The Scriptorium

Scriptorium

Guides, stories and knowledge from the monasteries: monastic culture told with care, to help you choose what's crafted behind abbey walls.

Monk pouring Trappist beer into a large cauldron over the abbey kitchen fire, in a woodcut style

Cooking with Trappist Beer: Simple Monastery Recipes

Stews, risottos, and sauces: how to use a dubbel or tripel in cooking to add depth to dishes, with tricks straight from abbey kitchens.

5 min read

Monks serving aged cheeses and Trappist beer steins in the abbey refectory, in a woodcut style

Trappist Beer and Cheese: The Guide to Perfect Pairings

From dubbel with blue cheese to tripel with Pecorino: simple principles to perfectly match abbey beer with the right cheese.

5 min read

Monks at work with beer, bees, a garden, and writing in an abbey cloister, in woodcut style

Ora et Labora: How the Rule of Saint Benedict Created Monastery Products

From beer to honey, from liqueurs to herbs: the Benedictine motto «pray and work» is the hidden thread connecting all products born within abbey walls.

5 min read

Monk preparing an evening herbal tea by candlelight in his cell, in woodcut style

Evening Herbal Teas: Monastic Blends for Relaxation

Chamomile, lemon balm, linden, and other evening herbs: how monasteries create blends to unwind and how to best prepare them at home.

5 min read

Monk arranging jars of honey of different colors on a wooden shelf, with honeycomb and dipper nearby, in woodcut style

Types of Monastic Honey: Acacia, Chestnut, and Wildflower Compared

In front of a monastery shelf, all the jars might look the same, but between a very light acacia and an almost black chestnut, there's a world of flavor difference. Here's how to read color, aroma, and consistency to choose the right honey — and to understand when a single-flower honey is best, and when a wildflower blend is better.

5 min read

Monk serving a glass of Trappist beer at a wooden table with bread and cheese, in a woodcut style

How to Taste a Trappist Beer: Glasses, Temperature, and Pairings

A Trappist beer is not to be rushed. The right glass, a few extra degrees in the pour, and a careful hand can completely transform your experience. Here's a practical guide to ensure you don't waste a bottle that the monks have allowed to mature for months.

6 min read

Ancient monastic pharmacy with shelves of labeled jars and dried herbs, monks preparing remedies at a workbench, in woodcut style

Natural Remedies from Monasteries: The Great Herbal Tradition

Herb gardens, illuminated manuscripts, abbey pharmacies: for centuries, monasteries have been the custodians of herbal knowledge. Discover how monastic tinctures, ointments, and infused oils are made, what they truly are, and how to use them wisely.

5 min read

Monks harvesting olives in the monastery's olive grove, with nets spread under the trees and full baskets, in a woodcut style

Monastic Oils and Condiments: The Green Gold of the Abbeys

Olive groves tended like gardens, rapid pressing, herbal oils, and aromatic vinegars: how monastic condiments are made and how to recognize — and preserve — a truly valuable bottle.

5 min read

Monks and nuns preparing candies and sweets in the convent kitchen, pulling sugar and cutting herbal pastilles, woodcut style illustration

Sweets and Candies from Convents: The Delicious Tradition of Monasteries

Nougat, herbal pastilles, biscuits, and sugared almonds born behind the grates of monasteries and convents: a few ingredients, skilled hands, and a calendar of feasts. How to recognize them and how to enjoy them.

5 min read

Monks preparing natural balms and soaps in the herbal apothecary lab, with jars of oils and dried herbs on shelves, woodcut style illustration

Monastery Cosmetics: Herbs, Oils, and Natural Skincare

Balms, ointments, and soaps born in abbey herbal apothecaries: few ingredients, deep plant knowledge. How they're made and how to choose them.

5 min read

Monks stirring fruit jam in a large copper pot in the monastery kitchen, with baskets of fresh fruit nearby, woodcut style illustration

Abbey Jams and Preserves: Fruit, Time, and Patience

In monastery kitchens, garden fruit becomes jam with just a few ingredients and long cooking in copper pots. Discover how it's made and how to recognize its quality.

5 min read

Monks preparing chocolate by hand in the monastery workshop, roasting cocoa beans and pouring melted chocolate into molds, woodcut style illustration

Monastery Chocolate: From Cocoa Bean to Bar

Behind a bar of monastic chocolate lies a slow, patient process, made with few raw ingredients and much care. Here's how it's made and how to recognize its quality.

5 min read

Monks harvesting grapes in a monastery vineyard on a hillside, with the abbey in the background, woodcut style illustration

The Wine of Monks: Why Abbeys Have Made Great Wine for a Thousand Years

For over a thousand years, abbeys have nurtured vines and refined the art of winemaking. Discover why monks were masters of viticulture and how to choose a good abbey wine.

5 min read

Trappist monks at work in the monastery brewery amidst large copper kettles, woodcut-style illustration

Trappist or Abbey Beer? The Difference Almost No One Knows

Not all monastic beers are Trappist. Here's how to recognize an authentic Trappist beer by its label, and why abbey beer is a different story.

6 min read

Monks distilling an herbal liqueur in a copper still in the monastery distillery, woodcut style illustration

Elixirs, Bitters, and Liqueurs from Monasteries: A Guide to Abbey Digestifs

From elixirs to bitters, monastic herbal liqueurs are born from patient infusions. Here are the types, the difference between a bitter and a digestif, and how to best enjoy them.

5 min read

Monks in a garden of simples cultivating medicinal herbs, woodcut-style illustration

Monastic Herbal Teas: Your Guide to Herbs Cultivated by Monks for Centuries

From simple gardens to today's blends: discover how monastic herbal teas are made, which herbs are used, and how to choose the right one for your needs.

5 min read

Monk beekeepers among traditional monastery beehives, woodcut style illustration

Honey, Propolis, and Wax: Treasures from the Monastic Hive

For centuries, monasteries have kept bees. Here's what comes from their hives — honey, propolis, pollen, and wax — and how to recognize a truly artisanal product.

5 min read