We’re refreshing the senses this month with a welcoming burst of zesty goodness. It’s time to take care of ourselves, start afresh and bring a bolt of colour to this coldest, darkest month.

January is traditionally the month when Seville oranges are picked and shipped to the UK, to be boiled up into marmalade – preserving these bitter sharp fruits for a much-needed boost of sunshine, sugar and vitamin C in our produce hunger gap.

Did you know that one large orange provides 100% of your recommended daily intake of vitamin C, as well as fibre to support digestive health and potassium for your heart? Just the thing to see you through the cold spell.

Much of our citrus is sourced from our friends at Babylonstoren, who grow more than 30 varieties on their farm in the heart of the South African winelands – from clementines to lemons, limes, grapefruit and yuzu.

Their citrus block is consists of four cobbled squares enclosed by a dense, green Lisbon lemon hedge and a four-metre-high rose tower, covered with Lamarque – an exceptional climbing rose that produces masses of lemon-coloured blooms.

The squares are edged by thick kumquat hedges; their small, sprightly fruits enticing visitors to hide in the fragrant shade of the citrus trees, listening to the sounds of spouting fountains.

Among our favourite citrus fruits that Babylonstoren grow is the sweet, tender blood orange, which we use year-round for its precious, vitamin-rich juice. The new Italian season in January marks the first of the year, so we ship a container from the foothills of Mount Etna in Sicily before picking up the southern hemisphere’s late summer fruits.