Valentine's Day Gift Ideas: Spice Kitchen

My Christmas Gift Guide has been and gone and I'm already back with a new reason for buying presents; Valentines Day! It's creeping up quickly and it's one of my least favourite occasions to buy for. I find it so difficult which is why over the next few weeks I'll be bringing you some fabulous gift ideas for your loved ones. 

First up in my Valentine's Day gift guide is the beautiful Wooden Spice Box from Spice Kitchen. 

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My partner, Chris is very into experimenting with his food - he makes the most amazing sweet potato and carrot mash. I don't know what his secret is to give it a kick!

This gorgeous wooden box contains eight handmade spice blends using around 35 different ingredients & masala chai teabags. 

The box itself is made from wood and each compartment contains a glass jar. Each jar has around 45g of spice which will keep for at least a year as long as they're kept sealed and out of sunlight. There's even a little spice spoon included. 

Now down to the spices. Inside, there is:

Garam masala - containing cloves, star anise, black pepper, cinnamon, coriander seeds, cumin and ginger. 

Sri Lankan curry powder - containing basmati rice, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, cassia bark, fenugreek seeds, cloves, cardamom, mustard seeds, black peppercorns, kashmiri chilli and turmeric. 

Panch Phoron - containing cumin seeds, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, nigella seeds and fennel seeds. 

Mexican spice blend - containing cornflour, cumin seeds, paprika, oregano, chilli powder, garlic powder, salt, sugar, onion powder and cayenne pepper. 

Jerk spice blend - containing cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, parsley, sugar, salt, paprika, all spice, black peppercorns, nutmeg and cinnamon. 

Chinese spice blend - containing liquorice, star anise, cassia, Szechuan peppers, black cardamom, orange peel and cloves. 

Ras El Hanout - containing cloves, mace, star anise, cayenne pepper, all spice, cardamom, black peppercorns, sugar, cinnamon, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, ginger, nutmeg, paprika, salt and turmeric. 

Baharat - containing cloves, black pepper, cumin seeds, nutmeg, paprika, cardamom and cinnamon. 

Also included are authentic masala chai teabags which contain a mix of the finest loose tea from Kenya and India mixed with an array of spices including cardamom, fennel and ginger. 

I was given the opportunity to try some of the spices (in the form of the 10 Indian Spices set which comes in a handmade silk bag). Before I'd even opened the packaging, the smell of the spices hit you in the face which I believe is a great sign that they are of high quality. We've tried them out in a few of our dinner time meals and they do add a real kick. The garam masala is my fave! 

The Wooden Spice Box would make a lovely Valentine's gift for any foodie or someone who is just new to experimenting. The Guardian recently did a post on Spice Kitchen which you can read here. 

It retails at £34.95 and you can purchase it at the Spice Kitchen website. 

You can also find Spice Kitchen on Facebook and Twitter. 

(Disclaimer: I recevied the 10 Indian Spices set free of charge in exchange for including the Wooden Spice Box in my guide.)