One of our range is Orange Cinchona.  Most of you probably have not heard of Cinchona before but its key ingredient is quinine which you will know as an ingredient in tonic water? We fell in love with Cinchona extract is a few years ago whilst working on  innovation ideas for adult drinks. Cinchona, pronounced sing-koh-nuh, is a species of plants, mainly trees, native to the Andes of South America; the bark of some contains quinine which is the key ingredient in tonic water.

A Real Tonic!

British Army officers stationed in India started blending quinine with sugar and water back in 1825 to fight malaria. They also accidentally discovered a delicious sundowner. Quinine is also known to be great for helping with cramp so it really is a fantastic ingredient. 

Nowadays, quinine is extracted from the cinchona bark and purified to form a white powder which delivers the astringent bitterness found in tonic waters.  Our cinchona extract is less refined and consequently retains its delicious mellow woody notes. It also gives our Orange Cinchona its beautiful amber hue. Being less refined, the bitterness is less intense too. 

We have combined our recipe with over 17 herbs and spices along with bitter orange extract.  It’s probably our most marmite of flavours but if you are a big fan of bitter flavours; negroni’s, campari etc then this one is definitely for you. 

I know parents aren’t supposed to have favourites, but Orange Cinchona is definitely mine; just don’t tell anyone!