Newsletter #20

Dear all,

Some of you may have noticed that this newsletter is coming later than “usual.” Unfortunately, writing a monthly newsletter was too much of a promise, but we will do our best to send you a newsletter every two months!

News from the team

“I’m off then… retired. Thank you for the wonderful time at Bioase, for the enriching knowledge and conversations, as well as my healthier lifestyle!”

Last week Tatjana had her last shift! We say goodbye and thank her for her time and work, for the numerous flowers and plants, for her great herbal knowledge, the nice chats, for her highly professional look, her wit and cheerfulness, for all the years together! We will miss you as a colleague! And we look forward to continuing to have you as a customer! Thank you, Tatjana! 💐

After a short break, our dear Elke has joined us again, but this time with significantly more hours, so you will now find her more often in the store - yay, welcome back, Elke!

At the same time, we welcome Putri to the team, who will be assisting us as a mini-jobber in the late and weekend shifts - welcome!

New products

Cheese specialties from Würth

At the beginning of June, we received our first delivery from our new cheese supplier Würth, and the first new cheeses are already out of stock, wow! Würth has been supplying its customers with selected organic specialties from all over Europe for over 30 years. We’ll be feasting our way through the new range together, so keep your eyes and taste buds open 😉

A small selection of the cheeses we have tried so far:

• BAUERN CAMEMBERT: A top-class artisan raw milk soft cheese from Brittany, produced from the very high-protein and mineral-rich milk of Jersey cows

• PURPLE VINTAGE CHEESE from England: PVC is particularly long-ripened cheddar - hence the name Vintage and therefore particularly creamy in texture with a delicate melt in the mouth

• RICOTTA AL FORNO: This typical Italian sheep’s whey cheese, made in a copper pot, is baked in the oven. This gives it a slightly smoky aroma. A must for a mixed cheese platter, especially in summer, to go with fruity confits or sweet, ripe fruit, such as strawberries, currants, plums, peaches, figs, etc.

• SCHAFWEICHKÄSE BERTA ROSMARIN-WACHOLDER (soft sheep cheese): fresh, curd-like German blue cheese. Its typical noble mold aroma is refined with rosemary and juniper.

• LÖFFELGORGONZOLA (spoon gorgonzola): Very creamy Gorgonzola for convivial moments with a glass of wine or similar, simply for dipping with grissini, Sardinian bread, vegetable sticks, crackers, or as a sandwich spread.

• VENEZIAN UBRIACO: aromatic Italian cheese. Obtains its pleasant wine flavor through a 10-day maturation in organic red wine cider. The red wine pomace (pulp) adorns its exterior.

• TOMME FERMIÈRE SAVOIE: TFS is a hay-milk cheese from the Savoy region in eastern France. Due to its degree of ripeness, it is one of the more aromatic Fermière cheeses of its type. Its ivory-coloured paste is characterized by a mild, yet delicately fruity aroma.

• FRENCH SHEEP’S BRIE: Its name Onctueux de Brebis says it all. It is simply creamy!

• LE ROUMÉ: Goat’s milk cheese with perfectly balanced milk flavors. A melt-in-the-mouth, creamy texture that becomes crumbly over time, with a black or white rind.

We were also impressed by a vegan cheese alternative. This is cashew-based and available with paprika, garlic, Provençal herbs and truffle flavor. Its name is QUEVANA.

UMBio from the Uckermark Thanks to one of our loyal members and friends of Bioase, we now have products from UMBio aus der Uckermark - a small farm in Grünheide, about an hour’s drive north of Berlin. We source various naturally cloudy orchard meadow juices from them, single-variety dried apple and pear rings from old local varieties and first-class honey from the untouched Schorfheide. They are also happy to have harvest helpers, so if you don’t just want to consume their products, but also want to lend a hand, feel free to contact them 😃

Bioase Hausgemacht New is our homemade apple vinegar in large and small deposit bottles, and back in stock the garlic fermented in honey. Raw garlic has natural antibiotic properties and can help fight cold and flu symptoms, and when fermented in honey the garlic becomes soft and very sweet. When combined with the allergy fighting power of our local Uckermark honey this becomes very tasty medicine!

Antipasti We finally have capers pickled in pure brine again. We’ve also switched to a different variety of artichokes, which are only cooked once compared to the previous ones and are therefore nice and crunchy!

Product of the month: Kühles Köpfchen Aloe Vera Gel Just in time for the start of summer, Susan would like to recommend one of her favorite products as the Product of the Month for July & August - the Kühles Köpfchen Aloe Vera Gel from the small manufactory 4peoplewhocare from Hamburg!

