How to enjoy the perfect Valentine’s Day in lockdown

Have a lazy morning

Is there a better smell to have around the house first thing in the morning than freshly brewed coffee? Since Valentine’s Day falls on a Sunday this year it’s the perfect excuse to enjoy a lazy start to the day with coffee in bed. For your Valentine’s Day coffee fix consider Toque Hat Coffee. This limited edition coffee comes from The Gentlemen Baristas, who has partnered with mental health charity The Burnt Chef Project for the release of their latest caffeinated product. The London-based coffee stalwarts, who have 10 outlets across the capital as well as their own roastery in Shadwell, are aiming to raise awareness of The Burnt Chef Project – a non-profit campaign committed to burning away the stigma and shame associated with mental health for hospitality professionals worldwide.

Toque Hat Coffee is a Kenyan coffee best enjoyed as an espresso or filter using a cafetiere to bring out its flavours, which boast tasting notes of berry compote and dark chocolate, coupled with vibrant acidity. Like all Gentlemen Baristas coffee, the Toque beans are hand roasted at the Shadwell roastery guaranteeing maximum quality and taste. For every bag sold, 20% of all proceeds go to the charity raising awareness of mental health in the hospitality industry. A 250g bag is £12 and it’s available to buy until 26th March.

Put the bubbles on ice

You and your other half deserve the best sparkling wine in the world, so treat yourselves to the gift of Corallian Classic Cuvée NV from Dorset’s Langham Wine Estate. Langham Wine Estate are producers of England’s most exceptional sparkling wine and were recently named Sparkling Wine Producer of the Year by the International Wine & Spirits Competition (IWSC).

This chardonnay-dominant classic cuvée is a fresh and aromatic sparkling wine suited to all occasions. Corallian Classic Cuvée NV comprises a 2017 base vintage with 10% reserve wine and is a blend of 62% Chardonnay, 29% Pinot Noir and 9% Pinot Meunier. A pale gold colour with a stream of fine bubbles, this award-winning English sparkling wine has aromas of cut grass, oyster shell and baked apple – perfect for welcoming in the spring. The palate has a fine mousse with a saline focus. Stewed apple flavours with an integrated citrus acidity and a long finish, it is both fresh and complex.

Corallian Classic Cuvée NV is available from Lea & Sandeman, £27.50 per single bottle.

Forget cooking

Put the recipes away and forget the shopping list. Field Doctor is a recently launched, pioneering new approach to food by reinventing the ready meal. Gone are the days of over-processed and poor nutritional quality meals: Field Doctor brings you 19 totally delicious, nutritionally-supercharged meals straight to your door. Best of all, they’ve been designed to make you feel better, inside and out.

Co-founded by Square Pie creator Martin Dewey and registered dietitian Sasha Watkins, the food is brought to life by Michelin-trained chef Matt Williamson. Together they’ve worked together to select ingredients for their nutritional properties and health benefits, then craft them into delicious meals designed to improve specific areas of health. In the range you’ll find meals that boost immunity, support heart health, cognitive health as well as delivering a meal solution for people with digestive issues such as gluten intolerance, coeliac disease, IBS, and general bloating. And, for the first time in the UK, IBS sufferers can breathe a sigh of relief thanks to eight extra dishes, which strictly comply with the low FODMAP diet – well-respected in health circles and now for the first time entering the mainstream market.

These dishes are unique, made in small batches and contain zero nasties. Each dish is rooted in freshness, goodness, flavour and appeal. They include Beef and quinoa meatballs, Mediterranean hake and butterbean stew, Red pepper and chickpea curry, Malaysian tofu curry, British fish pie, Persian pomegranate chicken and loads more! My personal favourite is the potato topped chicken pie. Certified low fodmap and benefitting your bones, immunity, muscles, heart, brain and energy, it’s easy to reheat in the oven and tastes amazing!

The dishes are flash frozen to lock in the flavour and all the good bits, and are delivered in recyclable packaging to people’s doors. Field Doctor meals are priced from £5.95 for a single portion and £9.90 for a meal for two Minimum order is £35.00. Visit www.fielddoctor.co.uk for more information.

