A Cosy Spicy Orange Chocolate Mocha

This chocolate orange mocha drink (The First Mess) is a combo of coffee, chocolate and orange (avoid caffeine for pregnancy/nursing).

A nice festive drink, it has a chocolate espresso base, along with citrus zest and warm spices, sweetened with maple syrup.

Avoid unpasteurised juice for pregnancy/nursing or weak immunity. Keep citrus away from pets. Read food safety for people and pets.

Bin citrus scraps/rinds, as acids could harm compost creatures (same with tomato/rhubarb scrabs and allium scraps – onion, garlic, leeks, shallots, chives). 

For tinned ingredients, pop lids back inside the tin (or pop ring pulls over the holes) before recycling, to avoid wildlife getting trapped. 

Why Are Oranges So Popular in England?

Not native, oranges only arrived on English shores in the 17th century, and back then were only eaten by people with access to orangeries (big greenhouses).

Before that, Queen Eleanor (from Spain) would order oranges to dock at Portsmouth harbour, as she was homesick for her favourite fruits.

Today, most oranges still arrive from southern Europe. But Pesticide Action Network say oranges (along with grapes) are usually covered in a cocktail of pesticides before arriving on supermarket shelves. So try to choose organic if you can.

You can also buy darker richer Spanish blood oranges (you can sub in recipes but they will be different in taste and colour). Also related to oranges are mandarins, clementines and easy-to-peel Japanese satsumas.