Page 15 – La Muse Blue

The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben

Feeling, emotions and communication are not just human and some higher animal distinctions, trees do have something like a nervous system and so they react and talk. In The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohlleben opens the gates of our awareness towards life in the natural world. Not the life we can easily grasp though ignorant eyes and without sufficient knowledge.

plant behavior

oldest trees

In order to decipher the life cycle, feelings, behavior, character and communication between trees, a sensitive person engaging all the senses, intuition and experience is needed. The Japanese mindful practice of shinrin-yoku or bathing in the forest requires a full immersion into its life-giving presence. In the archetypal realm, the forest is feminine and dark. In fairy-tales the hero usually faces challenges in the treedom, yet while I am not a Little Red Riding Hood, my personal solitary treks throughout the European and Asian forest attest, it is us that the forest shall fear.

The best-selling author, forester and researcher Peter Wohlleben was born for his profession that illuminated the path to his life’s mission. His surname — Wohlleben — when translated from German literally means “living well“. Wohl was explored by Goethe poetically:

Wohl is a very versatile word.
A word with multiple meanings it seems.
Evading your grasp, just like a bird
its core and its essence totally blurred
but crow because a new hope for us gleams.

A life-changing book

Reading this naturalist book by Wohlleben will change your relationship with trees. Every stroll in a forest, a breather in an urban park or a verdant, shaded alley will talk to you as your awareness sharpens. For example, trees send around 220 herz strong electric signals through the fungal networks around their roots (like phone lines or the internet cables). They produce their own insecticides, but when weakened or ill their immune system does not kick on and the bugs like germs devour them.

Countless “Discoveries from a Secret World” were famously brought to life in the fiction of Tolkien, who was inspired by his nativist predecessors, the Celts. The Hidden Life of Trees pushes further. Scientific research, decades of experience and an extraordinary sensitivity to trees, cast the work by Peter Wohlleben as a pioneering holistic observation where reason meets imagination. The forest he managed in Southern Germany inspired his research, and the University of Aachen supported his endeavor to decipher the workings of mutually dependent ecosystem.

Like humans, heads down

In a smooth, genuine, and empathetic voice, The Hidden Life of Trees talks about the social security (immune system) of trees, community housing, language, friendships, school system, as well as aging gracefully like humans. Demystifying some climate myths, migration, and underlining the healthy (primal forest) trees’ importance in the ecosystem. The vulnerability of tree street kids, even a burnout from overworking negatively affect trees as much as they do.
Wohlleben repeatedly likens trees’ behavior, manners, nourishment and communication to a human character. Not just in his fantasy, but in a thorough scientific process. Linking his shocking findings with substantial research persuades even the urbanites without a direct access to a proper forest.

Emotional beings that love

Emotions like love manifest in the trees’ behavior. Procreation through seeds involves a communal agreement in the deciduous trees strategy though. Since beechnuts are such a delicacy for wild boars and deers, while acorns mean the ultimate feast for wild pigs, their supply needs to be strategically limited in some years. That’s what these leafy giants do. They agree to bloom on a specific year (the mast year) producing so many seeds that the herbivores cannot eat them all, so enough is left to sprout. The forester adds: “Trees have survived until today only because there is a great deal of genetic diversity within each species”. So not every pine is alike. Beyond superficial differences, their pollen is released in different time, so pollinating its own female flowers can be avoided. Preventing genetic mutations is a smart approach by the trees.

Insects like bees pollinate rarely in the forest but bird cherries are one of their exceptions to wander further into the forest land. Willows, more likely to be found by the ponds and rivers, are also being pollinated by bees. They lure them in with a specific scent. The male colour their catskins yellow so the bees come to them first. The greenish, shy female trees are visited next. An efficient strategy do they have, like peacocks!

birch tree

Wild or planted: the forest behaves accordingly

The Hidden Life of Trees alerts on the essential differences between planted and primeval forest. The suffering, tortured trees on the urban, compact land are being literally suffocated. Lacking the microbial diversity that a healthy, diversified forest has, the soil in our city parks is like junk food. Our footprints further squash the dirt around the trees’ underground roots cutting off the life support that cannot circulate naturally.

contemporary bathroom
Saving native, real forests, is the mission of the eco-warrior who wrote about the natural world in many other books. The Hidden Life of Trees is his internationally most renowned masterpiece. I saw a hardcover copy from the Americas through the UK, Israel, to Hong Kong, and bought a Czech translation for my father, who spent countless weekends managing the protected forests around my hometown. He gasped, after reading it. He was never before been able to imagine all that suffering the trees must go through when being “helped” by human intervention, mainly for a profit. From his own experience, he knew that trees have a sense of time as Wohlleben writes — “Rising temperatures mean it’s spring. Falling temperatures mean it’s fall”, but the vast majority of the content was disturbingly revealing.

So, why we have been ignoring trees recently? We know that we need the photosynthesising giants to breathe clean air, to have oxygen for survival. Yet, in our hectic, materialist culture, Wohlleben writes that “the main reason we misunderstand trees is that they are so incredibly slow. Their complete life-span is at least five times as long as ours.” On the surface trees are inert, rustled only by the force of the wind, pushed down by the galeforce of a storm, devoured by insects or wild animals, frozen to nihilist corpses, or struck by a lightning, but they are active too. “Water and nutrients – that is to say, ‘tree blood’—flow from the roots up to the leaves at the rate of a third of an inch per second.” Quite a metabolism, isn’t it? There is so much more to discover in this compact book, I shared with you only a taste of the wonders inscribed so beautifully inside.

Liberty: indulgence and illusion of a bohemian mind

Poets and philosophers, the deep free souls of myriad kingdoms, republics, commonwealths and other forms of geographical identities, wrote about the desire for liberty. Politicians entered the quest, playing with the allure of freedom, and women only recently punched their rights further to an equal deal. Emancipation and doing what you love – shedding fear, obsolete and oppressive social rules, is only the first step emboldening us to pursue liberty as the ultimate life’s goal. For as R.M. Rilke poetically expressed, freedom is true love. Ever since the liberal spirit of poetry had opened my soul to a deeper, most authentic form of literary expression, I intended to write a poem on freedom.

Beyond battles and revolutions look inside for lasting liberty

Seeking liberty must be innate to all human beings. Something animal in us roars for attention. Our entire history was a battle for space, independence, freedom and support. Security, being yet another human need though, brought more conflict in our lives as one must trade it with a sliver of personal liberty. Not all of us can be the warrior chiefs fending off danger, and no general has the freedom to roam independently as he is responsible for his troops. This outward freedom of movement, speech et al. misses the inner, inherently responsible freedom that we must nurture in ourselves.

Liberty as an indulgence and illusion

Being free, like a wild beast in nature, is an indulgent act. If that is to be sustainable in a world of almost nine billion of people to survive, responsibility must kick into the liberated mind. Revolutions were stirred by the hunger for liberty. Entire countries were created based on the illusion of freedom. While, the unburdened citizens gained at least a temporary release from the former establishment, eventually, as with any taxing state, the populace silently lost much of it.
Outward anarchy is the only free society, but chaos is frightening and stability desired, so we think we must compromise. Yet, freedom does not rule well without responsibility — that resides inside us, and not in some moral codes imposed by the society. Western and eastern ethicists, as well as the most impactful Indian sages like Krishnamurti agree on that:

It appears one always seeks freedom on the surface, the right to go from here to there, to think what one likes, to do what one likes, to choose, and to seek wider experiences. Surely this is a rather limited freedom, involving a great deal of conflict, wars and violence.
Inner freedom is something entirely different. When there is deep, fundamental freedom, which has its roots not in the idea of freedom but in the reality of freedom, then that freedom covers all movement, all the endeavours of man. Without this freedom, life will always be an activity within the limited circle of time and conflict.

