Prasantha John 2023-01-27 14:00:32

供应*Black Pepper
It is a pungent spice that has been valued for centuries. Pepper being one of the most popular spices has been in much demand playing an important role in the European voyages to the spice growing east in the 15th century. This powerfully aromatic spice was heily traded with other expensive items such as precious metals and was also used as a form of currency in the middle ages. Until recently all the Pepper found in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa came from India’s Malabar region. However by the 16th century Pepper was also being grown in other countries such as Madagascar, Malaysia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. With the establishment of the British East India Company the Pepper trade was taken over by the British.

*Cinnamon ( True Cinnamon / Canela )
It was traditionally known to be the most important export of Sri Lanka. However it was not cultivated systematically until the time of colonial rule when the cultivation was shifted from the mountainous regions to the more tropical western and southern coastal belts. It is historically known that the quest Ceylon Cinnamon was one of the key factors that led to explorations to the east in the 15th century and also the reason for many of the wars waged. The reason being that true Cinnamon grew only in Sri Lanka and hing access to this wonder produce meant immense power and profits. It was the Portuguese who came to Ceylon in the 15th century when they took control of the spice trade from the Arabs who until then held the Cinnamon monopoly in their hands. Thereafter the Dutch took over the trade after displacing the Portuguese and finally it was the British who controlled the Cinnamon trade when they ruled the country in 1815.

* Cloves
The History of Cloves goes back to the Han dynasty (207B.C to 220 A.D.) when it was used to hide bad breath, in the presence of the Chinese Emperor. It is also believed to be the first spices to be traded. Clove was a prized item of the Romans and the Chinese as way back as 226 BC and it was not until the 4th century AD that Cloves arrived in Europe. Along with nutmeg, Cloves were one of the most precious spices of the 16th and 17th century, and control of them spurred expeditions as well as wars. Initially Cloves were traded by Arabs until the 15th century when the Portuguese took over the trade. It was the French who introduced clove to Mauritius in the year 1770 and subsequently the cultivations were introduced to Guiana, Zanzibar, West Indies and most of the Brazil. Though it is not clearly known when clove was introduced to Ceylon for cultivation, it is widely believed that it could he been during the times of Arab trading when Ceylon was a major trading hub for spices.
* Garcenia Cambogia ( Goraka )

*Betel nut

This tree is a feathery palm that grows to approximately 1.5 m in height and is widely cultivated in tropical India, Bangladesh, Japan, Sri Lanka, south China, the East Indies, the Philippines, and parts of Africa. The tropical palm trees bear fruit all year. The nut may be used fresh, dried, or cured by boiling, baking, or roasting. The quid is a mixture of areca nut, tobacco, and lime wrapped in the leaf of the betel vine.

The areca nut is not a true nut, but rather a drupe. It is commercially ailable in dried, cured and fresh forms. While fresh, the husk is green and the nut inside is soft enough to be cut with a typical knife. In the ripe fruit, the husk becomes yellow or orange and, as it dries, the fruit inside hardens to a wood-like consistency. At the stage, the areca nut can only be sliced using a special scissors-like cutter.