Bay Laurel and Its Uses

When we tell our families and friends that the first sales MI has made was of bay laurel essential oil, we have received inquisitive looks as if to say, "How would you use that?"  To while earlier in the week we had a little geography lesson, today we will have an information session about the bay laurel leave and how essential oils of this plant are used.

Bay Laurel (Laurus Nobilis)

You probably have seen wreaths of this in Greek mythology and Roman history.  Another place where you have seen this is on the U.S. Dollar bill.  You can see the leaf and the berries adorning the bottom portion of the oval with George Washington's face is held. 

Bay leaves are used in all types of cooking for aromatics.  It is a staple in Mediterranean cuisine as well as Hispanic, European, Indian, and Asian foods. 

Essential oils from this plant are used for fragrance in soaps, lotions, and perfumes.  In fact, one of our clients purchased our bay laurel for his perfume line.  Also, it can be added to bath water to relax muscles.  The steam can be therapeutic for colds and the flu.  The oil is a great addition to massage oils for muscle relaxation.

Hope you learned something new!  Happy Friday!

Gjithe te mirat
"All the best"

MI

Certified Organic Lands and Distillery Location in the Albanian Countryside

This post is a little geographical lesson about where MI's growing and operations will take place.  Above is a map of where Albania is located in relation to other European countries.  The red A bookmark marks Tirana, Albania, and shows the country's geographical location.  To the west is Italy and to the north (going clockwise) is Montenegro, Kosovo in the northeast, Macedonia in the east, and Greece in the south.  All of these maps are courtesy of Google Maps and their satellite view function.

NOP Certified Organic Lands in the Albanian countryside

The picture above shows the 15,000 acre area where our herbs and plants are grown for our essential oil production.  We also offer wild grown varieties as well.  The organic farms surrounding this land will all be used in conjunction with our crop.  This is one of the areas in the Albanian countryside where we will operate, employ, and build our business to provide the U.S. market with the highest quality essential oils. 

Our distillery will be located where the red rectangle is on the map above.  Below is a closer look at the location in the small rectangle above.  From the capitol city it is about 20 minutes drive southeast on Rruga Elbasanit.  This literally means "Road to Elbasan" which is another large city in Elbansan county of central Albania. 

We will be posting the plans for our building and the new distillers we will buy for operations.  Petrit Skora, Emiland's father and operational manager in Albania, has met with an architect and will send the blueprints soon. 

Gjithe te mirat!

"All the best!"

MI

Top 10 Countries for 2011

Jale, Albania- beautiful southern beach village.  Stone beaches and crystal clear water.

We have known this information for the past 8 years, but Albania is one of the best places for travel.  In fact, Lonely Planet now recognizes it as #1 in their list of top countries to visit in 2011.  History, culture, mountains, beaches- really does have it all.  Soon I will post some pictures from past Albania adventures from all over the country but for now, take a look at the article in the link below. Hope you get the travel bug and want to see our home country.

Albania is #1  

Gjithe te Mirat

"All the best"

MI

Any Suggestions?

Any thoughts on how to make the website better? As stated in the last post, the site is still a work in progress so suggestions are definitely welcomed. Currently it is formatted best for Firefox but over the next few days it should be good to go on all internet programs. Take a look at the first site under our "Links to Check Out" section.  You can comment below or email Lauren at laureneskora@gmail.com.

Faleminderit edhe Gjithe te Mirat
"Thank you and All the best"

MI

Mire Se Vini! Welcome!

 
Mediterranean Spices & Imports
We are so excited to share with you our website for MI. This blog will be used to share our experiences as a new company, our adventures in product development, and information about what we offer. For now, please take a look at our website. All the pictures you see are of the certified organic land in Albania that is used to grow the herbs and plants for our essential oil line. The site is still in the works so please be patient during this time.

Mire Se Erdhet edhe Gjithe te Mirat!
"Glad that you came and all the best!"

MI