Beetroot

Beetroot, the wonderfully colourful vegetable that splits opinion far and wide. Although it’s safe to say this vegetable's reputation has hit an all-time high in recent years, largely due to the vast experimentation and the understanding of its nutritional profile.

If you take a look back at history, the Ancient Greeks only ever ate the leaves and stalks, which were consumed like chard. The beet roots however, were only occasionally used in healing and medicine. Another interesting fact, is that many cultures for a long time have considered beets to be an aphrodisiac. We can’t claim this to be a 100% scientific fact but it’s worth the frisky risk right?!

It wasn’t until the 16th century that the Germans, or possibly the Italians began to experiment with the bulbous deep purple root for consumption. Beetroot would have to wait a full two centuries later to become a worldwide culinary phenomenon and seen as a necessary dietary staple, especially due to its resilient growing capacity in all weather conditions. 

Commonly, beets are known to be quite earthy and this is possibly why historically people have looked down on the vegetable. As much as we agree that beets can be quite earthy, they can also be extremely sweet and delicious.

Here’s a bit of knowledge for you. In 1747, a chemist from Berlin by the name Andreas Sigismund Marggraf, discovered a way of producing sucrose (sugar) from beets.

His student, Franz Achard, perfected the method of extracting the sucrose, which later eventuated in the King of Prussia having a hand in building a sugar beet industry in Poland. Today, 30% of the worlds sugar comes from sugar beets! 

Another interesting fact: Beetroot is also one of the most economical crops of the Beta Vulgaris family of large order flowering plants.  Beet sugar production requires four times less water than sugar cane production, making it a super attractive crop for farmers. Basically, beetroot has many layers beyond the dark red colour that we first see.

We are however, a creative bunch here at Urban Blends and just one ingredient is never enough, no matter how many strange facts we can provide about it.
When creating our Beetroot Blend, we experimented with many ingredients and eventually landed on the below six.

First, a ginger from southern India provides a noticeable spice hit. We also wanted the blend to have a slight kick but at the same time provide a warming sensation so we added a pinch of Sri lankan black pepper, which perfectly complements the ginger. From there, we added a Vietnamese ceylon cinnamon and a dark star anise, also originating from Vietnam. After this, a coconut sugar from Indonesia was added to provide a hint of caramel sweetness, finishing off without our beetroot, which we sourced from Poland.

The carefully considered combination of ingredients provide a comforting, yet exhilarating drink blend. The broad range of sensory profiles compliment each other perfectly to provide a perfectly balanced, harmonised blend accompanied with many rich layers of complexity. 

Often a conversation starter, this is one blend that really gets people talking!

 Beetroots have mellow sweet characteristics and boast an excellent nutritional profile that includes plenty of essential vitamins, minerals such as calcium, iron and a great source of fiber and nitrates such as magnesium and potassium. They also contain unique bioactive compounds called Betalains, which can benefit overall health.

 The powerful vitamin and mineral content of beets ensure that you receive healthy amounts of some of the most vital nutrients. Despite their sugar content sitting at the top of all vegetables, beets have no (zero) cholesterol, very small amounts of fat and they’re super low on calories – only about 43 calories per 100 grams of beets.