Cardamom, the Queen of Spices: From the Western Ghats to Your Kitchen

Open a pod of green cardamom and the aroma fills the room: sweet, floral, a little like eucalyptus and citrus at once. It is the scent of Indian chai, of festive payasam and biryani, and it has been treasured for thousands of years. No wonder it is called the Queen of Spices.

Why "Queen of Spices"?

Black pepper, also native to the hills of Kerala, is often called the king of spices. Cardamom earned its royal title through its many uses: as a flavouring, a perfume and a traditional remedy. It is also precious. Cardamom is the third most expensive spice in the world, after saffron and vanilla, because it is grown in a narrow range of conditions and its pods are picked by hand.

A spice with ancient roots

The cardamom we know as green or "small" cardamom is Elettaria cardamomum, a member of the ginger family. It grew wild in the evergreen forests of southern India long before it was ever cultivated.

It appears in some of the oldest written records of trade and medicine. Ayurvedic texts call it ela, and it is mentioned in early records from Mesopotamia. Greek physicians wrote about it as an aid to digestion, and by 126 CE it was important enough to be taxed as an import in Roman-era Alexandria. In the Middle Ages, Venice became the main gateway through which cardamom reached western Europe. The English name comes, through Latin, from the Greek kardamomon.

Where it grows: the Cardamom Hills

Cardamom is a plant of the Western Ghats, one of the world's great biodiversity hotspots. It is fussy about where it lives, and needs:

• Altitude of roughly 600 to 1,200 metres;
• Heavy rainfall, around 1,500 to 4,000 mm a year;
• Cool temperatures of about 18 to 28 °C;
• Shade: it grows under a forest canopy, typically 40 to 60 percent shade, and dislikes strong wind.

These conditions come together best in the Idukki district of Kerala, home to the Cardamom Hills. The talukas of Udumbanchola, Peermade and Devikulam are the heart of Indian cardamom country, and Kerala grows most of India's crop. Smaller amounts come from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Indian cardamom has come a long way in a generation. According to the Ministry of Commerce, India produced about 25,231 tonnes of small cardamom in 2023–24, nearly eight times the 3,200 tonnes harvested in 1987–88. Yields rose from about 46 kg to more than 520 kg per hectare. That year India exported over 6,000 tonnes, worth nearly ₹1,000 crore.

From flower to pod

The cardamom plant is a leafy clump that can grow up to about three metres tall. It begins to bear about two to three years after planting. Long flowering shoots spread out from the base of the plant, and flowers appear mainly between April and August. Each flower takes up to about four months to ripen into a small, three-sided green capsule holding 15 to 20 tiny dark seeds, which hold most of the flavour.

Harvesting is slow, careful work. Pods ripen a few at a time, so pickers go through the plantation every couple of weeks, picking by hand only the capsules that are ready. The season runs from around August–September into February–March.

Drying: the secret to that green colour

Freshly picked pods are 70 to 80 percent water and must be dried to around 8 to 10 percent so they keep. Speed matters: if drying is delayed beyond about a day, the pods lose their bright green colour and turn brown.

Most cardamom is now dried in kilns or electric dryers at about 45 to 55 °C for 10 to 22 hours, depending on the dryer. This gentle, controlled heat protects the green colour and the aromatic oils. Sun drying is possible but takes five to six days and gives a duller pod. The dried capsules are then cleaned and sorted.

Understanding cardamom grades

Indian cardamom is graded mainly by size, colour and weight per litre. Bigger, greener, heavier pods are worth more. The standard export grades carry the name Alleppey Green:

• AGEB (Alleppey Green Extra Bold): pods 7 mm and above.
• AGB (Alleppey Green Bold): 6 mm and above.
• AGS (Alleppey Green Superior): 5 mm and above.
• AGS-1 and AGS-2 (Shipment Green): smaller pods, 4 mm and above.

Why Alleppey, when the cardamom grows in the hills? In the eighteenth century, the Travancore kingdom required its cardamom to be sold through a state depot at the port of Alleppey (Alappuzha), and the name stuck. Alleppey Green Cardamom was registered as a Geographical Indication in 2007–08, on an application by the Spices Board of India.

Green cardamom vs black cardamom

They share a name but are different plants. Green cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) is small, sweet and floral. Black cardamom (Amomum subulatum), grown in the eastern Himalayas, has large, dark, wrinkled pods with a smoky flavour, and is used mostly in savoury dishes such as biryani and dal. They are not interchangeable in a recipe.

What gives cardamom its aroma

The fragrance comes from essential oils in the seeds. The two most important compounds are 1,8-cineole, which gives the cool, eucalyptus-like note, and α-terpinyl acetate, which gives the sweet, floral one. These oils are volatile, so they slowly escape once a pod is opened or ground.

Cardamom around the world

• India: masala chai, payasam and kheer, halwa, laddoos, biryani, garam masala and sweet lassi.
• The Middle East: it flavours Arabic coffee, sometimes in generous amounts, as well as sweets and rice dishes.
• Scandinavia: it may be a surprise, but Sweden and Finland are big cardamom lovers, baking it into cardamom buns and festive breads.

Ayurveda has long used cardamom as a digestive, and in many Indian homes a pod or two is chewed after meals to freshen the breath. (If you have a health condition, talk to your doctor before using any spice as a remedy.)

How to buy and store cardamom

• Buy whole pods, not ground powder. Ground cardamom loses its aroma quickly.
• Look for plump, evenly green, unbroken pods. Pale, split or brownish pods are older or were dried slowly.
• Crush or grind just before use. For chai, lightly crush the whole pod; for sweets, grind the seeds and discard the husk.
• Store airtight, away from light, heat and moisture. A glass jar in a dark cupboard is ideal.

From our own gardens

For us, cardamom is more than a spice we write about. The cardamom in the upcoming Evanzia range is grown in our own gardens, picked and dried with the same care described above, so we know exactly where every pod comes from.

Alongside our terracotta jewellery, we're preparing an Evanzia range of whole spices, pure coffee and teas, and our own garden cardamom will have pride of place. Message us on WhatsApp to hear first when it launches.

Meanwhile, explore our terracotta jewellery collection.