(crowd laughing)
(fun music)
- Ebbers, potentially pretentious ingredient
number one is under that cloth.
- May I?
- You may.
(energetic music)
- It is part of a plant, leafy
that has been dried, possibly toasted.
This has kind of got fruity, chocolatey tea notes.
- This is why I like having a chef in this position.
- Definitely.
Well, Ebbers, I can tell you
that this is Chinese Da Hong Pao Oolong tea.
We've bought it from the Rare Tea Company
and in their words,
"This is perhaps the finest oolong in China.
Grown from a unique and ancient loose leaf tea
cultivated in the Wuyishan UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Hong Pao means big red robe and the tea-"
wait for this, "The tea is steeped in legend."
(Mike laughing) - Clever copywriting.
- Clever copywriting.
- Culturally, tea doesn't originate from the UK.
And yet I think it is now so ingrained
in our British culture.
A cup of tea puts everything to rest,
because it's the conversation
that goes along with the tea.
And therefore, it's so important and so everyday
that it can't be pretentious.
Except, as we have proven time and time and time again
there are specific artisanal specialists
in short supply and high demand, examples,
that drive a price up and potentially make it pretentious.
- They only produce a few kilos of it every single year.
And you have to go to the heritage site to buy it.
- Did you?
- No, we've sourced it from the Rare Tea Company
who did that for us.
- Excellent.
- Quite an admin-heavy job, that.
- Right, Ebbers here's the plan.
We need between two and four grammes of the tea.
- That sounds like three to me.
- Three sounds good.
For 150 millilitres of water to make our actual tea.
However, first of all, we're gonna use an inch of hot water
at 100 degrees to rapidly wash the leaf for a few seconds.
We'll then discard that water.
And what that's gonna do is essentially open up
the rolled leaves and start to soften it.
150 millilitres, no need to reboil the kettle.
Basically each time that you use that leaf, it gets softer
and therefore it requires a lower temperature of water
in order to make the tea.
- Wow.
- You can use the same leaves all day.
Just keep topping it back up with hot water
and you'll be able to taste subtle differences
within each infusion.
- Now we know what's going on, I'm gonna do it all again
but with our less pretentious oolong tea.
- Oh, yeah. Have you already made a decision on this?
- No. I just know the name of the format.
First infusion of the "lesser tea."
- We'll call it our control tea.
- Given that we were fairly precise
in our weights and measures and temperatures and times,
the two end results look very similar.
- Here we go.
(fun music)
Drinkable?
- I was surprised that it tastes of what it smells like.
And I know that sounds silly
but often, you'll get it on the nose,
like fruit teas that smell really fruity
and then you make a drink
and you go "where's the flavour gone?"
- It taste tastes like water. - Whereas actually,
I'm still getting, whilst subtle and delicate,
dark, sour cherry, chocolate notes.
- Ooh.
In the Rare Tea Company's tasting notes for the Hong Pao,
they say that "it's darker in colour
and deeper in flavour than their other oolongs,
with notes of nutty chocolate
and a rounded, earthy yet sweet aroma.
- Definitely chocolatey.
There's no sugar in it.
It's not sweet, but it is kind of fruity
which we might associate with that.
Whereas the more regular one, our control,
I would say is more citrus floral.
But they are worlds apart, they really are.
- So shall we talk about price?
- Yes. How much is this regular oolong?
- That regular oolong, loose leaf, 25 grammes,
2 pound 50.
- 40 pounds? That seems like a lot for a bag of tea.
- 12 pounds 49 pence.
- Oh, I've been done a blinder.
- Which actually works out to 33 pence per cup
if you use two grammes of tea
per 150 millilitres of water and three infusions.
- It's still a lot more than the teabags
that we buy on a daily basis.
It's a very different product.
But actually, that changes the game entirely.
- Pretentious or not?
- Not.
You need a lot of arguably pretentious apparatus
to make it work, with grammage of scales
and infusion and stuff like that.
But as a product it's not pretentious, it's just rare.
(fun music)
- Off to a happy start.
