Le Cercle de l'Ombelle · Moon 12 out of 12
December — Barks
Winter · 6 references pickeds this moon · the harvesting of barks
First movement
The harvest
The essentials at a glance
Barks · Winter
6 references pickeds this moon, of which 1 contain caffeine.
The harvesting of barks.
December closes the circle of the year. The growing season is over, nothing grows outdoors any more: all that remains is what keeps and what can be harvested in the cold, the cinnamon bark that is peeled away and curls into sticks as it dries, the last liquorice and carrot roots pulled up before the hard frost sets the ground. This is the moon of stripping back, when the herbarium is reduced to its essentials: barks, roots, the densest and most enduring things that tree and soil hold. The inner bark of the cinnamon tree is harvested, naturally sweet and warm; liquorice is pulled up, fifty times sweeter than sugar. December is a moon of patience and preservation, turned inwards, the one that prepares, in the silence of winter, the great return of January and the southern harvest. The circle closes where it will open again: on what endures when all else has gone.
The December full moon, the cold moon, is the longest to keep watch: close to the solstice, it crosses the highest and slowest night of the year. It is in the wood that the tree then stores its reserves, and it is bark, cinnamon, on the other side of the world, that this month harvests. The ancients cut their winter wood “by the old moon”: it was said to be denser, and to burn better.
Second movement
The moon lesson
This moon harvests 3 plants ; here are their botanical profiles and their rituals.
Cinnamon tree
Cinnamomum · Lauraceae
Cinnamon is neither a seed nor a root, but a bark: the thin inner layer of the cinnamon tree, a tropical tree of the Lauraceae family, a cousin of the bay laurel. This bark is harvested from young branches, and as it dries it naturally curls in on itself to form the characteristic sticks. Ceylon cinnamon, pale and delicate, is distinguished from cassia, darker and more powerful. The queen of traded spices since Antiquity, it was once worth its weight in gold and was one of the reasons for the great maritime explorations. Naturally warm and sweet, it needs nothing added to give flavour. As an infusion or a decoction, it gives a round, woody and gentle cup, the emblem of winter comfort, the Christmas spice par excellence, the one that closes the year of the Circle on a warm note.
Liquorice
Glycyrrhiza glabra · Fabaceae
Liquorice is a legume of the Fabaceae family, like rooibos, of which it is not the aerial part that is harvested but the root, pulled up in autumn when the growing season is over and the plant has concentrated its reserves underground. This root is extremely sweet: the molecule it contains is around fifty times sweeter than table sugar, which allows it to soften a blend with nothing else added. Cultivated since Antiquity in the Near East, it was already known to the pharaohs. Dried then cut into pieces, it slowly releases its flavour, especially in a long decoction that opens up its dense fibre. It gives a round, sweet cup with a characteristic aniseed and woody taste, the natural sweetness of the moon of barks, the one that sweetens without sugar.
Carrot
Daucus carota · Apiaceae
The carrot is an umbellifer of the Apiaceae family, a botanical cousin of fennel, anise and caraway, though this is often forgotten, so familiar is it as a vegetable. The cultivated variety descends from the wild carrot, white and stringy, patiently selected over the centuries into its orange, fleshy form, a colour that is said to have appeared only fairly late, in the Netherlands. For infusion, the root is harvested in autumn, before the hard frosts, then cut into fine pieces and dried. It then brings an earthy sweetness and a beautiful golden colour to winter blends, without the aniseed fragrance of its cousins. As an infusion, it gives a sweet, round and velvety note, discreet yet warming, the humblest of the plants of the Circle.
Third movement
Tasting at home
The Moon Basket of December
Cinnamon tree
Chai d'Hiver Cannelle Gingembre Bio
100°C · 7-10 min · 12-15 g/L
Cinnamon and ginger lead this organic winter chai, with anise, star anise, crushed cocoa bean and a touch of Darjeeling black tea. The dry blend, dark and woody, smells of a house getting ready for the festive season; the mahogany liquor builds its warmth in layers, round cinnamon, clean ginger, the aniseed liquorice note of star anise, down to the cocoa base that holds the finish. Lightly caffeinated thanks to its hint of Darjeeling, it carries you through the mornings and days from December to February without ever tiring.
