SingleoriginPragati
turmericharvested
inAndhraPradhesh,
India.Below:Indigenous
Indian spices.Today’sboutiquespicemerchants
arechampioningethicalgoodswith
anemphasisonsustainability,
writesALECIA WOOD.DiasporaCo.’sheirloomandwildIndianspicescomewithnoteson
theexactfamily-runfarmwheretheyweregrownandthemonth
theyweremilled.“Itrequiresheroicamountsofcommunication,”
saysownerSanaJaveriKadriofmaintainingthisattentiontodetail
andcollaboratingwitha networkofsmall-scalegrowers,whomight
onlyproducea fewhundredkilogramsofeachcropata time.
Afterwatchingthetrendforturmericlattesboom– typically
madewithlow-qualityspicefrommysterioussources– Mumbai-
born,California-basedJaveriKadristartedthebusinessin2017.
“Whenit cametofindingthetastesofhome,theoptionswere
dismal,”saysJaveriKadri.“I thought,if I cangetona flightto
Mumbaiandbetherein 20 hours,thensurelymyturmericcan,too.”
Anothermotivatorforlaunchingthebrandwastochallengethe
conventionalspicetrademodel.“TheminuteI startedresearching
turmeric,it becamea lensforunderstandingtheworldofspice,”she
says,explainingthatcolonisersfavouredprofitandstorabilityover
qualityorfairprices,andthatthisapproachis stilllargelyin playtoday.
DiasporaCo.paysfarmerswellabovethemarketrate,and
selectsflavourfirst.Harvestsaremilledfourtimesa yeartomaintain
freshness,andeverybatchis lab-testedforcleanlinessandoil
content(lowoilindicatesthespiceshaveturnedstale).“You’re
tastinga flavourthat’sactuallyhundredsofyearsold,”shesays
oftheirpowerfullyfragrantIndigenousspices,likeAranyapepper,
PragatiturmericandGunturSannamchilli.“Ourchilliesblendso
perfectlywitheverycuisine– I usetheminpastasauceasmuch
as I do in Indian food.”diasporaco.com; @diasporaco➤T
he15thCenturysawtwocriticalEuropean
voyages:ChristopherColumbussailedtothe
Americas,andVascodaGamasailedaround
thetipofAfrica.BothwereheadedforIndia- butonlydaGamamadeit,arrivinginwhatis nowthe
coastalIndianstateofKerala.Atthetime,it wasa major
shippinghubforIndia’sabundantpeppercrops.
TheexchangeofspicesfromAsiaandIndiainto
EuropehadflourishedsinceRomantimesandpavedthe
wayforimportanttraderoutes,butdaGama’sarrivalin
IndiamarkedthestartofEuropeanpowers’missionto
gaina directfootholdinthelucrativespicetrade,leading
toconquestsandcolonisation.AsYaleUniversityhistory
professorPaulFreedmanputsit:“Thepassionforspices
underliesthebeginningoftheEuropeancolonial
enterprise,a forcethatremadethedemography,politics,
culture,economy,andecologyoftheentireglobe.”And
that’show,fromthisproblematicpast,theglobalspice
industrycametobeworthsome$24billiontoday.
Anyproductsovaluableis likelytoattractshort-cuts.
Theprizedsaffronhasa longhistoryofadulteration,
andspicesarestillsusceptibletofoodfraud.In2016,
CHOICEinvestigatedoreganoforsaleinAustralian
supermarkets,revealingthatmostoftheproductstested
hadaslittleas10%oftheherb.Meanwhile,Fairtrade
Internationalflagstheinfluenceoflargespicetrading
companiesmeanspowerimbalancesforspicegrowers
andunfairwages.
Thesedays,theaverageAussiegroceris likelyto
stockbean-to-barchocolate,whilebaristastenderbags
ofbatch-roastedSumatrancoffee.Is it timeforthe
cinnamonthatgracesourmorningporridgetoenjoy
thesameregardforprovenance,qualityandethics?Enter
a newcropofdirect-to-consumerbusinessesdetermined
to foster a shift in the herb and spice industries.
DIASPORA CO.
GOURMET TRAVELLER 65PHOTOGRAPHY SANA JAVERI KADRI (TURMERIC), ANDRIA LO (SPICES, RIGHT), GETTY IMAGES (SPICES, LEFT).