Ebbers, lift the cloche on number two.
- Tequila cask-matured aged six years,
in a very beautiful gift box.
- Oooh.
- Oh, I've seen a word I wasn't expecting.
(Jamie and Mike giggle)
"Experience chocolate-"
- Let me stop you there
because you are only on step one of the opening.
- So the experience continues.
Ecuadorian dark chocolate.
We still got something about tequila.
We know that it is 73% cacao.
And as you lift out of the experience,
you get given a cacao pod.
Lovely presentation box.
There we go. Oh, it's another hinge-
No, that one's not a hinge.
Oh!
I have just clocked what this is.
- Oh yeah?
- Is this the world's most expensive chocolate from Ecuador?
- We can't lay claim
to whether it is the world's most expensive.
It is expensive.
- Ecuadorian dark chocolate,
aged in Don Julio tequila casks-
- Ebbers, you're doing my "This Is!"
Ebbers, this is:
To'ak Tequila Cask Aged Origin Dark Chocolate.
So this is their words,
"This chocolate celebrates a marriage
between two of Latin America's finest delicacies:
chocolate and tequila.
The company To'ak use their chocolate, the Rain Harvest 2015
to mature in Don Julio Gonzalez, founder of one
of the most exquisite pure tequilas in the world,
casks to impart the cocoa
with delicate notes of caramel butterscotch
for a creamy result with a sweet agave tang.
- Oh, it's still going.
(Jamie and Mike laughing)
Now that's more packaging.
The setting is important.
Choose a place that is free from strong odours
and also, both the room and chocolate should be
at room temperature.
We're good on both of those.
When it's time to begin,
bring your attention and focus to the chocolate.
So, shh!
- [Mike] Let's have a look at that chocolate.
- [Ben] Oh, its even got a little bean in the middle.
- To'ak was born from a rainforest conservation project
started in Ecuador in 2007.
They work hand in hand with small cacao growers
and pay them the highest price per pound in all of Ecuador.
- Using all my senses.
Visual first. There's some blooming on it.
- Oh no!
- Which suggests it hasn't had
the most perfect temperature control
between here and Ecuador.
Whilst still perfectly edible,
that might have an effect on the nuances.
Number two. Audible.
(chocolate snaps softly)
Snap.
- To'ak get their tempering chocolate badge.
- Not lemony, but like a fragrant citrus.
It's not like chocolate orange
but it's got that kind of citrus floral.
- I'd be gutted if it was like a Terry's Chocolate Orange,
I'm not gonna lie. (Jamie giggles)
Here we go.
- Let it melt.
Move the chocolate into your mouth. Don't chew.
Rather as it melts, move it around inside your mouth
as you would a mouthful of wine
to maximise exposure to your taste buds.
It is very, very smooth.
I am getting the tequila tang.
- You are?
- Super subtle, but so very delicious.
So good.
- Oh! - Ooooh!
This is definitely one of the best chocolates I've had.
Up there in like top handful.
But I do think that's probably the learning, the experience,
the education that came with it and the presentation.
The chocolate itself then delivers on all those things.
It's a shame it bloomed.
- So for that 50 gramme bar,
what do you think the price comes in at?
- That's ridiculous.
- Come on. That's what we want.
- I think this might be- - Be ridiculous!
- I said it on the tea,
I think this might be a 40 pound bar of chocolate.
And it's only 50 grammes. That's insane.
- Ebbers, this is 165 pounds.
- Wow.
Wow.
(Jamie and Mike laughing)
On that, I am absolutely speechless, but I get it.
It's just not necessarily where our heads are at
with the perception of chocolate
which has become such a commodity in our lives.
- I guess the only remaining question to ask is:
To'ak Tequila Cask Aged Dark Chocolate, pretentious or not?
- It's got wooden tongs! (Jamie laughing)
Yeah, I think this moves into the pretentious line
but I wholly respect it for it.
- Love that. - It's pretentious,
and I'm here for it. - And I love it.
- Wow.