Only you own your liberty

Liberty resides in your head, literally, you can only be free if you decide to be so. Unattached to anything (even time) and anyone, inventive in the day-to-day life, guarding your own space and unrestricted by one’s own thoughts. A flexible, yet authentic attitude is one way out of the prison of life. Even more radical, perhaps more ancient solution, is not thinking. Taking breaks from ruminating, doubt, analysing, evaluating, judging et al. seems balancing. Meditation as the tool to liberation of the mind. Pure presence is weightless, not a luxury, but the freedom itself.
Not planning much frees you from self-judgement, the fear of missing out (as you are here and now), the nagging schedule in your mind and the preoccupations with strives of the daily life. That is holidays, and such rest we all need between our necessarily regimented working days.

Poem on Liberty

There were a few poems in which I mused on the wilderness deep in our soul. Each strikingly different, relating to a distinct niche in the mind. Some observed nature, others were inspired by philosophy, religion, but mainly they reflected my perception in a specific moment. Always in a place that released my creative STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS.
This poem was born one early autumn morning when a sonorous church bell and merry-making birds woke me up at a former Abbey in Provence. I lodged in a room where Charles de Gaulle wrote a part of his memoir. The Frenchman, a general and the President of the country, familiar with the revolutionary spirit of his countrymen, certainly pondered liberté in that room as much as I did. The countryside calm and clarity unburdened my creative energy typing the letters of the following poetic liberty.

Liberty is a room on your own

Blank page to draw a tale of the soul

Open field to roam or a window

The wild bird that does not follow

Flies when and where it wants

Liberty alone is fragile

Others and you cut her wings

Usurp the last drops of water

Suck clean air from your lungs

But en masse freedom becomes strong

Still, life by its nature takes it away

Death destined to all flesh once born

Yet before, wine sets me free, you say

Drunk Illusion fills you day by day

I sing and grow feathers from my arms

The bird welcomes every day with joy

The streams roam with lively waters

And you realise that you have a choice

With seasons changing you can flow

Or freeze the moment to slow down

Such fortune endowed to all liberated minds

Who enslaved cattle, dogs, our fellow humans

Bound up foreigners from far-flung lands,

But strangely, think of it, not cats

So are we savvy creatures or cowards?

Doctrines, kings and chiefs cling to power

In fear they deceive our heart and mind,

Shading reality is best for the beast

While, post-mortum liberty is an illusion

The vile create to keep us tame.

Let’s play to blow away the clouds

Freedom is born from each game

Creative self uncaged in the wild

Mirror the kids that reek with joy

The innocent know without claiming how to live!

Pure — not tinted by artifice

Authenticity cannot be barred by lies

A true you expresses what it wants

But, let’s not forget:

Love gives, possessive it takes

Your space becomes my space owned

— instead

Become a mountain greeting nearby summits

Free within the dream realm of their own

Give freedom to all, including yourself

— for eternity

~ Joy

On creativity and freedom

Artists become enraged, passionate, so consumed by liberty that while it may benefit their creative work, it wounds the people close to them. Gauguin left his wife for Tahiti to indulge himself with the local ladies, Rimbaud renounced his family in order to live and later leave Verlaine — there were and are endless victims of creativity. While curiosity expands boundaries, its hunger can carry you away too far from a sustainable, long-living equilibrium. Dr. Sacks wrote a mind-broadening book on creativity and freedom seeing as the pure flow of consciousness. Back to the mind. All talent dwells inside.

These words flagging freedom are being spun in the net of my mind:

unattached, liberal, independent, unstitched, loose, relieved, potential, undirected, inventive, playful, wild, opportunity, choice, may be disorganised, co-evolution, space, all-directions, unrestricted, disobeying, bohemian, true, authentic, …

I am sure, you will find plenty more expressions flashing out what it means not to be a slave, but that is not enough.

Millennia of wisdom: No freedom is good without responsibility and awareness

Freedom can be dangerous, humans are just evolved animals after all. It has been always curbed by those aware of its harmful potential for humanity. For millennia, various cultures, religions and philosophies have been seeking liberation from others, the harsh life, even the mind. The true yogis, zen masters, sufis and hassids, focused all their efforts on freeing the mind from ego. Further, for over a century, psychology has been dissecting and studying this self-defeating phenomenon scientifically (such as Freud’s id x ego x superego).
A recent accident enlightened my overindulgent free-self when riding a bicycle. Swishing downhill, wind chisels my brazen face, effortless, so free, I thought. An illusion! Fun does not entirely free you from responsibility. Drunken with joy, pulling out my phone to check the time, … (you know the ending). I crashed, bleeding all over, my bike rolling-free in the roadside. I laughed it off, thanking the great force (within my control if I were mindful and focused on that risky task) for the lesson. A painful one! Attention and awareness can save us in every minute of our fragile life.

Clarifying the mystery of the mind may be beyond our capabilities. Unless, we dedicate a substantial energy to an increased awareness. Mindfulness practice like meditation gained popularity in our overtasked millennium, but it is not just a tool for a better focus or to calm stress. By wiping out anxious thoughts — penetrating deep into the mind, you learn about yourself, and can better observe your actions. Be impartial towards your thoughts, and above all, free yourself from the detrimental whispers of the ego, then you flow happily within yourself.

Over a coffee on Place des Vosges in Paris, an old friend told me: “Everything happens for a reason. Do not reason about it though because there is some energy we cannot explain.” He reads, thinks, discourses, relaxes and composes wonderful music. La vie Parisienne seemingly effortless with awareness gushing from his mind.

I publish plenty of poetry on freedom in her various coats. To flow through every day effortlessly, a nudge, a short form of inspiration and perhaps stimulation to shift something in you and me right now − in this moment, when we read that outpour of words, we connect with the soul of another human being.

Raaka: unroasted and fully transparent chocolates made in Brooklyn

Raaka means raw, wild in Finnish. That is the echo of how these Brooklyn-made chocolates are crafted from the organic, fair trade-certified, gluten-, nut- and soy-free, all kosher and vegan ingredients. In an easy fall weekend, I enrolled myself and my husband into a decadent chocolaty experience at their Red Hook production facility. After re-tasting them all myself, my other half gasping with pleasure nodded to my inclusion of Raaka in my post on the best chocolates made in America.

Raaka: the ‘Virgin’ chocolate approach

Like an extra virgin olive oil, Raaka uses only unroasted cacao and processes the mass in as low temperatures as possible. The virgin chocolate maker believes that some of the cocoa’s fruity and bold flavours are better expressed by not exposing the beans to an extreme heat.
At our visit, we started with tasting two types of raw cocoa nibs from the rich Peruvian and the tropical Tanzania beans. The African queen captured me so powerfully, that I lured for more of their raw pleasure. Like Alain Ducasse‘s cracked cocoa nibs, these Tanzania cracking pleasures should be sold by Raaka in bags.

