At the heart of Tempera's aromatic profiles lies the incredible know-how of three-Michelin-starred chef Mauro Colagreco. Drawing inspiration from the gardens surrounding his restaurant, Mirazur, this "gardener in a chef's jacket" created Tempera recipes using plants and flowers that grow on the shores of the Mediterranean.
It is the chef's entire olfactory and gustatory memory that is expressed in the composition of our blends, to obtain aromatic profiles as refined as wine, but with very different flavors. Often a flower gives the nose its sophistication, a fruit brings acidity and body, while spices create length.
From the very first tests to the final versions of our beverages, each iteration has been an opportunity to (re)discover ingredients with an exceptional aromatic potential, and to explore the best methods to highlight this potential.
Let us mention, for example, the facetiousness of our tagetes, a rare aromatic plant whose leaves give Calda its fresh, zesty notes, but whose flowers reveal surprising aromas of… curry! Even more difficult to tame was the dry caramel made by the chef in the kitchens of Mirazur, giving our saffron white all its texture and deliciousness... but almost impossible to reproduce in larger quantities, until we finally cracked the code!
For other recipes, it's the magic of artisanal fermentation that has allowed us to reveal the depth and complexity of some of our aromatic plants. Our sea fennel, for example, whose iodized freshness evolves towards the aromas of smoke, pepper or even cloves; or the flowery notes of yerba mate, whose aromatic profile and astringency level change completely depending on the temperature at which it is infused or macerated.
In the beginning were our recipes: aromatic horizons, which finally became reality.
A chef's kitchen is a sanctuary where the beauty of the seasonal ingredient, the spontaneity of the creator, and the exploration of different ways to enhance it are replayed in each dish. But to introduce Tempera to the world, it was necessary to leave this sanctuary and enter another: the workshop!
The workshop is a world unto itself, where human know-how and experience meet the scaling of the machine. The artisans who craft our Tempera blends know that working with ingredients like ours is like working with living matter. Each production is unique, each infusion, each fermentation depends on the season, the aromatic potential of the available ingredient, and the attention of those who infuse, blend, and brew it.
For our still blends, each ingredient is infused at its own pace and at a carefully determined temperature.
Although for most people infusion seems like a process of age-old simplicity, it is in fact a complex, multi-faceted and ever changing method, which can be used in radically different ways depending on the nature of the ingredient and the flavours that one wishes to extract from it.
For example, it is necessary to adjust the infusion time and temperature of a tea, as its aromatic potential varies with each batch.
For our sparkling blends, it is yet another world that opens up: that of fermentation! We have specially selected yeasts that allow our aromatic ingredients to gain depth and complexity. It is this so-called acetic fermentation process that allows us to bottle our sparkling wines without first undergoing a dealcoholization step.
This process also explains the presence in our sparkling wines of a residual alcohol level close to 0.05%, as is the case for craft beers, while a dealcoholized drink can fall to 0.0%. Indeed, all fermentation creates alcohol in varying proportions, whether in sourdough bread or in overripe fruit!
There is something spontaneous and poetic about this fermentation process: sleepy and lazy in winter, but active and enthusiastic in summer, our yeasts can take between 5 and 10 days to transform our ingredients depending on the season, the temperature, the oxygen level... There is only one watchword: look, smell, taste, to be sure of achieving the perfect balance of flavors.
We attend each production session to evaluate the result of each preparation and ensure that the aromatic horizons of our recipes are sublimated in each bottle.
Even before the recipe or the workshop, there is the earth and the incredible diversity of ingredients it offers us. Tea, Normandy apples, red fruits, fennel, marigold, spices… All these natural elements have their own seasonality, their own requirements, and to inscribe Tempera creations in time, they must be respected.
The Tempera team is constantly searching for producers whose expertise allows them to produce ingredients with unparalleled aromatic qualities. Saffron from Kashmir, black tea from Assam, seaweed from the Île de Ré, and even Breton rock samphire: it's by exploring these terroirs and understanding their work and vision that we've been able to find the best way to pay tribute to their products.
It is these producers, artisans and ingredients that reconnect us to our taste buds, and to the Earth.
