botanicals Archives - Beacon Commodities

English Coriander Seed

Kev2022-10-10T14:54:58+01:00

English Coriander Seed The earliest harvest yet of our English Coriander Seed. In 2021, we put out this report in December due to the extremely late harvest. Fast forward a year and we are pleased to report the earliest harvest yet of our English Coriander Seed. Drought resistant Coriander is an extremely drought resistant plant and our crop coped well in Sussex’s summer/Saharan conditions this year. It certainly could have done with a drop of rain throughout July/August [...]

English Coriander SeedKev2022-10-10T14:54:58+01:00

Macedonian Juniper Harvest

Kev2022-07-21T11:17:59+01:00

Macedonian Juniper Harvest Macedonia Trip Tommy recently returned from Macedonia where he was discussing quantities and the harvest for the next Juniper crop. This is due to start in September 2022. Given the travel restrictions it was his first trip to Macedonia for over two years and it was good to be back seeing some familiar faces. The Juniper berries are ripening It is too early to tell what the crop will look like this year [...]

Macedonian Juniper HarvestKev2022-07-21T11:17:59+01:00

Sussex Coriander

Kev2021-12-14T11:56:29+00:00

Sussex Coriander English coriander from planting right through to harvest The fact that this report is being sent out in December is not due to Tommy putting his feet up! We promise. It is a case of extremely testing growing conditions from planting right through to harvest. April and May in Sussex were unseasonably cold with a number of frosts throughout both months. This meant that the planting of the coriander crop was delayed until 2nd [...]

Sussex CorianderKev2021-12-14T11:56:29+00:00

Juniper harvest 2021

Kev2021-10-28T10:29:19+01:00

Juniper Harvest 2021 Another Juniper harvest is well under way in the Balkans. Another Juniper harvest is well under way in the Balkans. Thankfully, the yields are an improvement in 2019 and 2020 and with good quality across all the regions. This should slow down the number of grey hairs appearing on Tommy’s head! Demand The demand for Juniper has not waivered over the past 24 months. The previous two harvests have been exceptionally poor (in 2019 and [...]

Juniper harvest 2021Kev2021-10-28T10:29:19+01:00

Sourcing quality botanicals during Covid-19

Kev2021-03-16T13:05:29+00:00

Sourcing quality botanicals during Covid-19 What a testing year it has been for all! We hope the worst is past us but unfortunately this dreaded virus will create many more hurdles throughout 2021. Having to deal with Brexit at the same time has added to the ‘chaos’ as the ‘teething’ problems which were supposed to last weeks continue. Trips to see harvests Due to Covid restrictions, Tommy and Michael’s trips to see harvests and suppliers have been [...]

Sourcing quality botanicals during Covid-19Kev2021-03-16T13:05:29+00:00

English coriander seed harvest

Kev2021-01-19T10:46:48+00:00

English coriander seed harvest in Sussex. After a testing year across the globe, we were very pleased with the results of our latest English coriander seed harvest in Sussex. Quality of the coriander seed The yield and quality of the seed have both been excellent and the seed has now been cleaned packaged and delivered to our Warehouse so no issues with delays crossing the EU borders. Harvest The crop suffered slightly after planting with a very [...]

English coriander seed harvestKev2021-01-19T10:46:48+00:00

UK Juniper 2020

Kev2020-10-26T10:39:42+00:00

Whilst in Scotland in September 2020, Tommy did manage to find some Scottish Juniper. Unfortunately, very small quantities and very poor quality. It would have taken quite some time to dry these lots!

UK Juniper 2020Kev2020-10-26T10:39:42+00:00

Sweet and Bitter Orange being peeled in Murcia, Spain

Kev2020-03-24T15:00:56+00:00

Sweet and bitter oranges being peeled in Murcia, Spain Tommy recently visted Spain to check the progress of the citrus harvest Tommy recently returned from Murcia just before the Spanish Government decided to lockdown the country. The citrus harvest is the last of the core botanicals to be processed. We know that once these peels arrive, we will have large stocks of all core botanicals in the UK. Processing is well under way During [...]

Sweet and Bitter Orange being peeled in Murcia, SpainKev2020-03-24T15:00:56+00:00

Coronovirus and botanical supplies

Kev2020-02-25T15:49:17+00:00

Coronavirus and botanical supplies The effects of Coronavirus are being felt worldwide and it is not yet under control. Therefore we should expect further consequences and enforced controls over the coming months.. We are lucky at Beacon Commodities in that none of our botanicals currently come from China. This is possibly a surprising fact given the range of spices and botanicals China grows. Forward Planning We must however plan for the worst with the likelihood that the spread [...]

Coronovirus and botanical suppliesKev2020-02-25T15:49:17+00:00

English Angelica Harvest

Kev2019-09-30T12:23:15+01:00

English angelica harvest We are excited to report that our English Angelica has just been harvested after 15 months in the ground This is another step forward to increasing the number of UK grown gin botanicals. Growing more UK gin botanicals. Being botanical-traders we source all manner of herbs, spices and roots from around the world bringing them into our UK warehouse. However, we have always had a burning ambition to try and grow more UK gin [...]

English Angelica HarvestKev2019-09-30T12:23:15+01:00