A #Caribbean Inspired Valentine’s Day

Love may be in the air as Valentine’s day 2017 approaches but there is also a chill in the air; as the temperature across the UK is set to drop over the weekend of amour!

To take ones mind of the cold I have collated a list of Caribbean inspired gifts and activities that you can pass on to ‘bae’!

A fragrant escape – Caribbean Island Wild Flowers Eau de Toilette by Crabtree & Evelyn

The run up to Valentines’s day is a peak time for fragrance sales. £31.6 million worth of fragrance was sold in the fortnight to Valentines day in 2013!

Evoke a sensation of warmer climes with a spritz of the Caribbean Island Wild Flowers EDT by Crabtree & Evelyn.

A little #MondayMotivation nudge for Valentine’s Day @jacquardflower #sharethelove

A photo posted by Crabtree & Evelyn UK (@crabtreeuk) on

Delicate spider lily, which thrives in warm climates, is blended with notes of wild flowers, tropical citrus fruits and a marine accord, to conjure the feeling of relaxing on a tranquil Caribbean island.

I was sent a sample of the fragrance to test and I was impressed with the packaging -a sturdy linen lined box -which nestles the weighty glass bottle. It would certainly make a substantial gift. The fragrance itself is light enough to wear in the day but distinctive enough for an evening out thanks to blend of the night blooming jasmine flower. I usually do not gravitate towards overly floral fragrances, but this scent balances the floral notes well. As it is an EDT, its longevity does wane throughout the day but using the accompanying shower gel and hand cream can help to prolong the fragrance.

 A ‘belly full’ of love at Levi’s Caribbean Smokehouse 

 I have written about my very ful-filling experience at Levi Roots’ first restaurant rastaurant. The wonderful team are ready to welcome you this Valentine’s weekend.

Valentines Day, Caribbean Smokehouse Styleee! We are feelin’ romantic so we wrote you a poem. #Ackee has its #Saltfish #Rum has its #Punch Let’s all go to Levi’s for some Smokehouse munch! Book up with us for Valentines Day! Tables going fast! #ValentinesDay #CaribbeanFood #CaribbeanSmokehouse #LeviRoots #Poem #Dinner4Two #Valentines #Westfield #Stratford #London

A video posted by Levi’s Caribbean Smokehouse (@levismokehouse) on

Wash your Caribbean cuisine down and ‘warm your cockles’ with a glass of hearty rum punch, which is a popular beverage at Jamaican parties and celebrations.

#DryJanuary is over! who’s feelin’ one of these!? #RumPunch

A photo posted by Levi’s Caribbean Smokehouse (@levismokehouse) on

If you want to extend the Caribbean culinary delights beyond Valentine’s day, why not sign up for Levi’s Caribbean Cookery Masterclass & Meal Package. Levi will show you how to make some of his favourite dishes from the menu and will give you the opportunity to learn more about what makes the cuisine so distinctive.
The next class takes place on the 18th of February and costs £50 – which also includes the class and a £25 voucher towards another meal! 

 Say it with Hibiscus flowers 

The Hibiscus plant is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, and is native to warm-temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. They are renowned for their large, showy, colourful flowers

 The hibiscus is the national flower of Haiti and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (one of my favourite authors) also named her first novel Purple Hibiscus after the delicate flower.

hibiscus #hibiscus #blooming

A photo posted by koji kobayashi (@koji3955) on

The plants are sold in the UK, so if you are green fingered ask ‘bae’ to add a touch of the Caribbean to your back garden with a floral gift! If you are not the gardening type (like myself 🙈🙈🙈), you can still enjoy the hibiscus plant in the form of the famous Jamaican drink called Sorrel. Sorrel punch is a traditionally drunk at Christmas beverage in the Caribbean. Dried hibiscus flowers — known as sorrel in Jamaica – are boiled and a sugar and a dash of rum is added to make the tart but tasty beverage. The deep red colour is indicative of the season of love so why not add it to your romantic menu.

What do you call this in your country? Sobolo is popular in Ghana. It is made from the Roselle leaf, the roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) is a species of Hibiscus native to the Old World tropics. Sobolo has a unique taste that makes it pleasurable to all classes of people. In Ghana, Senegal & Nigeria, sobolo is served cold, while it’s served warm in Egypt. It is a sharp tasting herbal infusion taken as tea or juice. The flower is also used in making wine, juice, tea and spices. It can also be used in preparing raw salad. Serve chilled with snacks. It has a tart, cranberry-like flavour, and sugar is often added to sweeten it. The tea contains vitamin C and minerals and is used traditionally as a mild medicine. In west Sudan a white hibiscus flower is favoured for its bitter taste and is customarily served to guests. The drink is sometimes called roselle (a name for the flower) or rosella (Australia); sorrel in Jamaica, Belize, Barbados, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago; red sorrel in the wider Caribbean; and Agua/Rosa de Jamaica or simply Jamaica in the United States, México, and Central America. It is also known as “Zobo” in African countries like Nigeria. Information retained from google. @jessigracephotography #blackhistorymonth #didyouknow #funfacts #differentcultures #cheflife #privatechef #knowledgeispower #foodhistory #sobolo #sorrel #hibiscustea #refreshingdrink #myblog #bloglife #differentcultureinfo

A photo posted by Ama H (@differentcultureinfo) on

Whatever you are up to this Valentine’s weekend, make sure that it is HOT, HOT, HOT!

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