guarantee.
Christmas 2023 is a time for sharing love and creating unforgettable moments. By gifting Botree's Kampot Pepper and single origin spices, you're not only offering a gourmet experience but also sharing a piece of Cambodian history and a commitment to sustainability. Spice up this holiday season with a truly exceptional present that will be cherished by food enthusiasts and home cooks alike. Make Botree's spices the star of your Christmas gift-giving, and watch your loved ones savour the magic of these extraordinary seasonings.