Taste Test: Fentimans Orange Jigger Soda

Last week I ventured into an organic grocery store that I have lived near for about 5 plus years and had never been inside. Organic means expensive to me. I also believe that most organic food is part of "green-washing" marketing, where something rather ordinary is suddenly healthy because it is labelled organic, but does not have any proof to make it's claim.

The store was shockingly American. Almost (if not all!) the produce was American! Then scattered throughout it's aisles, there was the usual suspects of healthy, natural foods and Canadian content. Milk, of course due to dairy/border laws was Canadian. Same with baked goods since most natural food stuffs don't have the preservatives to travel. But really, it was sad. Oh and there was a weird amount of maple syrup.

It left me angry.

On the brighter side, they had a really wacky selection of pop. Hence, my taste test of "Fentimans Orange Jigger Soda."

I'd never heard of it - have you?

It comes with a cool bottle cap.

Apparently this product is British but is bottled in Vancouver. (???) That is odd to me, for we dare not call pop,"soda" in Canada.

Fentimans has a neat ingredient list: fermented ginger root extracts with mandarin orange juice and juniper extracts. Funky. The raised glass says Botanically Brewed (and is why it was at the Organic grocery store).

How does it taste? Rather disappointing. I don't taste the ginger at all. It tastes rather like mandarin orange juice with just a little bit of carbonization (which I do like).

According to the website : 'Jigger' is an old English term for a good measure, which is used when combining the juice of eight mandarins and the zest of Seville orange in every bottle.

Here is a pic of PM David Cameron having a taste test of Fentimans. Check out the amazing wallpaper in the background LOL:

While I am not impressed with this flavour, they have lots of neat flavours which you can see here. I am curious about their "Curiosity Cola" which The Guardian has named 'the best soda in the world.'

Guess I have to go back the grocery store!

My Rob Ryan Plates & Collection

I have a little collection of Rob Ryan work. None of it original, original - unless you count my signed lazar cut. (which is signed!)

This was my first purchase.

Rob Ryan is an artist, based in England and is quite well known for his intricate paper-cuts. He was really one of the first well known and established paper-cut artists, before paper-cutting became incredibly popular.

He lives and works in Spitalfields, London, where you can visit him in his shop named Ryantown.  Two years ago on my trip to England, I missed an exhibition of his and contemporary British craft artists. I was literally a day late and was kicking myself to the point of bruising! I even went to Spitalfields to find his shop later and got distracted by a huge street market.

 One day I hope to own an original but it is out of my price range at the moment )-:

My 3rd Acquisition ... his little story book.

Well I did manage to visit a gallery/shop that represented him and managed to buy some lazar cut cards. You can check out Castor & Pollux here. It's a really cool little shop...

My camera died before I could photograph them for you!

Today I purchased his plates. YAY!

Oh, to eat off of them or hang them on the wall - decisions, decisions!