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CBME : CBD infused dried fruit packs

We always try to find that unique little CBD 'something’; be it edible, topical or more recently, home fragrance. Well, today at The Amazing Blog, we’ve found these CBD infused dried fruits - which, as you can imagine, really piqued our interest! Created by CBMEa CBD wellness company, they’ve recently launched this range of three CBD infused dried fruits with Uplift, Relax, and Relieve.

CBME came to life thanks to Bhavin Morjaria, the founder and chief product creator. As a registered pharmacist with over ten years of health and wellness experience, Bhavin created CBME to provide his customers with everyday food products, for a ‘personalised CBD experience’. The primary mission of the brand is to try to redefine CBD to make it more adaptable. The CBME idea started when Bhavin noticed that he and his mother were using the same CBD products, but to relieve different issues. He was using the CBD to help reduce stress and improve his wellbeing, whereas his mother, Mina, was using the CBD to relieve her joint pain. Although Mina still takes other prescription medications, she has since taken a lower dose of her prescribed painkillers by using CBD.. This inspired him to develop products that are tailored to tackle specific issues more effectively. Bhavin said, “We saw that the same CBD products were being recommended no matter who you were. We are all not the same, so why should our wellness product be the same? So we went on our mission to create and personalise our CBD products.” He further harnesses this with a more holistic approach using CBD as the key ingredient. However, by adding other minerals and botanicals to enhance further the positive effects of the CBD, it offers more amplified effects of wellbeing. Using his pharmaceutical knowledge, he has combined CBD and Ayurvedic medicine to make these first CBD coated dried fruit packs. The three blends, Uplift, Relax and Relieve  (see our review below) are all made with organic broad-spectrum CBD distillate, CBG, and natural terpenes, to optimise the full plant energy. The dried fruit packs are vegan, have no allergens, and are THC-free. These Uplift and Relax dried fruit packs have added sugar or sweetener whereas the Relieve dried fruit pack is sugar and sweetener free. CBME want to offer consumers a natural and healthier alternative to the other high-calorie CBD infused edibles available. Apart from selling CBD edibles, they are also committed to educating people about the benefits of hemp and CBD through short informative videos, which can be found here, and have a CBD dosage calculator here to help the consumer determine how much they should take. All the hemp used is grown and sourced from Columbia, and 3rd party lab-tested in California.

We received all three CBD dried fruit packs, Uplift (pineapple), Relax (papaya), and Relieve (apricot). These CBD snacks are unique, where each pack contains a blend of different ingredients designed to target a variety of needs. These dried fruits are enhanced with other ingredients; so let’s start with the ones they all share. There is CBD broad spectrum distillate in each fruit, meaning it is THC-free and the whole plant is used to retain full-plant synergy. All the combined terpenes encourage the ‘entourage effect’, which allows the consumer to get the maximum benefits from the CBD. All the dried fruit are coated with CBD, which they claim will enable it to be absorbed faster, promoting its effectiveness. While they all include this kind of CBD, the fruits are also fortified with CBG, another cannabinoid found in hemp plants. This natural CBG cannabigerol has several extra enhanced health benefits known for reducing pain and inflammation and also acting as an anti-depressant. Many CBD products contain only a tiny quantity of CBG, so we were pleased to see a more substantial presence in all these dried fruits. Each pack has a different mix of natural flower derived terpenes, minerals and botanical elements, that when added with CBD, enhance overall wellbeing. 

In Uplift, there’s a combination of dried pineapple and ashwagandha root. Each piece has 35mg CBD and is designed to help regulate stress hormones and relieve anxiety. Ashwagandha is a revitalising herb that’s known to ease anxiety and promote calmness. It is an adaptogen, a substance known to help your body adapt to everyday physical and emotional stressors. This product is also infused with what they call ‘happy terpenes’, which are derived from a flower strain rich in limonene and myrcene. Limonene is a very energising terpene, and myrcene has antibiotic and anti-inflammatory properties. The organic stevia found in Uplift contributes to its sweetness giving this triangular pineapple slice an almost candied-like appearance. Another very important ingredient are the probiotics, which are here to help improve gut health and balance the natural microbiota. CBME recommends eating one of these rejuvenating pineapple slices to help get your day off to a good start!

