BEHIND THE CRAFT
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When East Meets West

Making Remarkable Connections has shaped The East India Company, transforming the world with fusion of cultures, materials and skills.

We remember and celebrate these not only in our choice of ingredients but also in our design work that transports through storytelling.

Enjoy one of our biscuits and cast your eye on the carton. You’ll see a shape that instantly takes you to India, the Taj Mahal of Agra. India and The East India Company’s history, inextricably linked.

Underneath, a beautiful Arts & Craft pattern. William Morris, the celebrated designer of this movement adored the colourful, artisan textiles of India. His designs are considered quintessentially British, but in fact he was enormously influenced by the patterns and colours of the Kashmir shawls, silks, indigo-dyed cottons and garments of South Asia.

We bring together east and west in celebration. Enjoy your biscuit!

FGBI12104

Butter Shortbread & Clotted Cream Biscuits

Net Weight: 150g

The combination of clotted cream and butter gives this shortbread biscuit a rich and soft texture. A sweet and gratifying indulgence, it's no surprise that Queen Victoria selected this biscuit as one of her favourites.

The East India Company - Lifestyle

Biscuits

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£8.00
We take delight in bringing the best of the past to the present and giving it a twist.

A well-loved biscuit with a long legacy is the Shortbread, which is thought to have its origins in medieval Scotland, starting life as leftover bread, dried in an oven and dusted with sugar to make a sweet treat.

It doesn't sound quite like the popular treat of today and it's possible the influence of French pastry chef's in the 16th century contributed to it becoming the crumbly buttery biscuit we know today. Crumbly, due to the high fat content of the butter, which inhibited the formation of the longer stretchy protein chains - hence the name short [like short pastry].

It was an expensive, indulgent affair - Mary Queen of Scots was said to be an ardent fan.
We've taken the classic butter shortbread recipe and added a dollop of indulgent Cornish Clotted Cream.

Taken together with The East India Company Strawberry & Pepper Jam and The Staunton Earl Grey Tea, your tea and biscuit break is transformed into an Afternoon Tea event in the grand British tradition.

Ingredients

Fortified Wheat Flour (Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin – Vitamin B3, Thiamine – Vitamin B1), Salted Butter (26%)(Milk), Sugar, Clotted Cream (9%)(Milk), Salt


Allergens

Manufactured in a factory that handles nuts, wheat, barley, egg, mustard, oat, sesame and soya.
Contains wheat, milk, gluten and may contain traces of the above allergen.

Nutrition

Typical values 100g – Energy 2188kj/524kcal • Fat 31.2g, of which saturates 19.4g • Carbohydrate 55.7g, of which sugars 23.1g • Protein 5.2g • Salt 1.3g


Storage

Store cool and dry. Avoid sunlight and strong odours.

Stories

The Biscuit - from Hardtack to Sea Salt & Caramel

Today, there is a biscuit for every occasion, and it is one of the most popular sweet snacks in the world. But biscuits had a vital role in the life of the seafaring adventurers, including the men of The East India Company, in the 17th and 18th century.

Biscuits date back much further and like much else, it was the Romans who created the ‘panis bicoctus,’ or bread twice baked, to create a food that could be stored. Richard the Lionheart took stores of ‘biskits’ on his crusade ships and in the Armada battle of 1588, each sailor had biscuits included within their diet.

It was Samuel Pepys, famous diarist but also naval administrator, who introduced victualising, the planning and rationing of food supplies at sea. Rations included "1 lb daily of good, clean, sweet, sound, well-baked and well-conditioned wheaten biscuit (plus a gallon of beer!)". Ships of The East India Company routinely received 8 months rations for their long voyages.
The ship’s biscuit was also known as hardtack, a very hard-baked substance made of wheat flour, salt and water which would survive long journeys - inedible without softening in stew or brien - the original ‘dunk’ perhaps?

We celebrate the heritage of the humble biscuit, a truly critical ingredient in the success of The East India Company. Pepys’ description as ‘sweet, sound and well-baked’ still sounds relevant today, but our artisans in British and French bakeries now elevate that to a fine art using wonderful new ingredients, like our Seville Orange Marmalade or Caramel and Sea Salt Biscuits.

Our spirit delivers no ordinary products

  • FAQ

    How long will the biscuits last once opened?
    Once opened, they should be stored in an airtight container and consumed within 30 days.

    Where are your sweet biscuits made?
    Our sweet artisan biscuits are made in the United Kingdom.

  • Delivery & Returns

    UK Standard Delivery: £3.95
    UK Next Day Delivery (mainland UK only): £9.95 (Order before 12pm)
    International Delivery is available, please see our delivery page for details. For more information and Terms & Conditions, please see our Delivery page.

  • Reviews

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