Equitable business model

Transparent trade is the core of the business at Raaka. Sourcing from small cooperatives with sustainable growing values, and paying a substantial share from the sales, often a double above the fair trade minimum, Raaka steps closer to a guilt-free chocolate indulgence for eco-conscious consumers. At the back of each label, the exact price paid for the cacao used in your bar compared to the commodity and fair trade charts alerts you to the stark market pressures. Perhaps the most important aspect of quality is the access and harvest of the raw ingredients.
Every step – from bean to bar – is in detail explained and demonstrated during the tour. Thinking deep into the details, the leftover cocoa husks are donated as a compost to sustainability promoting projects like the Edible Schoolyard in Brooklyn.

Established in 2010 in Red Hook, the industrial workshops domaine of Brooklyn, the chocolaty pleasure is made in small batches.
Starting with an improvised sorting machine (PHOTO ABOVE: an intriguing combo of an old juicer, a vacuum cleaner and a fan), a curious relic from the first years in Raaka’s production, now replaced by serious Swiss-made machinery.
Moving to the strict temperature-controlled grinder mixers (watch the seductive videos bellow) from which we got a heaven-meets-my-tongue taste. Watching the smoothening of the cocoa mass through tightly-set cylinders, our mouths were drooling with anticipation. The wavy folds of the creamy substance started to shine like a cup of real hot chocolate.

Tempering is an essential step in chocolate making, and even Raaka would not skip the smoothening of the product that would otherwise result in undesirable grey maps all over the chocolate. Our guide showed us such a ‘dusty’ piece that needed to be re-tempered. Some hippie, raw chocolate makers sell chocolate like this, but this rustic, lazy process yields dry, powdery texture.

Playing with sweetening agents and original flavors

Raaka makes pure single origin dark chocolates, but also smartly flavored blends. They experiment with the sweetening agent – I saw sacks of organic cane sugar, coconut sap sugar (its nearby competitor and another favorite of mine Fine & Raw uses exclusively this low GI sweetener), maple sugar, and yacon, which is a Native American root that has a low GI. Some are blended together in certain bars. In my favorite Peruvian Pink Sea Salt in Zorzal 71% cacao from Dominican republic, cane meets maple sugar. In Maple & Nibs 75% bar from the CAC Pangoa farms in Peru, the crunchy nibs play with the smooth maple crystals sweetened chocolate like an exotic fruit breakfast granola immersed in a thickened Nesquik.
From the same cocoa is another sweetheart of mine – the Oat Milk, where 58% Peruvian cocoa meets luscious, dairy-free, powdered oats with ground coconut. I prefer this blend to their pure coconut milk version. The creamy texture comes from the coconut, but its toasty coco taste is balanced by the addition of the oat flour that adds more robust texture on the tongue.

The recent label and logo redesign (photos bellow) shifted into a more simple, impactful, functionally colorful landscape renderings over the former graphic patterns. The new logo was designed by New York-based Andrea Trabucco-Campos and Simon Blockley from California took over the intensely hued landscapes for each cocoa’s origin. I liked the look before (photo above) more, but a business seems to require bold labels in the stiff on the shelf competition. Packaging in post-consumer recycled paper as they used to do and using a biodegradable foil to wrap each bar is an eco-echelon yet to be climbed by Raaka.

Experimental chocolate with an American inventiveness

Seasonal flavors and monthly subscription introduce experimental, limited editions titled ‘first nibs’ to your palate. Cherry Creamsickle, Vanilla Maca Crunch and Raspberry Mint are some we tasted. At our fall visit, micro batches of Tahini Swirl and Orange Halva made it into the hedonistic box of pleasure shipped all over the US.
The Green Tea Crunch contains a roasted genmaicha, as opposed to the often-used powdered matcha that does not pair well with dark chocolate in my opinion. A 66% Dominican Republic cocoa with organic puffed quinoa adds an extra crunch. I am not keen on the monkey Bananas Foster, the overtly embellished Cocoa, Coconut and Strawberry and the Cabernet Sauvignon cask flavors, as they overpower too much the impact of the cocoa.

Back to the virgin origin

From the pure bars, the unique Peru Nacional varietal, with lighter beans called “white” cocoa because of their inherent higher percentage of the cocoa butter, is naturally sweeter, lighter and smooth. In 2012 Raaka created single vintage bars from this Maranon Valley origin. Available in various percentages for all tastes. I go above 80% when I can.
For serious cocoa addicts, 100% cocoa from the banana leaf and fruit scented Tanzania beans in a bar of chocolate is the ultimate expression of the soil in its growing place. From the same beans, the Bourbon Cask Aged 82% dark chocolate with a lingering oak scent, a touch of caramel, vanilla and bright cherry aroma has been my go to treat ever since I discovered Raaka at the irresistible ABC kitchen section years ago. The unroasted beans acquired a one-month-worth woodiness in a used Bourbon cask. This is upcycling with a decadent result.

You can experience the chocolate making process at the Raaka manufacture every Saturday. The $15 includes a full tasting, from the cocoa bean to their wide range of chocolate bars. Long pants and sleeves, closed shoes and wearing a hair and mustache nets are mandatory as the working space must comply with the hygiene standards for food production, so beware — not the ideal first date. Gourmands above eight years old − from a curious schoolboy, young couples, parents accompanying their bellow 18 offsprings to intrepid elderly friends, formed our white-capped group.

Raaka reasons its restrictions: “Our tours and classes can be quite information heavy, and all of our chocolate is dark.” Hence, kids may not get it, and who wants complainers in a serious chocolate immersion?
Beyond savvy gourmet shops in America and Canada, you will find Raaka’s chocolate bars also in Europe (Selfridges). Competing with the old continent’s by centuries-polished knowhow, I discovered that indeed “happiness is unroasted”.

Dior des Lices: chic garden dining and life music in St Tropez

Dior des Lices is the verdant crown of polished hedonism in St Tropez. Envisioned by the multi-Michelin French chef Yanick Alléno of the Pavillon Le Doyen in Paris, and by LVHM backed 1948 at the Cheval Blanc in Courchevel, beautiful surroundings meet luxury are in sync with his gastronomic style at the Dior café. This is where the well-dressed meet for an evening aperitif, afternoon patisserie, or a luxurious meal staged on the al-fresco carpet of joy. On weekends, live music gigs vary from soft guitar tunes through vocal chansons as well as smooth English songs.

Design, naturally covets any fine aesthete’s eye — art installed in the garden, exclusive Dior dishware, branded pastries — even the butter gets its Dior stamp. By using luxurious ingredients overall, Dior des Lices pampers the well-heeled clients. This summer, the sun-lit social space that turns into a romantic restaurant in the evenings, was further plushed up. The bar was reshuffled into a cosy music lounge, a new tailed carpet added a cleaner feel, while more plump chairs increased comfort. Bellow are pictured the more simple plates at Dior des Lices prior to its recent luxing-up. Further down follow the most recent dishes.

Contemporary renderings of Mediterranean food

The menu at Dior des Lices changes each season in St Tropez. Some dishes remain familiar, but the gazpacho might include a new twist, the brioche of the burger may be updated and the risotto instead of the usual rice may be replaced by spelt or kamut. Some of the food was more delicious before than certain recent renderings on the carte. The friendly staff listens, so I am confident in them ironing any creases up for the years to come. For the food I prefer lunch, for the atmosphere, the evening setup is much more entertaining.

Before the meal, creative savory snacks arrive with an order of a cocktail (house specials include champagne spiked cucumber fizz), wine (French) or a glass of champagne (Dom Perignon vintage or Moet Chandon). The fresh bread comes plain with its southern accompaniment in the liquid form as an olive oil, the superb Brittany butter is served upon request.
Our favourite plates at Dior des Lices in St Tropez include the gazpacho. This year elevated with a cucumber, strawberry, tomato and basil leaf skewer, wild strawberries and a basil sorbet for a more powerful refreshing effect. Perfect at a scorching summer lunch. The lunch salads are clean yet original. We love them all. The Nicoise with an added raw courgettes and quail eggs instead of the usual chicken’s is my husband’s must lunch on.