- [Barry] Hello, Barry here.
This is Sorted's very own Strawberry Gin Liqueur
with black pepper and vanilla.
It's sweet, easy to drink,
and it's made with surplus strawberries
so it's super sustainable
and it's good for the planet.
I drink mine with English sparkling wine,
Manuka honey and a dash of collagen powder.
Mmm, lovely.
And that there is why it's in this video.
(fun music)
- Halfway through. 50-50 split.
- Normally these get more and more expensive
so I'm worried and excited in equal measure.
(Jamie speaking German)
- [Jamie] Danke.
- I know what these are.
It is corn. Wow.
- [Mike And Jamie Together] Mmmm.
- You make popcorn without taking it off the cob.
- Ebbers, this is ZaraMama's Pop-A-Cob gourmet popping corn.
We've got you two different varieties there.
We've got Midnight Blue and Rich Ruby Red.
Hundred percent no colorings, no artificial flavourings.
That is how they grow.
That is the style of corn, the variety.
- It's actually suggested by Sorted's own Barry Taylor.
So if he's identifying it as a pretentious ingredient,
then we know it's got mileage.
- In terms of making the popcorn,
you wanna place the cob lengthways in the bag
and tie it with the provided tie.
And then you're gonna want to pop it in a 800-watt microwave
for one and a half to two minutes,
until the popping slows down
to once every two to three seconds.
- This is Raph.
He's got good biceps, doesn't he?
- Great, great arms.
- [Ben] Okay, we're getting some steam inside the bag.
- There we go. Oop!
- I didn't need this commentary,
I've gotta be honest, Ebbers.
- Wee! Poppity pop, pop, pop, pop!
- It's working.
(energetic music)
- [Mike] Oh! It's very white.
- It didn't stay purple.
- This is blowing my mind.
- That is cool.
Seeing as you're a chef, we thought we'd provide you
with some interesting options there, should you want them.
- It's tasty popcorn.
We've put melted butter, sea salt
and a little pinched garlic granules.
Lovely.
And we put the cob back in and got probably the same again.
And there's still some that haven't popped.
- Well, that is tasty.
- That is very good crunchy popcorn.
- Red rather than blue.
Same-same otherwise.
- The ZaraMama's popcorn is available
in 11 different colours and varieties
and each different colour has its own texture
and natural taste.
- That's the first one.
- Midnight blue?
- Taste like corn.
Oh! Yep, completely different.
- Oh, I love that 'cause you went into that
thinking you were wrong.
- Yeah. He thought this was a waste of time-
"I've already popped some corn,
why do I need to pop some more corn?"
- Midnight Clue, less bitter and more buttery.
Naturally buttery.
Whereas the Rich Ruby Red is much drier
and has almost a grassy, hay-likeness to it.
I imagine there's a huge markup on this
and well done to them because as an experience,
as a learning, as a tasting experience, it's really good.
- Well. - Hit him.
- Let's go for price, Ebbers.
- 4 pound 50 a pop.
- A pop? - A pop?
- It's almost as expensive in the chocolate.
- So I can tell, Ebbers, for the Midnight Blue
we paid 7 pounds 30.
And for the Rich Ruby Red,
we paid 7 pound, 4 pence.
- I think it's genius.
And I think it's great marketing.
And I think it's very clever.
And it's something that I would share and tell people about.
And I think a lot of people should try it.
- Hit with the question right in the face.
- Right. Is it pretentious?
- No. It's insightful.
- Onto the final one.
(energetic music)
- Final one, Ebbers.
Give the cloche a lift on number four.
- Eugh!
(Jaime laughing)
What on earth is these?
- [Jamie] Such a good lineup today.
- [Mike] It's really good.
- Barnacles.
- He's a chef.
- I always think of barnacles as being
like mussels clinging to rocks, razor clams.
Similar family, but bury themselves,
and you've got that hard shell.
You've got the hard show at the end.
This bit is odd.
- Ebbers, these are gooseneck barnacles.
- It does look like a gooseneck.