Next, we tried the Relax pack, which also has 35mg of CBD, infused into each papaya piece. These are aimed to help inspire calm, with the infusion of botanicals and relaxing plant terpenes working together to recharge and aid sleep. The other addition is magnesium, an essential mineral that is crucial for keeping balanced levels of GABA, a neurotransmitter that relaxes the brain and encourages restorative sleep. There are also hops that are closely related to cannabis sativa, and include xanthohumol, an antioxidant that helps induce a deep sleep.  Finally, the griffonia seeds, with natural 5-htp an element that increases serotonin which is known to improve mood and increase levels of calmness. And also raises melatonin production levels, the hormone that is connected to our sleep-cycle.  They also add back any of the natural terpenes that are lost during the extraction process, so in this pack they’ve put back the ‘relaxing terpenes’ high in linalool and terpinolene. Linalool has soothing and sedative properties, and terpinolene, can help treat insomnia. Again, like the pineapple pieces, these papaya slices look like candied fruits, although these have cane sugar instead of sweetener. The brand explained to use why they have the addition of either sweetener or sugar in both ‘Relax’ and ‘Uplift,’ “The sweetness in the pineapple and papaya is because without the added sugar they would become super sour when dried. So need a bit of sugar at curing, the ashwagandha and the other ingredients are very bitter so the added sweetness keeps them palatable.”. We like the idea of eating a piece or two to relax at the end of a busy day - but if taking before going to sleep, be sure you brush your teeth!

Lastly, Relieve, where each dried apricot has 50mg of CBD, and been infused to help ease aches and pains, or sore joints. To meet its purpose of naturally reducing inflammation or pain, the dried apricots are infused with turmeric, black pepper and soothing terpenes from ‘pain-relieving flower strains.’ Turmeric is a potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. The compound, curcumin, found within turmeric are known to aid conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and support anti-inflammatory issues. As for the black pepper, it increases the body’s absorption level of curcumin by up to 2000%.  The anti-inflammatory terpenes that the apricots contain are rich in beta-caryophyllene. Beta-caryophyllene has several health-benefits like decreasing cholesterol levels, reducing anxiety and pain, and bringing down inflammation. These are great for combatting the sore muscles after a workout, or for relieving any arthritic or joint pain, and were our favourite of the three. Mainly because they’re the only the natural fruit with no added sugar or sweetener, and also in this cold damp weather, we notice more joint pain and these have the more relevant benefits for us.

We think these dried fruit packs are perfect for each of their intended purposes. We know what you’re all dying to ask; how do they taste? Like dried fruit (or candied fruit) with a slight hemp tang as an after taste, which is probably why some have been sweetened. For us, as CBD aficionados they tasted delicious, but for the uninitiated, they might take a little bit of getting used to. If you are looking for a day with reduced stress, take an Uplift piece in the morning to kick off the day. And if you want to give your body a break and unwind for a good night's sleep, then the Relax papaya piece might do the trick. Or for those days when muscles are sore, or you’re suffering from the after-effects of a big gym workout, then try a Relieve dried fruit piece before sleep. NB: The FSA recommended dosage of CBD is 70mg per day - so bear that in mind if you are tempted to eat the whole packet in one go! We were sent the ‘Try Me’ packs which you can buy here which contain 5 pieces for £13 for the Uplift and Relax, and for £15 for the Relieve.

CBME are also happy to offer 30% off your first purchase exclusively to our readers, all you have to do is enter discount code AMAZING at the checkout. - valid until 31/02/22.

Eden's Gate: CBD English Breakfast Tea, and CBD Chamomile Tea

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If you’re like us and reach out for a pick-me-up mid-afternoon, then keep reading on. This is when tea is our preferred drink of choice, and at The Amazing Blog, a comforting cuppa is just the ticket. Regular readers will know that we're big fans of all things hemp and CBD, and today, we're introducing to you another of our #amazingfinds with these refreshing and delicious CBD-infused teas from Eden's Gate.  

Eden's Gate is a family-run British business established by Tyler Woodward in 2018. Apart from their own brand, they are also an online store that supplies various CBD brands and products. Fueled by his love for nature and all of its remedies, Tyler launched Eden's Gate sharing his passion for effective and safe CBD products that provide all of nature's benefits without using any synthetic compounds. Tyler told us, "We strive for clarity, whether it's the CBD itself, production methods or the knowledge of our users. We're not hiding anything - transparency is key!" This is where Eden's Gate provides clear and detailed information on all of its products. They are also triple batch tested with lab test certification for each one. In addition, they pride themselves on being ‘from seed to shelf’ and are GMO and cruelty-free, and contain high-quality, broad-spectrum CBD sourced from the most reputable US hemp farms that have organic plants grown without pesticides. Eden's Gate uses CBD that is extracted through super-critical CO2 extraction. In this process, carbon dioxide (CO2) pressure and temperature are manipulated until it's in a liquid-gas form known as ‘super-critical liquid’. The method allows Eden's Gate to safely extract only the purest CBD while leaving behind bi-products such as THC, waxes, and chlorophylls. This resulting CBD is solvent-free, meaning that no extra compounds or chemicals are involved in the extraction process, making this CBD environmentally friendly too!  They are quick to point out that they use their own equipment and oversee every aspect of production without any 3rd party involvement.