The Bucolic salad with raw cucumber, fennel, zucchini, and grilled avocado with broccoli florets, seasoned with fresh oregano leaves and yuzu vinaigrette and is superb accompaniment to a heavier plate such as the burger. The later can be upped by an aged cheddar, grilled ceps or grilled pork belly. To the buttery brioche splattered generously with ketchup (unfortunately soaked the bottom part of the bun to a mushy pastry), a leaf of lettuce, a succulent slice of tomato under a chunky beef patty, we added the melted cheese. Served with perfectly crisp fries, the salad came in handy. We were disappointed by the unmatchable Burrata with spelt grains, and bland green nut-free pesto.

The menu slightly changes at dinner when the superb, lean steak with mashed potatoes and grilled giant cep mushrooms, some extra pasta (linguine with lobster are superb) and other more weighty dishes replace some of the lighter lunch plates. We loved the steak, cooked medium plus rare upon request, served with a decadent sauce that you can add abundantly over the lean beef fillet. At dinner once I got the order wrong as either my ultra-chic Dior eggs with caviar were horrible – the cold runny egg ruined all my pleasure from the expensive caviar cum smoked fish and sour cream dish. Also the Asian lobster ravioli had missed the Asian fragrant point as they were bland and undercooked. The superb French Comtè cheese and bread fixed my palate on that weak night!

Luxurious French wine list nods to St Tropez glam

The wine list is intensely influenced by the LVHM stable. A Moet by the glass, Domaine Lambrays Burgundy, and Cheval Blanc for the fortunate, but also some local rosè not breaking the bank. The coravin allows pouring a €160 glass of the Clos de Lambrays Grand Cru Monopole Pinot Noir or Petit Cheval, the second label under the Cheval Blanc star.

Sweet afternoons at Dior des Lices

House-fresh fragrant iced-tea, Nespresso coffee, iced upon request or spiked with a scoop of ice cream as I like it in the summer are perfect at lunch. The sorbets ventured into uncharted waters with creative flavors easily competing with the local ice cream sweetheart Barbarac.
The afternoon tea treats at Dior des Lices in St Tropez are very popular thanks to the pastry chef’s elegant skills, with the Dior choux and eclairs landing on every other table. Very good, not the best, but I am a perfectionist and choux fanatic, beware. Breakfast offer includes the classics like the French viennoisserie, egg dishes, bread and jams, next to freshly pressed juices.

Alléno’s team translates his twists on some French, but mainly Italian dishes with an overall precision. From its inception over five years ago, we have enjoyed the evolving culinary offerings served in the lush garden. Open from late spring, throughout the summer until early October the provençal house of Dior feeds your aesthetic soul with updated decadence for today’s tastes.
13 Rue François Sibilli, 83990 Saint-Tropez, France
+33 4 98 12 67 65
Daily from May until second week in October 10am-midnight

The Relativity of Time in and beyond our mind

The Relativity of Time has been pondered over by philosophers, poets, sages, scientists as well as casual thinkers like myself. Observing nature and its patterns set the ground for counting of the passing moments. When I stop to reflect upon the pure bliss I feel in a beautiful place, I often lose track of the past, and future does not bother my always ticking mind. Logically, we think that we got hours, weeks, years, all ages sorted out. Yet, time is the mind’s invention, therefore chronos (time in Greek) is vulnerable to subjective perception and errors.
Our attention plays with time, and so does the mind. My poem that follows, I hope, captures, an experience you may recognise.

The Relativity of Time

In a just world
Only the proof is what counts in your claim
Hope is a wishful assumption, while
doubt can erase even your own breath —
Doesn’t belief render anything into truth?

Building sandcastles from memories
Where lands lost their borders
In tales long blown away by history’s winds
The mind always wanders
Where, tell me, does it haste?

A full awareness of colors, patterns —
The rainbow of presence expands time
Shrinks distances
So, what for do we measure time
When experience is relative to one’s inner lens?

Joy in randomness is that of letting go
No plans, no judgement, zero expectations — carte blanche!
Free from fear; any outcome is accepted for what it is
As in meditation —
Being here and now eases reality into a smooth loop of presence.

What I want to convey in The Relativity of Time is that beliefs, emotions ( joy, anxiety, anger, … ), the state of mind, memories, prejudice and more can distort our perception of time. By being aware of the faulty possibilities, and journeying into self-discovery, we can forget the passing of time and instead be fulfilled where we are, in the only time that matters, and that is NOW. Goals neglect the present experience, since they are too focused on the outcomes that may or do not happen. Future matters from the survival standpoint. Yet, our instincts battle each other, unless we allow them to relax, to be at peace. Allow more yin into your yang force. What is life for when we live in our past and think about future, instead of fully existing in the present?
Words do not have to kill the presence. Flowing from the no-mind state, these words, untinted by the ego, colorless perception not painted with emotions, connect more purely with reality. Genuine creativity is a clean expression of our unique humanity. From that regard, creativity in fiction can be as meaningful as non-fiction literature, for truth is evasive in either.

The mind and time

Most of our history are just edited memories of those who dedicated their time to writing them down. The fallibility of human memory renders most rumination on long-past events pointless, wrote Oliver Sachs, in his globally appraised book The River of Consciousness. We each knit our reality from the facts available to our mind at each specific, yet passing moment.
The Relativity of Time allows us to understand that truth uniquely exists only in the subjective — your own truth can differ from my truth. Therefore, the only way to discover the ultimate truth is, as Osho said, “a doubt”. You arrive at your authentic truth only through experience. Applying his own technique of not believing, the 20. century maverick challenges the dogma, claiming: “Not time that passes, it is we who come and pass.” Well, one can see it from the other side, that is fair. We age and so do animals, food and wine, perhaps all transform independently of time, but our invention of time made them dependent on it. Does this still make sense?

Cultural perceptions of time

Further, different cultures perceive passing time distinctively. The Japanese view ageing as gracious. So do the indigenous tribes elsewhere, where wisdom acquired only through one’s lifelong experience is respected. The Chinese tend to focus on the future — from horoscopes, lucky charms, traditions, superstition, to ghostly afterlife tales — so working hard towards one’s retirement is the most honorable. The consumer society strives to reverse aging through miraculous detox cures, magic creams, medical treatments and injections of toxins into our bodies − we chase the eternal youth. The Silicon Valley tech-culture is even more obsessed with the prolongation of one’s lifespan. Instead of making the most of now, human ego strives for more, neglecting The Relativity of Time and therefore how pointless such effort is.
Robert Frost, the American Poet laureate got closer to the truth: “In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.” Technology reminds us of passing minutes and days with each glimpse on our mobile devices. Perhaps more frequently we need to dash them down and set free the roaming mind in a timeless joy.

Creativity is this

This drawing by Tony Toscani, titled Writer’s Block, that I purchased recently at Massey Klein Gallery in New York co-inspired my poem on Creativity. Its mood reflects the focused yet dreamy state of the mind of a writer.

Silence…
A white gap in noise
The pause entrenched in inspiration and expiration when space nurtures the mind
Inspired, I listen to the respite
Whispering promises of eternity, nothingness and peace — the clatter of summer rain and pain.