⚠ Precautions: Riche en caféine (plusieurs sources : maté, guarana, matcha, thé). À consommer avec modération, de préférence pas en soirée. Déconseillé aux enfants, aux femmes enceintes ou allaitantes et aux personnes sensibles à la caféine.
Chai des Sept Chakras Bio
100°C · 7-10 min · 12-15 g/L
Seven spices like seven stages: cinnamon, ginger, two peppers, clove, cardamom and turmeric answer one another in waves. The dry blend, ochre and pink, fills the spice counter with its scent; the copper liquor advances in waves of warmth, twin peppers, ginger, clove, perfumed by cardamom and soothed by rose. Naturally caffeine-free, this is the evening chai in its pure spice version, to be lengthened with milk to soften it.
Liquorice
Tisane de la Lune Réglisse Fenouil Bio
100°C · 5-10 min · 12-15 g/L
Liquorice root opens this organic evening herbal infusion, accompanied by fennel, ginger, cinnamon, anise, clove, mallow and coriander. The dry blend, woody and golden, already gives off that distinctive sweetness; the dark amber liquor confirms it: liquorice unfolds its powerful, lingering sweetness, extended by anise and fennel, and spiced just enough by ginger and clove. Naturally caffeine-free and without the slightest added sugar, this is the cup for liquorice lovers. Everyone else has been warned: it does not pretend.
⚠ Precautions: Contient de la réglisse. Déconseillé en cas d'hypertension artérielle, de maladie rénale ou cardiaque, et pendant la grossesse. Éviter une consommation élevée ou prolongée.
Grand Repos Cannelle Fenouil Bio
100°C · 5-10 min · 12-15 g/L
Cinnamon sticks, fennel, ginger, orange peel, anise, liquorice and crushed cocoa bean: this organic evening herbal infusion brings together the spices of comfort in an Ayurvedic-inspired recipe. The dry blend smells of an orangery in winter; the copper liquor envelops at once, round cinnamon, candied orange, the natural sweetness of liquorice, before the cocoa lays down its lightly roasted depth on the finish. Naturally caffeine-free and naturally sweet, it is the cup you take to the sofa when the day is done.
⚠ Precautions: Contient de la réglisse. Déconseillé en cas d'hypertension artérielle, de maladie rénale ou cardiaque, et pendant la grossesse. Éviter une consommation élevée ou prolongée.
Carrot & spices
Carotte & Curcuma Solaire Bio
100°C · 10-12 min · 20 g/L
Carrot makes up most of this organic vegetable infusion, lifted with ginger, pumpkin, turmeric in two forms, a hint of curry and savory. The dry blend, a vibrant orange, smells of a summer kitchen garden; the golden liquor surprises the sceptic: the natural sweetness and velvety texture of carrot, the earthy warmth of turmeric, awakening ginger, with that distant savoury echo of curry and savory that gives the cup an almost broth-like dimension. Naturally caffeine-free and comforting after a meal, it is the most surprising success of its kind.
Ayurvéda Originel Épices Bio
100°C · 10-12 min · 20 g/L
The original recipe for chai without tea: cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, clove and cardamom, five spices, nothing more. The dry blend, a deep ochre, smells of the Kochi market; the copper liquor unfolds a gradual warmth, the pepper sharp and clear, the cardamom signing a fragrant finish. Naturally caffeine-free, it is the warming after-dinner cup, and the ideal base for a homemade golden milk.
A source of pleasure, not a medicine. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, undergoing medical treatment or have a medical condition, seek the advice of a healthcare professional.
The moon's ephemeral
A limited series, available for the duration of the harvest of december. When the moon passes, the ephemeral goes with it.
The Twelve Moons subscription
Every moon, twelve times a year, the harvest basket arrives at your door: 6 references, two per type, making 72 references over the year, the story of the picking and the ritual.
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