Spoil the other half

Are you and yours wishing you could be on holiday right now? We feel you. What if we told you you can now bring the vibrant colour and taste of Brazil into your home? Katia Hickmann, a true carioca (long-standing Rio de Janeiro resident) recently launched her beautiful brigadeiros and outrageously gorgeous cakes to the UK. Katia moved to the UK 20 years ago and after running various clothing and other businesses realised she missed the taste of her home country so much that two years ago she decided to begin making them and selling them herself.

Brigadeiros come in a number of different colours and flavours. They’re little balls, almost truffle-like, and have a consistency a bit like fudge. They’re made by hand with swiss cocoa, condensed milk and double cream. They were first created back in the 1940s and vary in offerings, from milk chocolate to dark and white, Ovaltine, biscuit, Oreo, pistachio, walnut, lemon, coconut, dulce de leche, and peanut. They’re decadent and moreish, and within seven months of launching to the UK, have already garnered a fiercely loyal following.

For Valentine’s Day, Katia has developed a beautiful box of brigadeiros topped with stunningly fresh, seasonal British flowers. (16 brigadeiros plus the flowers is £55).

Set the scene

Ava May Aromas was founded by 25-year-old Hannah Chapman two years ago and has now sold almost half a billion wax melts! They’ve also just released their first-ever Valentine’s Day gift box – and it’s beautiful! Priced at £30, the limited-edition ‘I Love You’ box contains a gorgeous heart wax melt burner, a room spray, one tea light pack and three wax melts – all in a scent of your choice.

This new and exclusive I Love You Collection is filled to the brim with hand-selected treats. You’ll get a choice of White, Grey or Pearl Heart Burner, a pack of 24 tea lights with a burn time of 90 hours, as well as three Single Wax Discs in one of three limited edition scents – Decadence, J.Choo and Bonne Bonne. To round off this amazing bundle you’ll also receive a stylish room spray chosen especially by you to match one of the beautifully wrapped discs, so you can really set the scene for a bit of romance.

Say I love you with diamonds

Everyone loves diamonds, especially when they’re from a renowned online jeweller famed for their elegant designs such as The Diamond Store . The 7 Star Life team are slightly obsessed with their blingtastic ruby drop earrings (£815) and regularly fantasise about the day they can mince into a glitzy ball donning them like a queen. Set in 9k white gold and featuring 0.55CT diamonds, they’re perfect for those with a penchant for the sublime.

The Diamond Store’s range of bracelets, engagement rings, gemstones and necklaces will please even the fussiest tastes and delivery is speedy to pander to jewellery-lovers who need their gems in a hurry.

 

Get in the mood with a cheeky aphrodisiac

Put the slimy oysters down. Did you know that marzipan is one of the most amorous aphrodisiacs and an ancient symbol of fertility in certain cultures? This sweet, fragrant paste is made from sugar and almonds – full of vitamin E, good fats and other healthy nutrients said to boost sexual desire.

Niederegger, the world’s largest marzipan brand, has made a fabulously massive pink heart shaped box filled with heart-shaped chocolate covered marzipan for sweet-toothed lovers this Valentine’s Day.

Established in Northern Germany in 1806, the brand’s exquisite marzipan recipe remains unchanged to this day and is a favourite of tastebuds with Michelin Star standards.

Disclaimer: sharing is caring, but this may be hard to do after devouring a few of these divine treats to yourself

£39.99 from www.chocolatesdirect.co.uk

Give the gift of love-themed earrings

The ‘Filled with love’ MATCHBOX from Matchboxjewellery.com lets you mix & match your favourite earrings to create the perfect romantic gift. For £50 the set includes an AVA heart huggie, LIVVY lips stud, HOPE heart stud and LILY love stud – all as adorable as they sound.

We love how you can buy a variety of earring styles – huggies, hoops, studs, cuffs and chains in doubles or singles for a modern, quirky look to catch the eye of your love…or turn heads on your next zoom party.

Send ethically-sourced flowers

Bloom and Wild have decided not to sell red roses this year for environmental reasons but we are loving this striking bunch of colourful blooms. The Ezra features 26 stems including roses, carnations, alstroemeria, freesia, hypericum berries, clematis, calla lilies, and statice.

Bloom and Wild are known for their meticulously packaged flowers packed in compact boxes slim enough to fit through your letterbox- perfect if you’re not sure the object of your affection will be at home.  Easy to read florist instructions on how to assemble the bouquet like a pro are included, so prepare for a smug insta post of a rather fabulous nature.