Presence…
Emotions’ keel
The time to heal
Silence creates the aperture for balance — inspire, calm, expire.

Now music can fully express what there can be
Expired noise between each note
Expressing the fullness of time
The voice in a flowing river.

A golden fly passing by noticed
Solitude so cherished in the age of noise
Death so feared by the mortals — from something comes something — that which an explorer seeks
Repent! Creativity musn’t be silenced.

I wrote this poem in New York. Before taking off for the noisy Manhattan, I spent a few days in nature. The forests of New Hampshire introduced calm, evenness and an empowering sensibility of any moment into my mind. Forest bathing, known in Japan as shinrin-yoku, improves attention, expands focus and has multiple health benefits. Simply being in the present moment is balancing and nurtures creativity. Some of the best poets like Emily Dickinson and writers of J. D. Salinger fame spent days, even years in recluse seeking creative enlightenment. I read multiple interesting books about silence. From an explorer’s perspective, a widowed actor’s, to a reclusive monk and my own verses on silence. Rumi, as always, wrote it beautifully:

Mindful breathing as much as meditation advance you to the realm beyond sound. Be open to what you hear there, it may illuminate the path you are currently on, inspire an artwork, or simply just calm your anxious or stressed mind.
Creativity appears when we least expect it, but without actually creating space for it to flourish, to open its petals into the full bloom of unique humane awareness and potential, it may wither before you realise it. I keep my notebook ready at all times.

The best chocolates made in America for adults: from Hawaii, through California to Brooklyn

A New York-based friend yesterday asked me, what were the best chocolates you have had?
Knowing that I’m a chocaholic, her bets were on my well-trained global palate of a picky addict. Mind me, these two do not contradict. Yes, I need my daily square of a dark, preferably a super-dark, minimally flavoured (no vanilla, bacon, coconut or potato chips, pretzels, gummy bears et al in my bar of chocolatey indulgence, but cracked cocoa nibs or a pinch of salt are fine as they enhance the taste of the cocoa), ideally single origin chocolate. I’m a choco snob. I don’t need it paleo, sugar-free, gluten-free and whatever is trendy in the particular period imbibing fashion into taste, but it has to be balanced, truly artisanally made (fine-tuned not just self-pronounced chocolate craftsmen as it so often happens in America), tasting of its origin and smooth.

Kids fun treats versus serious chocolate for adults

I have tried some weird chocolates in America. Fernet, pop rocks, potato chips, dehydrated ramen noodles and bacon just did not impress me in chocolate. Those made in LA were supercharged with magic energy, and overpriced as such. I went as far as to visiting a cocoa plantation on Oahu, Hawaii. Waialua Estate Hawaii grown cocoa though was not great enough for the stiff competition on the US-made market. Madre Kokoleka, also Hawaii-grown was better. All my choices below were transparently and directly sourced from small cocoa farms. All are focused on dark chocolate.

Back to my inquisitor, she was about to open a new cafe in SoHo hunting for extraordinary delectables that could enhance the experience. Adding only the best chocolates into her inventory would only do her business good. Who is not tempted by trying that beautifully packaged chocolate near the checkout counter?
Often, I succumb. At the ABC carpets and home mecca of aesthetic hedonism on Manhattan, they savvily line the cashiers with superb chocolate offerings. Wholefoods does it too, but their palate is not as fine. Whether I am getting yet another tea cup into my collection, buying dining accessories or a cookbook in the ABC’s kitchen department, I always sneak in one or two bars into my shopping basket. Here, I buy some of the best chocolates made in America. The choice is limited, but impeccably curated.

The sweet friends of chocolate

The best chocolates made in America as elsewhere rely on the best ingredients. Traditionally, the Aztecs did not sweeten their xocolatl, a pinch of chilli did it. From colonial tastes to modern chocolate, sweetness replaced pungent kick in chocolates.
In general, cane sugar pairs better with chocolate than any other ‘natural’ sweetener. If they use organic, unrefined cane sugar I feel better about my sweet indulgence, but the taste does not change much. I’m not a fan of granulated sugar in Modica-style Italian chocolates. Honey is too much for chocolate, plus its consistency makes a smooth chocolate impossible. Local maple sugar sweetened Nohmad American chocolate just tastes of maple and salt, the cocoa got lost in translation.

Stevia sucks, its herby flavor profile undercuts the taste of the chocolate, so I better just brew a tisane from it. Maltitol is most frequently used by the best European chocolatiers from the Belgian Pierre Marcolini, through the French Patrick Roger and Alain Ducasse, to the Swiss Laderlach. It’s the most neutral artificial sweetener suitable for diabetics.
I can do with the brown, unrefined coconut sugar that HU, the paleo den on the 5th Avenue adds into their organic house-ground cacao bars. These Hu Chocolate treats are perfect post-workout as most include nut butters, some even puffed quinoa into their refined-sugar, GMO, etc. -free bars. Still, I prefer the simple 70% cacao and the signature Salty Chocolate, either exuberant with gentle caramel notes. Their ‘wild’ marketing reminds me of Antidote and the dark Jungle peanuts chocolate by Cocoa Parlor.

The best chocolates made in America now

On the other side of that famous steel bridge, in Brooklyn, Fine & Raw brews probably the best hot chocolate I have ever had (even better than in Europe). A dense, deep, dark cup of coconut sugar sweetened pleasure. Their Chocolate Almond or Hazelnut Butter spread aren’t only better than Nutella, but organic, raw (not overheated), refined sugar and artificial preservative-free. Only pink salt and refrigeration after opening keep it for longer. Well, no need for an extended shelf life as this small jar will be licked through within days. Their mini chocolate bars are handy for that in my hand-back rescue on the go. They sell impeccable truffles in their factory in Bushwick too.

Whisky and chocolate? I spoke of my purist approach to chocolate, but when you just use the barrels in which the whisky was aged, then I’m not against. You can tour the industrial-cool manufacture of Cacao Prieto in Red Hook, and I wholesomely recommend it. I booked tickets for two, taking my German friend and she loved it. The Orchid scented chocolate is the rare flavoured bar that I enjoy as much as their pure 72% Criollo cocoa from Dominican Republic. A safety warning: there is a whisky tasting included in the experience. Take Lyft, Uber or taxi back, the metro is a far walk away.

Also on the hipster part of New York, Raaka produces small-sized single-origin bars, some aged in second use wooden casks from bourbon ageing. The depth of the wood in the 82% Kokoa Kamili, Tanzania translates into the “unroasted” chocolate from bean to bar is made in factory in Red Hook and can be tasted during their factory tours during the weekends. They also make a powerful 100% cocoa bar from the same origin. “We simply love the bold, bright, and fruitier flavor of unroasted cacao beans.” They also use maple sugar, organic yacón root in addition to cane sugar in some bars. In the Pure Cacao & Strawberry & Coconut, they do not add any sweetener at all, just the fruit sugar.

Traveling South, in California, a duo of musicians ADAM DICK & DUSTIN TAYLOR composed the organic Dick Taylor superb, single origin chocolates. My favourite is Belize, from the Toledo District, where the Maya Mountain Cacao co-op works with local Mayan farmers, and the Guatemalan hand harvested Fleur du sel flaky sea salt by Bitterman Salt CO. in 73% NORTHERNER signature house blend. Unrefined cane sugar is blended into each bar.