We were sent two of Eden's Gate's CBD teas to try, the first being their CBD English Breakfast Tea with 300mg of CBD. Each tea bag contains 20mg of broad-spectrum CBD combined with black tea, resulting in a rich tea with a full-bodied English Breakfast black tea. Eden's Gate uses unbleached tea bags made from cellulose fibres, meaning that they don't contain chemicals like dioxin or microplastics like polypropylene that are harmful to both your body and the environment. Being  broad-spectrum CBD means that it has no detectable THC levels, but does have dozens of the different isolates and terpenes naturally found in the hemp. We imagine that the broad-spectrum CBD here will be a water-soluble CBD distillate (Eden’s Gate, please correct us if we’re wrong!) ideal for infusing into beverages. It also makes use of the "entourage effect", as these compounds help the CBD work better, so you're getting all the goodness of the hemp plant without the THC. The tea leaf becomes black tea and gets its dark colour from a lengthy oxidation and fermentation process. The tea leaves and picked, and then left to dry where they are either rolled and cut and left the oxidise. It’s a process that helps to develop the flavour and aroma changing the colour from green to brown. Let's not forget that black tea itself also has a long list of benefits; it contains antioxidants that decrease the risk of chronic disease, boost heart health, reduce blood pressure, and improve alertness and focus. So when combined together with the CBD it helps to provide reduced stress and anxiety and a whole host of other benefits too. The process of brewing CBD Tea also allows your body to ingest more of the CBD than other forms like drops so that you can get the same intense effects with a smaller dosage. All we did was place a teabag in freshly boiled water, brew for 3-6 minutes and added oat milk. it has a good rich flavour of English Breakfast tea, but it does take a little longer to infuse than a regular black tea, but well worth the wait! What does it taste like? Well, like black tea, but very mild with the slightest hint of fruitiness from the hemp. Delicious and great for keeping away those mid- afternoon blues! It is pricey compared to your everyday cuppa, so we tended to drink this as and when. To purchase the English Breakfast Tea 300mg here at £16.99 for 15 bags.

The second tea we tried was the CBD Chamomile Tea 300mg. Each unbleached tea bag contains chamomile sourced from the Nile River Valley in Egypt, lemon balm, and again 20mg of broad-spectrum CBD, so you're still getting the same complete CBD health benefits as the English Breakfast Tea mentioned above. Chamomile tea is thought to reduce inflammation and menstrual pain, slow down osteoporosis and lower blood sugar. We general drink chamomile tea to help with sleep and relaxation. So what could be better than getting the amplifying relaxation effect when the two are combined here! The chamomile flower is not alone; the lemon balm also has mood-boosting properties and improves cognitive function, turning this into quite a potent mix. Again, recommended brewing between 3-6 minutes like the CBD Black Tea. Since Chamomile tea doesn't become bitter if you leave the teabag in it for too long, we steeped it for up to 6 minutes to fully reap all the benefits and enjoy its sweet floral (no hemp taste) chamomile and lemon-y flavour. It’s the perfect choice for a nighttime cuppa, and sent us swiftly off into the land of nod. To purchase the CBD Chamomile Tea 300mg see here at £16.99 for 15 bags. 

2022 Beauty Shortlist & Wellbeing Awards - Are Now Open for Entry!

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Good to grow: 2022 Beauty Shortlist & Wellbeing Awards open for entries with new blue beauty and plantable beauty categories and fresh faces on the judging panel.

Entries have opened for the upcoming Beauty Shortlist Awards which will celebrate the highest-scoring brands and products that celebrate NATURE on Wednesday 2 March 2022.

Honouring the most-loved earth-safe and ocean-safe beauty and wellness products – all tested by experts – the ethical, natural and organic showcase returns with over 40 new categories embracing blue and green beauty, more age-specific skincare and self-care categories, eco-packaging, holistic health, eco innovation, nutrition, aromatherapy, CBD and more.

