Prime notch tea and low are hamper staples, and now you’ll be able to select moral manufacturers. The Uncommon Tea Firm, arrange by former banker Henrietta Lovell, sources top-notch tea direct from growers, and sends it out in good reusable tins. Earl Gray connoisseurs will love the Uncommon Tea model, made with actual bergamot oil (Earl Gray tea £6.49 for 50g). Yallah Espresso in Cornwall buys its Sail Ship Espresso at a premium from producers in Colombia and transport it right here by wind energy on crusing ships, placing the carbon footprint at near zero. The espresso has the steadiness and faint sourness of the perfect “hipster” barista variations (£9.50 for 250g).
Additionally attempt: Natural teas by in fashionable tins from Nemi.
Crackers
Good crackers are nice for making impromptu canapés in addition to with cheese – attempt them with a dollop every of tapenade and creme fraiche. The High-quality Cheese Co cracker choice is available in a tin, which implies they received’t go stale between larder raids, and it may be refilled lengthy after the primary batch of crackers is completed (flavoured crackers choice tin, £13.95, finecheese.co.uk).
Additionally attempt: Peter’s Yard have a terrific vary, together with sourdough spherical crispbreads with a gap.
Cheese
Stilton is the traditional, however large slabs are likely to linger after Christmas, whereas there’s all the time lots to do with leftover Cheddar. An entire spherical seems to be nice too, however wax-wrapped variations are typically oddly comfortable textures. Go for an entire cloth-wrapped cheddar as a substitute. Royal cheesemongers Paxton and Whitfield have a dinky Cheddar Pounder (£15.50 for 550g or a 1.8kg Cheddar Truckle, £40)
Additionally attempt: a truckle of cheesemaker Quicke’s Devonshire pink.