This serum consists of 99.6% organic aloe vera juice from Spain and only three other ingredients. Aloe vera is known for its cooling and moisturizing effect, which can help after mild sunburn or burns, after shaving, insect bites or itchy skin, for example. As the serum contains no alcohols, perfume, silicones or parabens, it is also suitable for people with eczema or dry, irritated skin, either on its own or in combination with other skincare products. “The serum is absorbed super quickly and is really a lifesaver for my extremely stressed atopic dermatitis skin during these hot months. Storing the gel in the fridge is even more refreshing. After applying it, it gives me the same satisfaction and relief as chugging a glass of water when I’m extremely thirsty!” - direct quote from Susan 😉 So, never carry aloe vera leaves around in your bag anymore 😆

A “hello” from Warawul

First of all, we would like to thank everyone for the overwhelmingly warm welcome we have received during our first few weeks. We plan to continue improving the café area over time and are always open to your ideas and suggestions. From our side, we are working on expanding the children’s play area and we would like to reconfigure the space so that larger groups can sit comfortably. Please let us know if you have any suggestions!

We are pleased to announce that we will soon be offering coffees from Colombia and Costa Rica. In both cases, we are working with groups of smallholder farmers who are entering the specialty coffee market for the first time. We are looking forward to collaborating long-term with the producers and to sharing their perspectives and stories with you at Bioase.

Last but not least: We have received a lot of requests to offer decaffeinated coffee in the café. We had originally planned to do this from day one, but unfortunately the coffee could not be shipped from Colombia due to time constraints. We are working on finding an alternative, but want to stay true to our approach of building direct partnership with the producers and not simply buying from big importers who offer little transparency about how much money actually reaches the producers. This will take time, but we are confident that we will be able to offer decaffeinated coffee by August at the latest.

See you in the café. And remember, it’s always a good time for coffee! Your Warawul team - Chris, Brenda, Zoulka and Anabel

Workshops in the Bioase

It was and still is a dream of ours to play a cultural and political role in the Bioase. After our previous miso workshop last year, we are delighted to announce two events in the Bioase!

Honey workshop with Ina from Sonnengold 🐝🐝🍯 Honey tasting - taste and be amazed

Did you know that bees travel a distance equivalent to three times around the earth for a jar of honey? Or that one jar of honey contains the nectar of 2 million flowers? During the two-hour honey tasting, we will not only let different types of honey melt in our mouths, but also learn a lot about bees in the ecosystem, how they make honey, what different types of honey are made of and much more. Come with us on this journey deep into the honey pot.

Tasting on a donation basis (suggested donation 10-20€)

Sunday, 21.7.24, 4 - 6 pm, please register by 19.7 directly to schebler.ina@gmx.de

Workshop will be held in spoken German language. If you are interested in an English-speaking workshop, feel free to address that, too!

Coffee talk & conversation with Hidardo Hernández ☕ Warawul has something planned for July: Hidardo Hernández from Finca Cascaritas and the CAFESMO cooperative will be visiting us! If you have tried an espresso or cappuccino with us in the last few weeks, then you have drunk Hidardo’s coffee.

You are cordially invited to come to the café on Wednesday, July 3rd from 4-6 p.m. for a short talk about coffee production in Honduras followed by a tasting of CAFESMO coffees. Carlos Guerra, two-time Honduran barista champion and participant in the 2023 Barista World Championships, will also be there, so come along to taste the coffees and learn more about Honduran coffee from Hidardo and Carlos.

Other

A reminder that our free trial month promotion is now over. We are happy about the new faces! We may still owe some of you a piece of cake, so please do remind us ;-)

Due to various extreme weather events, some fruit and vegetables are not available as usual or quite high in price…the figs have drowned, the cauliflower was feeling too cold for a long time, the cherries have been damaged by hail…so if you miss something or want to know more, please ask!

There were already warnings of exploding cocoa prices in spring. The reasons for this are a steady increase in demand and a simultaneous shortage of the raw material on the world market as a result of failed harvests, particularly in the two main growing regions of Ghana and the Ivory Coast. This is now also making itself felt in the organic chocolate sector. As with olive oil, we advise you to consume consciously and with pleasure…

Finally…

… As always, all that remains is to say: Thank you thank you thank you!

Despite the summer temperatures, we hope you won’t forget to eat and shop with us 😉

With this in mind: See you later at Bioase! 🙂

Your Bioase collective