2022 BEAUTY SHORTLIST & WELLBEING AWARDS ENTRY FORM (ENTRIES CLOSE 29 OCTOBER)

ENTRY FORM

If you had to pick the most stellar month of the year for beauty and the planet, September would be up there: Organic September, a new season with lots of new launches, the Great British Beach Clean, World Car Free Day - and it’s FSC week soon, celebrating & raising awareness of responsible forestry 🌳

Never have we lived through a time when comforts and joys have been more important to our wellbeing - and it’s exactly those that are celebrated every year at the Beauty Shortlist Awards:

You are warmly invited to celebrate the top-scoring beauty, grooming and wellness of the year with the 2022 Beauty Shortlist Awards on Wednesday 2 March.

These independent and 100% sponsor-free global Awards celebrate the highest-scoring ethical brands and products of the year, evaluated by beauty and wellness industry experts:

  • natural + organic beauty, personal care

  • nutrition, wellness, health supplements, CBD & eco cleaning

  • men’s hair, skincare, self-care, body & shower products

Happy September!

NovaeCBD: SuperNova 5% CBD Oil + Vitamin D3

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Sadly, August and the summer sunshine seems to have passed us by, and at The Amazing Blog we’re ever hopeful for an Indian summer to come. That is why it’s the perfect time for us try this SuperNova 5% CBD Oil + Vitamin D3, by NovaeCBD; with its much needed drop of golden sunshine in a bottle!

NovaeCBD is a British CBD brand that specialises in CBD oil. It all started when two best friends, and future founders, Ryan Telford and Jas Toor, who discovered a mutual passion for all things health and wellness. Ryan stumbled on CBD after having had it recommended by a friend. They were both a little sceptical because of the stigma surrounding CBD, but after seeing the benefits to their health, they became CBD advocates with a desire to share the knowledge of its benefits. However, they were hesitant to share some of these CBD finds with their family and friends, as they didn’t have best taste or consistency, or had lack of transparency and steep prices. At this moment, they decided to create their own CBD brand that would tick all the boxes, NovaeCBD launched in October 2020 with their first two CBD oils. NovaeCBD is committed to transparency with the brand, and also want to provide an excellent customers experience. Their mission is to “provide high quality, organic and ethical CBD products at affordable prices to help people improve their lives.” All hemp used is full spectrum and hand-picked from ethical German hemp farms. The end product is cruelty-free, gluten-free, and packed with cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids, and omega-3s.  NovaeCBD aims to be carbon neutral, with no excess packaging as they want to eliminate, reduce and re-use. All products are CBD laboratory tested, vegan, gluten-free organic and UK compliant.

The SuperNova CBD Oil + Vitamin D3. appealed to us as it combine two of our favourite supplements full-spectrum CBD and vitamin D3. This is a medium-strength CBD oil, meaning one drop contains approximately 2mg of CBD making this product 5% CBD or 500mg per bottle PLUS the recommended daily amount of 640IU vitamin D3. We are big CBD fans that think that full-spectrumCBD oil takes wellness to the next level, by providing anxiety relief, control over sleep imbalances, muscle recovery, and immune system support - and you’ve heard us say this all before! The CBD here is extracted with the supercritical CO2 method, which efficiently crafts a potent CBD paste that is made into a full-spectrum CBD oil containing the naturally occurring cannabis plant extracts, perfect for the 'entourage effect.' This CBD oil does not skip out on any of the plant's beneficial parts and includes a few added components with the full-spectrum CBD, organic hemp seed oil, whole-plant extract, and 4mg vitamin D3. This CBD oil has no added ingredients that are not naturally found in hemp, except vitamin D3, which separates this CBD oil from others with its exclusive 2-in-1 health boost. Vitamin D3, also known as the 'sunshine vitamin,' helps kickstart the immune system, strengthens bones, lifts mood, and is good for heart health. In addition to CBD, vitamin D3 furthers relaxation that can also help with anxiety, sleeplessness, or muscle relief, and acts as a substitute for the sun, which naturally helps to produce vitamin D3 in the body. Living in the UK, vitamin D3 is a supplement we’re all recommended to take daily, as we only have an average of 4 sun hours a day! Yes it’s true - see here. And with, the cloudy weather and winter, the body needs some extra help to get this necessary vitamin. The founder, Jas Toor, and his wife both take this SuperNova CBD oil in the morning to get their daily vitamin D3 and to help them with focus throughout the day. They also take one drop at night to help with sleep. We followed their lead by administering one drop of SuperNova CBD oil at night, what surprised us the most was the delicious and mild taste of this full-spectrum CBD oil (we thought it might have a bit of that usual kick). We regularly take CBD oil at night to calm the mind and to help relax us, and this Supernova didn’t disappoint. We also like that we got our daily dose of vitamin D3 - which save us dosing up with other supplements. If you are looking for a wellness supplement that lifts your mood, helps you sleep, and ticks all the boxes, then this may be the CBD oil of your dreams! To purchase the SuperNova 5% CBD Oil + Vitamin D3 for £35.99, see here.

