19 June 2014

Steenbergs Tea Taster Panel

13 June 2014

Spice Taster Panel - Ras Al Hanut and Organic Harissa with Rose

01 May 2014

Axel's and Sophie's quirky guide to running a small business

Here’s our list of things we have learnt over the last 10 years of running a small start-up and a guide to the way we do business. It’s all rather homespun and certainly will never find its way into books on how to run a successful business nor in an...

03 April 2014

Time for Tea – our new regular chat with someone who cares about tea

Food, fashion and beauty blogger Becca shares her top tips for a tea-filled day

26 March 2014

Looking back over the past 10 years ... part 1

Steenbergs began life in the late autumn of 2003. Our youngest child had just had her first birthday and wasn't walking on her own. Steenbergs has now been going for around 10 years (our 2 children are nearly taller than Sophie) so we thought it was...

19 February 2014

Steenbergs New Taster Panels Report - Tea Tasting 1

Welcome to Steenbergs Tea Taster Panel's first review of some of our teas!  Back in October 2013, we asked all of our lovely customers if any of you would like to be tea and spice tasters for us and luckily lots of you agreed! Thank you so much to al...

05 February 2014

Steenbergs Tasting Panel results - Spices 1

Spice Tastings

23 June 2011

Smells But No Bells

Since time immemorial, incense has been used for religious purposes and to cleanse the air in homes as well as in places of worship.  Much of the incense is based on fragrant gums like frankincense and myrrh and come from Arabia and India.  When you...

07 June 2011

Charities, The Law And Unintended Consequences

As some of you know, we have been looking as a socially committed but small business to give support to a charity, either Practical Action or Water Aid, and link that back to sales via the web site as a sensible way to work out the donation and also...

21 May 2011

Poem - He Wishes For The Cloths Of Heaven

Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,

18 May 2011

Context...Social Dividends And Choosing Charities For Steenbergs Web-shop

So following on from my last blog, we see Steenbergs' brand as being entangled with our range, the quality of our products and the context of these products.  Where the spices, teas and blend ideas come from tells us about different cultures around t...

28 February 2011

It's A Mad World, Sometimes

We are developing a vanilla paste to complement Steenbergs organic Fairtrade vanilla extract, rose water etc. 

24 December 2010

The Positive Side To The Destruction Of Steenbergs' Office

Our initial feelings on the flood in Steenbergs office were of despair, as we received another body blow at the end of this tough year.  Strangely, it has not been trading that has been the issue with sales going up, but rather just things, operation...

19 December 2010

What A Terrible 24 Hours

It has been one of those 24 hours that we could really have done without.  We have been staying up at my parents in Northumberland to celebrate Christmas with my parents, sister and brother and their families, which was lovely. 

07 September 2010

Where's the money...for us?

In the last couple of weeks, I have been contacted by The Executive Chef magazine and St James's House on behalf of the Royal Agricultural Society.  Both of them had the most wonderful advertising opportunities and we had been specially selected out...

29 August 2010

New Razors - Old Razors

I have been spending the last week  and a bit shaving with two new razors that I bought on Ebay.  They are Gillette Razors from the late 1950s - a Red Tip and a Blue Tip Super-Speed Razors.  Why, you might rightfully ask; well, with razors, Gillette...

24 August 2010

Recipe For Business Success Cake

I am a fan of those little self-published recipe books as within them you often get real recipe gems that have been handed down from generation to generation within families.  You also get a lot of rubbish, as well, but a recipe book with even only o...

13 August 2010

Where's The Economy Really At?

I have been intrigued by comments by Mervyn King and others about the state of the economy, as I am not sure whether they ever take into account the real situation for small companies.  So I thought I would briefly blog some notes about Steenbergs at...