Winter Function 2022 Gift
All guests to the Winter Function 2022 were given a gift bag. The entire gift is either recyclable or compostable in nature. It consists of a black paper sack with a handle, a hand-made hot cocoa mix, and a hand-made candle.
Candle
The candle is made of approximately 150 grams of hybrid paraffin/vegetable wax, mixed with a low amount of “autumn leaves” fragrance oil. The wick is made of wood, fastened to the bottom of the vessel with a small metal clip. The vessel itself is a threaded straight-sided 8oz glass jar, paired with a metal lid.
Those who have received a candle are entitled to a refill, to maximize reuse of the materials. Inserting a new wood wick and pouring in more wax/fragrance is very easy, just bring it back to me and I’ll do it at my leisure.
Hot Cocoa Mix
The cocoa mix is was designed around the following constraints:
- No dependency on heating milk
- No dairy
- Be tasty
Not depending on heating milk means the mix needs to contain powdered milk. Not including dairy means that milk must be a milk alternative. To match the fatty nature of whole milk, I chose to substitue it with powdered coconut milk. In addition to the obviously necessary cocoa powder and sugar, the mix contains a small amount of salt and nutmeg. The serving size of powder mix per cup of boiling water is 1/3 cup, or 6 tablespoons. In each serving are the following quantities.
- 1.5 tablespoons of granulated sugar
- 1.5 tablespoons of cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons of powdered coconut milk
- 1/8 teaspoon of sea salt
- 1/8 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
Mixing these ingredients took quite a while even with a countertop mixer, because the coconut powder wanted to stay in clumps. I did my best though, since every clump broken by the mixer was a clump that wouldn’t need to be stirred out upon usage. Still, I recommend stirring thoroughly when using, to really integrate the coconut milk.
Each lined paper bag contains enough for three servings of hot cocoa. I suggest carefully cutting one corner and pouring it out, or transferring to another reusable container. The bag itself can be composted.
Photos of the process