1CBD: 20% Silver Edition Pure Hemp CBD Oil

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At The Amazing Blog  we know a good CBD brand when we see one. The last time we reviewed 1CBD was with their delicious CBD infused chocolates created with leading chocolatier Paul Williams from Chocamor here which certainly left us wanting to order more! Today, we are back with another one of their products, the 20% Silver Edition Pure Hemp CBD Oil. This CBD oil, just like the chocolates, is the perfect addition to any CBD lover’s lifestyle.

1CBD, based in North East England, made its debut in 2018 with the help of founders Oman and Oliver. The business partners started their journey after they were previously commissioned to work with another CBD brand. From here, they learned the ins and outs of CBD and saw opportunities to bring their own CBD related products to the market. They wanted to create a brand that kept high-quality control on the cannabidiol (CBD) they use, which is why they only source their broad-spectrum CBD oils from Colorado, home to one of the world’s finest hemp fields. The hemp plants are hand-picked and organically grown outside in the sun with no exposure to artificial UV lights, harmful chemicals, or pesticides. All CBD oils are made in small batches and freshly prepared, ensuring consistency, taste, and potency. Broad-spectrum CBD means zero THC content, and all raw extracts are vigorously tested and HPLC (high-performance liquid chromatography) analysed by independent laboratories across the USA. HPLC is a highly effective extraction process that results in 0.00% THC, making this method far superior to isolate as nearly all the plant profiles are present, including the plant’s terpenes and amino acids. HPLC is the best and most accurate way to separate and purify the CBD from THC and even THCA, a compound that is usually untraceable using other methods of extraction. All of 1CBD’s products are vegan friendly and gluten-free and range from CBD oils, capsules, balms to edibles.

Today, we are focusing on one of the many CBD oils, the 20% Silver Edition Pure Hemp CBD Oil which contains the highest ‘broad spectrum’ phytocannabinoid CBD oil available today in the UK. Very confusingly, the ‘full spectrum’ mentioned on the packaging refers to only the terpenes, cannabinoids, and amino acids in the oil - not the THC content. 1CBD tells us that this packaging will change shortly to reflect this and say ‘broad spectrum and THC free’. We find taking CBD Oil sublingually is a practical, quick, and easy way to stimulate the endocannabinoid system. Which, as our regular readers will know, we think can help relieve a multitude of health issues, such as anxiety, muscle fatigue, arthritis, migraines, stomach problems, skin conditions, and the list goes on... Here the CBD is extracted from 100% organic hemp seed oil, which is rich in healthy omega-6 and 3 fatty acids where the gamma-linoleic acid (GLA) present in hemp seed oil has been shown to reduce inflammation. Let’s also not forget that it’s full of vitamins C and E, plus all nine of the amino acids responsible for protein production. There is also evidence to show that hemp seed oil is full of arginine, a specific amino acid that produces nitric acid known to reduce blood pressure for improved heart health. What we like about the 1CBD products (mentioned earlier) is that all the raw ingredients are sourced from reputable organic hemp fields in Colorado and tested by a third-party lab for purity. 1CBD has three strengths in the 20% Silver Edition Pure Hemp CBD Oil, and we were sent the 1000mg per 5ml. Again it’s a little confusing as the percentage given on the label which represents the concentration, but the mg gives the strength per ml - go figure?! Actually, we might need to be corrected here by 1CBD. Anyway, there a dosage calculators available if you google. With this Silver Edition Pure Hemp CBD Oil it’s recommended to take 2-4 times per day (no more) by putting 2-6 drops under the tongue, holding for 30 seconds, and swallowing. The oil tastes earthy and has a very robust hempy flavour – therefore, we’d suggest that it might be better for the more practised CBD palate than an uninitiated one! The CBD oil is available in 250mg in 1ml, 1000mg in 5ml, and 2000mg 10ml sizes.All sizes can be purchased here, and the code WELCOME15 will give new customers 15% off their first order.