Cardamom, also called Cardamon or Cardamum, is a spice that is native to the Indian sub-continent and Indonesia. The term cardamom is used for the pods of the plants that belong to two genres; Elettaria and Amomum in the family Zingiberaceae.

There are two main types of Cardamom, namely, Black Cardamom (Amomum subulatum) and Green Cardamom or true cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum). White cardamom is the bleached version of Green cardamom. Although Green cardamom is the most available variety it fetches a higher price in the global spice markets.

The spice is often available in its whole fruit form as pods, that are spindle-shaped and have a triangular cross-section. Elettaria cardamomum, the light green variety of Cardamom is exported mainly by the Sri Lankan cardamom exporters to the global market. Producing 4000 to 5000t per annum, Sri Lanka serves around 0.1% of the global demand for Cardamom.

Due to the unique flavour of green cardamom cultivated in Sri Lanka, formed by the country’s unique terroir, green cardamom produced in Sri Lanka is known as Ceylon Cardamom.

Available as whole pods, seeds, ground cardamom powder, and essential oil, Ceylon Cardamom has many uses. Green Cardamom is the third most expensive spice in the world and is widely used as a spice and an additive in the food and beverage industry and as an ingredient in pharmaceutical, cosmetic and alternative medicine industries.

black pepper, (Piper nigrum), also called pepper, perennial climbing vine of the family Piperaceae and the hotly pungent spice made from its fruits. Black pepper is native to the Malabar Coast of India and is one of the earliest spices known. Widely used as a spice around the world, pepper also has a limited usage in medicine as a carminative (to relieve flatulence) and as a stimulant of gastric secretions.

In early historic times pepper was widely cultivated in the tropics of Southeast Asia, where it became highly regarded as a condiment. Pepper became an important article of overland trade between India and Europe and often served as a medium of exchange; tributes were levied in pepper in ancient Greece and Rome. In the Middle Ages the Venetians and the Genoese became the main distributors in Europe, and their virtual monopoly of the trade helped instigate the search for an eastern sea route. The plant is widely cultivated throughout Indonesia and has been introduced into tropical areas of Africa and of the Western Hemisphere.

Cinnamon is known as one of the first traded and most popular spices from the ancient world.  It belongs to the family Lauraceae and there are more than 250 species and sub species. The expensive and rare cinnamon variety is known as “Ceylon cinnamon” which is native to Sri Lanka. Due to unique chemical properties over other varieties, Ceylon variety has high reputation and demand in the world.