The Spice Island. Still picked by hand

Premium Ethical Spices · Sri Lanka

For centuries, ships crossed oceans to reach a small island in the Indian Ocean. They came for its cinnamon and its pepper, and wars were fought to control its spice trade.^[1] The island is Sri Lanka. The spices are still here, and they are still grown, tended and picked by hand.

Why Sri Lanka’s spices taste the way they do

Each spice grows where the island suits it best. Pepper thrives in the low and mid country, cardamom in the cool central hills, cloves in the wet mid country.^[1] Different soils, rainfall and altitude give each its own character.

And they’re grown the old way. More than 70% of the land under spices in Sri Lanka is smallholdings and home gardens,^[1] where pepper vines climb fruit trees, cinnamon grows beside jackfruit and coconut, and families tend and pick by hand, as their parents and grandparents did. It’s a natural relationship between people and the land, and you can taste it.

Seven spices. A sensorial journey.

Ceylon Cinnamon · Alba

True cinnamon

Hand-peeled into fine quills. Alba is the most delicate grade: sweet, warm, floral.

Black Pepper

Bold heat

Grown in the low and mid country. Big, aromatic and resinous.

White Pepper

Same vine

The same berry with its skin removed. Clean, earthy and refined.

Ceylon Cardamom

Hill country

From the central hills. Bright, cool and floral.

Cloves

Hand-picked buds

Flower buds picked by hand before they open, then sun-dried.

Nutmeg

One fruit

The seed of the nutmeg fruit. Warm, sweet and nutty.

Mace

Two spices

The lacy red cover around the nutmeg seed. Delicate and peppery-sweet.

True cinnamon, by hand

Most of the cinnamon sold around the world is cassia. Ceylon cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) is the true cinnamon: softer, sweeter and more fragrant. Its inner bark is peeled by hand and rolled into fine, layered quills, a craft unique to Sri Lanka.^[2] Alba is the finest, most delicate grade.

One vine, one fruit, two spices

Black and white pepper come from the same berry: black is dried whole, white has its outer skin removed. Nutmeg and mace come from the same fruit: nutmeg is the seed, mace the lacy red cover wrapped around it. Taste them side by side and you’ll never think of them the same way again.

An indulgence, not a commodity

That’s why we present our spices less as a commodity and more as an indulgence. Seven beautifully illustrated packs, each a small journey for the senses, and together a perfect gift.