Pilar Hammerl has always dreamed of having her own herb garden. Together with her team at Tante Fine, she grows flowers and herbs herself in Mainfranken. Magical spice blends are created through loving, handcrafted work.
A conversation with Pilar Hammerl from Tante Fine
Ms. Hammerl, how did your herb dream come true?
We had always wanted our own herb garden. Eventually, we put it into action and experimented with the herbs. At first, we only made spice blends for friends and family. The response and feedback were just very good. That’s how the idea arose to offer our spices to everyone.
What defines Tante Fine's philosophy?
We all love what we do. That is very important to us. We want to inspire others with our products and the philosophy behind them. Our blends are not meant to just look good and taste good; they provide unique flavor experiences.
We create life and habitats for many different plants and animals.
Between our fields and flower beds, we have wildflower strips, nesting sites, and feeding and watering stations. In addition, our founder Tanja Hammerl has also launched a non-profit organization, which allows us to do a lot of good. We advocate for people and animals in need.
You work with the rhythm of nature. What does that look like exactly?
At Tante Fine, we go with the times. That doesn’t mean we chase after every food trend. Quite the opposite: we trust in nature and its course. We sow and tend our herbs with care and give them all the time in the world to ripen. Nature, not us, dictates when it is harvest time. With our work, we are definitely unique in the industry.
Late in the morning, once the dew has dried, we gently pick the leaves, blossoms, stems, and seeds by hand. Afterward, they dry slowly and gently, which preserves all their components. No flavor enhancers, colorings, or other additives go into our spice jars. You can taste the natural production and our joy in the work in every product.
Where do you source your ingredients?
We grow as much as we can ourselves, which we manage quite well. But, of course, there are spices for which it is too cold here. We buy these in the best organic quality. We are really very strict about this; only a few suppliers pass our quality test. Roughly speaking, 70 percent of our ingredients come from our own cultivation. This varies depending on the blend; some products consist of 100 percent of our own herbs. True to our slogan Only nature, nothing else, our farm holds the EU organic seal. We grow all ingredients in accordance with controlled organic practices.
How do you create new spice blends?
When we create new products, we sometimes stand in the production area in groups of two or three. We experiment with all sorts of variations. Afterward, the entire team, including our friends and acquaintances, gets to test them. It can take four weeks before we truly find a spice blend to be perfect. We test them in numerous trials.
We grow most of our herbs ourselves on the farm.
To what extent does Tante Fine pay attention to sustainability?
It is important to us to treat our resources fairly and sustainably. That is why we do not buy the herbs for our spices from all over the world. As I mentioned, we grow most of the ingredients ourselves on the farm, avoiding pesticides, chemicals, or liquid manure entirely. We also prioritize sustainable materials for our packaging, which is why our spices come in small glass jars.
What are your plans for the future?
We have no fixed sales targets. We are happy if we continue to grow. Exciting more people with our philosophy and our products makes us happy. Our team and our resources are more important to us than a classic sales target. Besides, we are dependent on nature; our plants only thrive as fast as they grow. We do not want to artificially accelerate that and lose quality. Of course, we already have many more ideas for new products.
Which spice blend do you recommend?
We simply have the right spice blend for every taste and every dish, whether you want to cook a curry, prepare vegetables, or do a BBQ. Tante Fine also has the right herb mixture for pizza, a slice of bread with butter, salad, or dessert. We have also just added toppings for breakfast bowls or smoothies to our range.
What is the feedback from your customers?
We receive so many lovely messages. By now, we have even received job applications because of our magazine content. That makes us more than happy! Our customers appreciate not just the content of our products, but also our attention to detail.