Sustainable sourcing and trading of chocolate

Harper Macaw directly trade cocoa to Washington D.C. from South America, mainly Brazil and Dominican Republic. Sustainable forestry and maintenance of the cacao trees are at the heart of conservation in the Amazon as well as the remains of the rainforest along the Atlantic coast. Atop of that, Harper Macaw reinvests into planting the Reserva Serra Bonita on the Northeast edge of the Atlantic rainforest. My favorite is 77% COCOA Single Estate from Tomé Açu grown in Pará, Brazil. Also the organic 80% Oko Caribe from Dominican Republic aged in Rock Creek Rye whiskey barrels from One Eight Distilling company is very interesting. They also make Bourbon and Bordeaux (wine) barrel aged bars. Organic cane sugar sweetens all of their creations. Other sustainably commendable brand is Villakuyaya, sourcing from small family farms in Ecuador and Cocoa Parlor from Dominican Republic.

I had some great chocolates made in Oregon such as Woodblock Chocolate, but I found the above choices overall better. Further, there are some other great chocolates sold in the US, but they were not made in the country, thus not eligible as my made in America. Strangely, I did not include more California chocolates, where too much has been focused on superfoods over the quality of the pure product. I have tried hundreds, literally, but never returned to most of them.
Scaling up has also been detrimental to some pioneers in pure, high quality, bean to bar chocolate producers in America. Dandelion in San Francisco expanded as the quality dipped. Mast chocolates over-crafted their bars and a scandal tinted their reputation in America as transparent and honest chocolatiers.
I have not tasted all chocolates ever produced in America, still, I tried more than an average chocolate lover would. My curiosity is insatiable. Feel free to add your personal favorites that you would consider being the best chocolates made in America. There is just one rule for my approval in the comments below. Please, add why you think your choice is superior to others.

Tropicana La Plage: Tarte Tropezienne on the Pampelonne beach serves the best live music around St Tropez

Tropicana La Plage brings the authentic beach spirit of St Tropez to the new, eco-conscious millennium. Rejuvenating the highly commercialised beach, meant going more upscale, moving some structures further inland and building them so they can be easily disassembled during the off season for the flora and the sand to ‘breathe’. While nature was granted a well deserved facelift over the new French law protecting the sandy dunes, some successful establishments had to close down, others were rebuilt and some privately owned patches like the legendary Club 55 just stayed as they were.

Tropicana had to be pushed a bit inland, keeping the beach bar and chairs in the front of the less party, more quality time focused stretch of Pampelonne closer to Ramatuelle. Losing a snap of the beach view that the family-friendly restaurant enjoyed before the broad revamp did not transform the experience into lesser grounds, rather the two level space feels better than before, while the food is close to the best in the vicinity of St Tropez. Our locally-based Parisian friends nodded to the realness of Tropicana.

St Tropez tradition meets contemporary taste: Tarte Tropezienne et co.

The well-looked-after smart child of the owner of the Tarte Tropezienne offers quality ingredients skillfully cooked into Mediterranean delectables in unpretentious atmosphere. A live band strokes the chords of bossanova as you relish the bounty off the white-cloth tables under the shading pines mingling with umbrellas. Dig your feet into the sand on the lower side, or feast cosied under the roofed part. You get more private space at Tropicana than at most other high-end restaurants on Pampelonne. No elbowing and cigarettes in your face of the Club 55 glitz and who is who, but more elegant and balanced lunch occasion.

The original bakery and café on Place des Lices sparked up to fame by Brigitte Bardot and the film crew behind And God Created a Woman, the sexy 60s blockbuster that landed Pampelonne on the star-studded echelon of summer voyaging. The sweet-tooth teasing Tarte Tropezienne pastries, a white plain or cereal bread served whole on your table with a knife to slice and ice cream from Barbarac, by far the best glacier in the area (try pistachio, straciatella or natural yogurt) are prepared locally off-site. For a gourmand coffee after the meal order the Café St Tropez – your choice of Nespresso coffee with four mini tropezienne tarts in different flavours. The famous cake is essentially a dense, flavoured cream sandwiched in a springy brioche topped with granulated sugar.

Tropicana La Plage: Mediterranean food for millennial tastes

Beyond its famous cakes and baked goods sold in its cafes all over South of France, Tropicana whips Mediterranean dishes with a touch of trendy plates like superb, fresh ceviche, or a vegan platter of crisp chickpea fritters, citrus-fresh quinoa salad (also offered as a single starter in a larger bowl), olive and anchovy dip and fresh vegetable crudites cater to all diets and palates. You can order a side of the panisses fritters or superb house french fries golden and roughly cut with skin on. Other gluten free dishes, daily catch paraded around for you to select from, superb thinly pounded veal, pasta, and daily specials like a refreshing gazpacho, goat cheese tart and a different dessert from the pastry chef each time broaden your options at Tropicana. As a generous starter, the French fresh goat cheese, grilled peppers, olives and toasted bread at Tropicana might be too much for one person, but as a main this locally sourced plate works. From the classics, the ham with summer ripe melons shows these pure ingredients at their best. For a shared meal, the 1.2 kg whole roasted chicken served with whole roasted young potatoes fills you up till a late night.

My favorites include the fried calamari rings, parsley (not too oily, perfectly crisp) with lemon wedges and house mayonnaise, while my husband cannot go without the generous serving of his favorite eggplant parmigiana, in olive oil and tomato sauce baked eggplant with melted parmesan cheese. The Nicoise garbanzo panisse fritters are a must order and so are the pastries by Tarte Tropezienne.

To drink, the aperol spritz aperitif is served with fresh citrus, and the wine list is narrowed down to French, mainly Provencal bottles. Non-alcoholic smoothies and detox juices (my husband’s favorite is the Green Boost), tea and herbal tisanes, iced coffee for a much needed pick-me up round any meal up. being on the beach though, I would strip the cocktails and juices off the plastic straws since the greatest pollution in our oceans is due to the plastic waste. There are plenty compostable alternatives.
St Tropez has suffered from the influx of careless party-goers and cheep tourism over recent years, but with more businesses of local quality, such as Tropicana La Plage, I glimpse a more authentic return to the bygone era of Southern French glamour.

Forest Bathing by Dr Quing Li: BETTER MIND, MOOD AND HEALTH FROM THE FOREST

The Japanese mindfulness practice shinrin-yoku, known in the West as forest bathing, fascinates scientists as much as wellness devotees. Like with anything enhancing our health and happiness, the literature on the theme has blossomed. Probably none of the mostly self-help books merit the work of the author of Forest Bathing and the science behind shinrin-yoku Dr. Quing Li. The vice-president and the secretary general of the International Society of Nature and Forest Medicine and chairman of Japanese Society for Forest Medicine was one of the pioneering scientists involved in the study that opened the Japanese government to recognising traditional respect for forests unimaginably beyond their ecological value.

Proven benefits of forest therapy

In the 1980s his study groups in the beautiful Akasawa forest in the Nagano prefecture proved that about two hours spent in the calm embrace of a forest: boosts the immune system (increase NK cells), lowers blood pressure, blood sugar levels and stress, improves cardiovascular and metabolic functions, supports weight-loss, better concentration and memory, helps with depression, improves the quality of sleep (lower cortisol), increases energy and pain thresholds, even fights cancer. No wonder that the WHO and the Japanese government support shinrin-yoku. In the US, Sweden, Finland and Germany, forest bathing initiatives have expanded the traditional affinity with nature in these countries.