- [Mike] The gooseneck, or good barnacle,
is an expensive rarity chipped off rocky shorelines.
It's very dangerous to collect them,
which adds to the price.
An average of five people each year die trying to get them.
You can only harvest them at low tide,
obviously, when the rocks are accessible
which only give them a few hours a day to harvest.
- The fact that they have literally chipped off
part of the rock i.e. you get the rock with it.
So it's not like your-
- [Jamie] That's free.
- [Mike] Can I have a bit of rock?
- [Ben] ut I imagine they've also sold it to you by weight,
so be careful.
It looks like almost an artificial bit
of material or clothing.
I've never seen anything like them.
The gooseneck, yeah, they look like the neck of a goose.
- Would you like to eat
some cooked and prepared gooseneck barnacles?
- [Ben] Yes, please.
They don't look a lot better.
- [Mike] Ah, that is so disrespectful.
- [Ben] They smell a lot better.
- [Mike] They've been cooked
in a white wine, garlic and parsley sauce.
I can smell them from here, they smell delicious.
You can pinch them at the bottom.
You can squeeze a little bit above there
and then it pops out the top and you can pull them.
There you go.
Or you can actually peel that rubbery shell.
Give it a lick, maybe a bite.
Tell us how it tastes
- As you'd expect, super delicious,
'cause it's garlic, butter and herbs.
The texture is on par with a well cooked snail,
which my association is the garlic butter,
or a badly cooked mussel or clam.
- I can't work out where the positive is there,
but I I know what you mean.
Also known in Spanish as percebes.
- I think I've seen even Jose Pizzaro talk about them
on a Saturday morning television show of some sort.
- In a kitchen or for bunch.
- One of the two.
There is a lot of admin but good seafood needs it.
They obviously have to cling to sea,
so it is either north Spain, Portuguese coast,
or south of France because you've gone full Mediterranean
with the garlic and herbs.
- These are from Spain.
What's interesting is once they gather 7.5% of the harvest,
they then leave the rock for six months
to prevent overharvesting.
- That's really important.
- So basically, in order to prepare these
you can toss 'em in boiling water for a couple of minutes,
whip them out, peel them, eat them.
So nice and easy.
I guess why we're talking pretentious here is
they are very rare.
They are very expensive and considering
how dangerous they are, are they necessary?
Do we need them?
- Great question.
And there's lots of other ingredients
that probably fall into that bracket of being traditional.
And you should protect that tradition,
as long as they're not doing it
because somebody's holding a gun to their head and saying,
"go and risk your life for this."
- We need to clarify that we actually had a 250 gramme bag
of frozen gooseneck barnacles.
- Okay.
- We weren't able to source them fresh
because we're not on the coast of Spain.
However, how much do you think we paid
for that 250 gramme bag?
- You certainly don't get a huge amount
of edible produce off of it,
but there's also lots of other ingredients
where that is exactly the same.
20 pounds?
- Well, you're pretty bang on.
20 pounds 90 is the exact price that we paid.
So, pricey.
- Yeah, very pricey for the amount you actually get.
But again, like so many of what we've done today,
kind of a cool experience.
I'm glad I've tried them.
I wouldn't go out my way to get them again.
- What's been interesting about the lineup today is that
firstly what a privileged position we are in to be able
to try these types of things.
Because I think as individuals,
we would not be affording or able to get them
and try them on our own.
Secondly, gooseneck barnacles, Ebbers,
are they pretentious or not?
- I'd say they're the least pretentious today,
but they are super traditional and steeped in history.
And by the sounds of it, carefully protected.
Not pretentious.
- Well, you've heard Ebbers,
the chef's perspective but what do you think?
Comment below. Numbers one to four, pretentious or not?
- And let us know in the comments
what other potentially pretentious ingredients
should we be testing next?
- You know what's missing?
A little Fino Sherry.
- Ah, I thought you meant another thank you
for giving you such a wonderful experience.
- I've enjoyed today a lot.
- Spent a lot of money, that's why.
Thank you.
- You're welcome.