Chocolate is usually the king of advent calendars, but these typically Christmas items can hide almost anything behind their tabs. Also a range of edible and drinkable gifts for the most foodies, such as spices, teas, liqueurs, nuts and artisanal cheeses, as well as high quality chocolates that are little reminiscent of the tiny and very sweet chocolate bars that these cartons usually contain. Although it is very likely that followers of this tradition already have their calendar resting on a kitchen shelf, here we propose some very original ones for the stragglers.
We start with the drinkable proposals, which are not few. And these holidays, neither beers nor liquors want to miss the countdown until December 24. Damm proposes, like other years, a huge calendar with 17 bottles, all of them different, and seven gifts. These are hidden behind the windows of an Old Estrella Damm Factory in a cardboard version designed by the Barcelona illustrator Maria Diamante. Among the gifts there is no shortage of the Damm Christmas Star, the brewery explains, whose recipe is inspired by the beers that Damm produced especially as Christmas gifts to his family and friends in the 1950s.
Moritz is also getting on the advent calendar bandwagon and has launched one in which, in addition to beers, there are other surprises such as socks, t-shirts or a Christmas tote bag. For those who prefer the vast majority of gifts to be beers, they also have the La Sagra advent pack, with 21 bottles and four beer objects.
Let's go with the liquors. Jack Daniels, for example, has launched a limited edition that includes four glasses and twenty different miniatures of his whiskey, all hidden in a Christmas-themed briefcase. And, for those who are more into gin, Nordés gin offers another very complete calendar, with eight bottles of its distillate, bottle opener, spoon, coasters and more gifts associated with this cocktail with so many followers.
Coffee calendars cannot be missing from this compilation and the one from the El Noa Noa brand is perhaps the highest level. Aimed at specialty coffee lovers, they have launched a pack containing 24 cans, each with 20 grams from different roasters that, they explain, have been carefully selected. In these metal boxes there is also printed a QR code with information about the selected coffee along with a recipe prepared by the producer to get the most out of the product. The illustration on the box is signed by the Cornell artist José Antonio Roda.
There is also room for tea in this year's advent calendars. The French brand Mariage Freres offers several packs with attractive packaging, among which you can choose one made up of bags of different varieties, one dedicated to white tea and another to blue tea, which celebrates Provence. A calendar in book format with its best-selling references is the proposal of Bangalore Coffee and Te. Each tea is presented in glass bags and the packaging describes ingredients, product name and recommended temperature.
The Celler de Can Roca calendar is essential in the edible section. It consists of a box that hides a beautiful miniature of the streets of Girona, where there is no shortage of well-known projects by the Roca brothers such as Casa Cacao or Can Roca. On a walk through this city we will discover different varieties of chocolates, chocolate cookies, caramel and bars of the best quality. Another must is 'The Enchanted Forest' by Rocambolesc and Casa Cacao, an impressive chest with illustrations of fauna and vegetation that is divided into 24 drawers, where a wide variety of sweets are also hidden.
And so that Christmas menus do not lack flavour, Just Spices is once again launching its spice calendar, where we will not find the typical references, but mixes for meat, eggs, fish, salads and even banana bread. The pack also includes a book with more than 50 recipes to use.
The gourmet cheese factory located in Malaga, Picnik, has also put back on sale its coveted calendar of artisanal cheeses, which is delivered refrigerated in two parts to ensure the freshness of the product. The cuts that make it up are carefully chosen in a search that lasts all year long. "They are 24 moments of magic and delight," they say. And, likewise, cheese is the protagonist in the pack from the Xerigots bakery, which has a solidarity background. This cheese factory will make a contribution of 1 kg of cheese for each calendar sold, which will go to the families who use the Rebost Solidari of Vilafranca del Penedès.