Myself, witnessing interested groups in nativist Japan, after dozens of hinoki wood chips sachets floating in steamy bathtubs at hotels and ryokans, passing by sole, deeply fascinated wanderers in the Swiss Alps, and my own expert-led bath in California woke the kami spirit in my own consciousness. I started to see more in trees than just tall, shade, and oxygen supplying plants. Beyond their refreshing green crowns and mind energising essences from the wood so desired for high quality furniture, trees aroused scientific research yielding unprecedented insights into their life. And this was only the beginning.

It is widely accepted that terpenes like phytoncides protect plants and also conduct the communication between trees as Peter Wohlleben documented in his bestselling book The Hidden Life of Trees (my review coming soon).

Why Japan?

Longevity and happiness of the island nation fascinates us. Influential Western lifestyle gurus now include ikigai, the Okinawan accent on purpose carried into advanced age, and shizen, naturalness (one of the seven principles of the Zen aesthetic philosophy), into the wellness guidebook for modern, highly-charged society needs. “For Zen Buddhists, sculpture is written in the landscape. The natural world itself is the whole book of God”, adds Li. The Japanese ikebana, flower arrangement that reflects each changing season in its most authentic form using foraged wild flowers, leaves and branches in a simple form resembling the plants set up in nature.

Nativism is the essence of the Japanese culture. In the South, the Yakushima island is home to the world’s oldest trees. One of them believed to be between two and five thousand years old even got a name – the Jomon sugi tree (Japanese cedar) is revered as a god. Spiritual pilgrimages like Kumano Kodo (I hiked a part) on the Kii Peninsula South of Nara is still a serious pursuit. Past emperors proudly absolved the weeks-spanning trail as a trophy to their ancestral celestial heritage. The animist tradition of the Japanese inherently revers nature as a godly might. Zen buddhists see in nature the ultimate good that has to be cared for. Shinrin-yoku was destined to be born in the island country where forests still cover over 90% of the land.

Professor Li teaches at Nippon Medical School in Tokyo. Stressed students make for fertile mental and physical health samples willing to participate. As a countryside refugee into the urban Tokyo, the author above all connects with the majority of the world’s population making the same transition. If you want to live in the greenest city (state) in the world then Singapore is by far the number one home for you. Li inserts more intriguing statistics in the book that capture attention, rise interest and perhaps inspire change.

What is shinrin-yoku?

Humans have lived in forests ever since evolution’s hominid progression towards urban beasts living in cement and glass structures. Today naturalists escape to the forests on weekends, while others simplified their life by moving into the branched out shelter out in the wild. Driven by the healthful and restorative powers of the evergreen treelandia, biophilia, “the concept that humans have a biological need to connect with nature” is not new to me. Growing up in a small town forever imprinted my cravings for the green, and the calm away from cityscapes. Scientists from the west-to-east hypothesised and researched that “this affinity for the natural world is fundamental to our health”, writes Li.

Forest bathing is not your regular stroll, a foraging adventure or mindless bouncing through the woody kingdom. You are not going anywhere. During a very slow walk (about 2.5km in two hours) you experience the surrounding space through all your senses. Frequent stops are encouraged. Touching the bark, tracing the paths of tendrils coiling around trunks seeking the sunlight, spying on the ants’ highways, rubbing the essential oils off the pine needles, cocooning in the hum of a babbling stream and wind whistling through the branches, deciphering the birds sonatas, even tasting the forest bounty like herbs and berries when in season (and you are hundred percent sure they are edible!), enrapture you entirely. Your body’s activities change when your mind is at peace. Find practical details and helpful prompts on how to reap the benefits of shinrin-yoku in the book.

Where to forest bathe?

The book is clearly written and pictorially guides you how to practice shinrin-yoku in safe wild forests, in urban areas and even how you can bring some its benefits indoors to your home and workplace. Did you know that certain succulent plants absorb toxins from paint, textiles, cleaning products, dust and other unhealthy companions on our interiors?

Broadly, you can go to any quiet forest to enjoy its benefits, but there are some more exceptional tree springs to bathe in. Ancient, undisrupted coniferous forests wield more healing power not because of some shamanic energy, but scientifically measurable realities of their existence. The Akasawa forest in the Nagano prefecture is one of the author’s favourite shinrin-yoku escapes and also the initial home of the scientific study.

The most beautiful forests in the world might inspire your next holidays. Switching from by Instagram ruined sights to technology-free, mindful time in the calmest places on the Earth may benefit the entire global population. Through connecting with nature, we care more about it, and protect its heritage. Further, “Trees can make you feel richer and younger.” a lofty promise, but increased energy, and the clean spritz of oxygen inject more zest into your mind and body. In the book, maps of forest therapy bases in Japan and around the world guide your imagination to travel more green. Suggested trails in these shinrin-yoku centres are highlighted in the book so you choose the best circuit for yourself.

Forest Bathing by Dr Quing Li is a beautiful book. Serene photos of trees, forests, landscapes and beautiful sceneries from Japan, allure with an aesthetic pleasure, engaging more senses in the process.

I attended a guided shinrin-yoku gathering at Los Angeles Arboretum. Starting early in the morning before the weekend crowds ventured in, the green spaces belonged almost entirely to us. People from all walks of life – a student, safari guide, producer, writer, from India, Sweden, Czech Republic, France to locals participated in the revelatory mindful activity. At the end, the American Chinese expert guide prepared tea with snacks to comfortably discuss our experience. Each of us shared the opening of our mind when some of us learned unexpected things about ourselves.

Are all trees the same?

The attributes and propensities of some trees such as their leaves’ surface moderating profoundly the surrounding microclimate and production of their specific essential oils differ vastly. Deciduous, leafy forests are usually less aromatic than coniferous trees, therefore it is recommended to forest bathe in the evergreen scenery of the Northern Hemisphere. Hinoki (Japanese cypress), Sawara, Nezuko and Asunaro cypress, Hiba (white cedar), Koyamaki (Japanese umbrella pine), western spruce, fir, pine, cedar, and all other needly trees reportedly provide more benefits.

The experiments were conducted in cooler conditions, but the author acknowledges that higher temperatures extract more oils from the plants into the air so summer afternoons are more efficient and potentially the humid rainforests closer to the Equator can benefit us more. More research needs to confirm this.

As the majority of the global population is moving to cities, shinrin-yoku gains even more essential role in our wellbeing and health. As the research of Dr Li and other scientists and foresters like Peter Wohlleben highlights, it is crucial for longevity and human health to spend time in the green forest, far away from the urban noise, pollution, and the scentless concrete buildup of roads and structures. The Forest Therapy Association of the Americas also highlights the necessity to reintegrate better with our surroundings: “Forest therapy is a good example of how our own health is dependent on the health of our natural environment.” With the Amazon rainforest ablaze and the record numbers of precious German woodlands crushed by heat and lack of water this year, the forest enters into a grim future. Climate change is real and with less forests, we have less oxygen, more greenhouse polluters in the atmosphere, unstable weather, so we better alert our communities to make protection of trees and planting more of them an urgent priority.

CLOSED 108 Copenhagen: cuisine of chef Kristian Baumann

The chef Kristian Baumann formerly heading 108, a sister restaurant to Noma focused on new Nordic food, has opened a new – by his native Korea inspired venue Koan Copenhagen, while he also pops over into the kitchen of the locally established Relae. I have not been yet, but our excellent experiences at his previous restaurant certainly put Koan on our must-do dining list on our next trip to Denmark.

