Tere!
I recently made a similar post over at c/norway (https://sopuli.xyz/post/22971124) and would love to hear some Estonian brands and products recommended by you.
Now there is this one Saku Honey Ale I drank years ago in Tallinn that has stuck in my mind like an ex-partner who I just can’t get over of. I tried to search for it last time I visited Tallinn but couldn’t find it anymore…
Any brands and product recommendations would be cool!
Edit: sorry for posting in English, I can’t speak or write in Estonian and was reading on the sidebar that English posts are welcome.
Here are some I can think of at the moment, these are most likely local to Estonia and local to Tallinn for the choclate store:
- https://karukombucha.ee/ if you are into fermented drinks this one is the best available in Estonia in my humble opinion. It is a living food so qualitiy varies a little, batch to batch.
- https://orto.ee/en/products Cosmetics and cleaning products. I like their soaps and shampoos, not quite Japanese/Korean level but better than most supermarket stuff. My fave Orto products:
- https://orto.ee/en/product/strengthening-shampoo-puhas-loodus-burdock-250ml/ Works well for my sensitive scalp, better than fancy/expensive shampoos.
- https://orto.ee/en/product/gentle-cosmetic-cream-soap-3-l/. My one soap for all my hygiene needs. Feels nice on my, prone to overstimulation skin. I dislike most creams and lotions so I need a soap that doesn’t dry my skin too much.
- https://karamelle.ee/kontakt/ My source of high quality dark chocklate in Tallinn. They also make my favorite flavour: cinamon dark chocklate. Other notable products: many flavours of hand crafted zefir and pralines. If you really like dark chocklate try their 100% coca choclate, very smooth texture and strong flavour, not sweet.
Thank you for your list! Orto seems to even ship internationally which is cool!
And wanted to add how much I love the Estonian ccTLD .ee because it is so easy to create cool domains like karamelleee ;)
I’m pretty sure Saku Mõdu is still alive and well, just look for Mõdu rather than Honey. I was taken with it the first time too. By the second and third you’ll probably get over it.
The beer here that wowed me and still draws me back is Tanker’s Sauna Session. It’s a lager (I think) that is heavily doped with birch flavor. As the name implies, great for sauna, but I think it’s great any time you need to shock your taste buds.
On the topic of beer, Karski’s Blonde Munk is a very satisfying brew to have with a greasy meal, and Põhhala’s Saturnus is just damn good any time.
On the continued topic of good things that aren’t great for you, Pirat. Like, funions but made out of potato starch I think. Delicious, but they go stale in like 15 minutes.
Oh my god, it was mead! It was Saku Mõdu!! After all these years. I have been looking for “Honey Ale”, no wonder I didn’t find it.
Thank you so much, I’ll be sure to enjoy two next time to fill my cravings for good.
And now I want to thank you for the other beer recommendations, have to give Tanker’s Sauna Session a try (love those kinds of drinks in the winter) and will try the others next time I’m there with food!
When I’m travelling I prefer an AirBnB just so I can try local groceries. Did this in Tallinn as well and was well worth it.
And with Pirats you mean those ring chips? Next time I’ll be sure to give them a test (didn’t give any salty snacks a test from the store in Estonia yet).
You’ll have a hard time finding most Estonian brands outside of Estonia.
Põltsamaa Kange Sinep is a good strong mustard. Goes well with fatty meat. If you treat it like the stuff people put on hot dogs, you’ll also be rid of your nasal congestion.
Mayer makes affordable and often hypoallergenic household cleaning stuff. Soap, dish soap, laundry detergent. Usually very mild smelling stuff too.
Wise lets you receive money in a bunch of different currencies, keep balance in said currencies or convert them, has cheap conversions in general. Not a product, more of a service, but thought I’d throw it out there.
Värska makes some pretty good mineral water. I mean Värska Originaal in particular.
Traditional old Limonaad if you’re into soft drinks. Yes it’s just labeled “lemonade” and everyone knows what you mean. It’s also technically not a lemonade.
If your soft drink of choice is craft beer, though, Pühaste, Põhjala and Anderson’s make some good ones.
Pōhjola beers are great! And Saku and ale Cock are fine bulk beers that goes well your grilled sausage (with pōlstamaa kange of course)
Greetings from Finland, neighbour<3
Woah thanks for the list! And yeah don’t think I’ll find any of those products in the stores anywhere close to me, but the motivation of this post is also to get a feel for what the locals like. I’ve ordered certain groceries from other countries before (e.g. via a penpal from said country) and I like trying out local stuff when I’m travelling there as well.
One example is I’ve give some differen sets of mustard a try awhile ago and I think I’m going to try to get my hands on your recommended Põltsamaa Kange Sinep via an Estonian friend! Thanks for the tips!
I have never seen anything estonian sold outside of Estonia in my travels.
Local recommendations are also good! Sorry I didn’t explain this in the post. I replied to boonhet in this thread about my motivations and request :)
You got a specific clothing brand to recommend for example? Something for outdoors (even better if it’s winter clothes)?