Follows the review of 108 Copenhagen, which illustrates the cooking style of chef Kristian Joon Hwan Baumann:

The naturalist plates might look purist, ultra-simple, yet they cover up elaborate contemporary techniques with nature in their heart. Thoughtful seasonal approach rather than overt radicalisation of Nordic food is what 108 delightfully serves. Like Noma, relying more on fresh plants during the summer, forest gems in the cooler months and the island nation’s dairy and seafood throughout. Warmer months open the Christiania restaurant to an outdoor patio.

We tasted most of the summer menu at 108, every single bowl and plate being delicious, which is by all means success. Cooking food in the most natural way possible, the signatories of the Nordic Kitchen Manifesto committed to “purity, season, ethics, health, sustainability and quality in ten points“. The essence of this contemporary Nordic cuisine is as much as in using new techniques like using liquid nitrogen and vacuum next to the traditional curing, smoking, pickling and fermenting. The authentic ingredients were grown, fished, foraged and farmed on these cool lands of Europe.

Nordic cuisine in elegant purity under Kristian Baumann’s hand

Inside, casual, contemporary industrial Danish design meets the artisanship in origami hanging off the bare cement ceiling. Like an open-plan office, a see-through kitchen displays the chef Kristian Baumann and his international team heaving with creativity. His style is refreshing during the summer and within a reasonable window of experimentation. While the dishes are original, they are balanced translating into the pleasure from licking your spoon after swallowing yet another delectable mouthful. This is what most gourmands seek. Watching chef Baumann finishing the dishes attentively before each plate was sent to its plain wood-topped table, we harnessed curiosity and trust in his small scale and focused kitchen. The bared down concept contrasts the exuberance of the current Noma. Also the food is about pairing seemingly contrasting qualities of the ingredients.
Each table is pampered with the house sourdough bread. Impeccable at each visit this summer. The malty crust delectably contrasts the chewy, big-eyed and with a soft core. As you splatter the wholesome slices with the airy-textured yet rich-tasting, salted and whipped double cream (the power of fat!) — dangerously mouth-blowing — you crave more, so ask as we did.

Summer is the season for Green Peas that we also enjoyed at the two Michelin star Kadeau in Copenhagen. At 108, the peas were served chilled with caramelised seaweed, mint, pine needles, horseradish for a spicy kick and frozen elderflower snow tipping over the green miniballs of a mountain. Young pine needle tips also in their peak freshness add a forest scent to the sublime summer bowl. Go big and top the peas with Royal Belgian Caviar. We did not as my mind was set in another caviar dish.

In another, richer plate, as the summer progressed Courgette replaced an asparagus. Cut into matchsticks, either was served with beechnuts, cep mushroom sauce, topped with the Royal Belgian decadence. The sustainably raised caviar is often an option to enhance the food at 108, even on desserts. Beechnuts are delicate, crunchy edibles that I picked as a child from the forest floor and donated to the rangers feeding animals. Curious, I ate a few, but I could never see them being served at a restaurant in what was then Czechoslovakia. The Nordic chefs tapped into this wild pigs feast’s potential. Superb!

At a weekend lunch a la carte, the Ultra thin Sliced Radish and Stur in a geometric perfection revealed the sea bounty underneath, while the soft blanched Leeks stripped into a thin blanket over salted plums, were emboldened by aged cheese cream poured over at the table. Richness meats purity in one serving.
In the dinner tasting menu Danish lobster claw marinated in a sauce from its head (condensed flavour of this sea monster), a touch of lavender, orange and Thyme in a Provencal scent, coriander, Nordic unripe gooseberries topped with frozen rubies of raspberries from Rokkedysse Bær. The farm is only 25 km from Copenhagen, but on a bicycle I rather rode to their outdoor stand at the Copenhagen market for one of the best berries ever. The cooler climate extracts more clean intensity from the fruits.

Next, a fancier tapa accompanied perfectly our orange wine in the wine pairing. Crispy potato croquette with pickled mustard seeds, ruffled shavings of hip berry and wild rose petals was served on a long wooden spoon. I had to eat it in two bites, light and rich – the yin and yang of flavours again stroke the balance at 108.

Landing after were Steamed greens from Krogerup in a seaweed dough like a raviolo topped with radiant calendula flowers and parsley. Like a lotus floating on a pond of a healthful broth made from whole roasted chicken, it was elegant and light.
The main act in the Taste of 108 menu was the Raw grilled lobster tail in a reduced jus made from the lobster head. Accompanied with juicy strawberries, brushed with apple and pine gel to nest comfortably the aromatic herbs. Intensely fresh.

Frozen edible beauty

Desserts at 108 Copenhagen are outstanding. All the sorbet and ice cream themed sweetness I relished rolled my pupils and sent my mind up onto the clouds of pleasure – one of the best frozen treats my mouth has ever experienced.
Naturalist expression of rose scented Flower petals and herbs from Krogerup (108 garden north of Copenhagen) covered fennel top ice cream scooped in a delicate yet intense brown butter biscuit. A citrusy taggettes herbal sirup and leaves underscored the garden exuberance. My favorite plate in the tasting menu.
The last bite in the tasting menu – the Smoked barley ice cream with hazelnuts and sweet n’ sour plum crisps flaked atop, was a unique, perfectly balanced and broad in its gustatory scope, period to the meal. We were sated, not stuffed, yet satisfied.
I kept the whoah to the end. The Rausu kombu ice cream with house-pressed hazelnut oil is so popular that it was added to the Corner Café menu. At the restaurant the Royal Belgian Caviar (8g) topps the creamy seaweed gelato on the à la carte options. I had this crest of hedonism by GASTROunika at lunch. If I could choose the last mouthful before I die, this may well be it.

Drinks, natural wines, local beers and non-alcoholic creations at 108 Copenhagen

Local beers with intriguing names, literally “Two Icelandic guys come to Copenhagen, you won’t believe what happens next” —BRAW Oko Grisette W/Kex + AEGIR. The aperitif cocktails were inspired by traveling — Mexico meets Japan in Oaxaca San, when mezcal is blended with mandarine sake and a refreshing cucumber.

We went for the wine pairing at dinner. Six natural wines, water and coffee are included. Non-alcoholic pairing only offers four beverages next to water and coffee. The wine selection was quite flexible, we appreciated that the sommelier gave us a sample of each wine before committing to a full glass. When we did not like it, he happily found another wine.
My favorite was the French Four 08 by Ad Vinum. A clean natural red wine, with deep herbal and fruit nuances from Vallabrix.

The Corner Café and wine bar next door is a popular at breakfast. Baked Nordic speciality pastries (buttered flaky yet firm cinnamon, almond flakes and rhubarb buns) and bread rolls every morning. For a quick lunch, sourdough sandwiches, seasonal veggies, and even warm plates like potato croquettes and monkfish casually fill up. Coffee by Tim Wendelboe roasted in Oslo, the Nordic caffeinated cult. Picks from Postcard Teas and Rare Tea Company supplied from the UK. Filtered water (a carafe charged 40DKK at the restaurant more than the coffee at 35 DKK is amusing). From 5pm the Corner at 108 turns into a wine bar.

Conveniently located in the centre on the shore of Christiania, we dined at 108 twice – a weekend lunch (frokost), a tasting menu (en smag af 108) dinner. The service quality of its international staff hints at the efficiency and knowledge base of Noma. The food, we preferred at 108 Copenhagen.
Beware, at many Copenhagen restaurants, a surcharge of 3.13% is added to your bill when paying by credit card.

Strandgade 108, DK-1401 Copenhagen
+45 32963292
Lunch Friday-Sunday (a la carte or three-courses); Dinner (a la carte or eight-courses in Taste of 108).

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