Cloud Forest Cardamom (Ground Pods)

Our cardamom is sweet and tart, reminiscent of summer fruits, fresh herbs and cut grass. The cardamom fruit turns yellow as it ripens and has a slightly softer, sweeter flavor than standard green cardamom, but is perfect in recipes that call for green cardamom.

This ground cardamom is made from whole pods ground into a coarse powder, which has the added benefit of thickening dishes, thanks to the cardamom pod's husk. Please note, you may need to grind it further into a finer powder texture if it's not going to go through a long cooking process (like with baked goods).

• Origin: Alta Verapaz, Guatemala
• Aliases: green cardamom, yellow cardamom, elaichi, hel
• Process: Hot-air-dried
• Ingredients: Ground cardamom pods (Elettaria cardamomum)
• Tasting notes: Ginger • Apricots • Jungle Flowers

COOKING

• Cook down with fruit juice for a savory/sweet sauce or jam
• Add to your meat or veggie rub, especially for chicken or lamb
• Citrus Upside-Down Cake
  
• Glazed Pumpkin Spice Cookies
• Chai Spice Cake with Ginger Cream Cheese Frosting
• Cardamartini
• Pairs well with: Wild Mountain Cumin, New Harvest Turmeric, Ground Cinnamon Verum  

SOURCING

Guatemala exports 80% of the world’s cardamom, but the spice is virtually unknown in local markets. It is grown exclusively for export, mostly on tiny plots by indigenous farmers in the country’s remote mountainous region.

Guatemala's cloud forests are ideal for growing cardamom, which thrives in temperate high-altitude environments with plenty of rainfall. The comparatively low temperatures in the mountains during the harvest season (November-January) ensure that the cardamom has very high levels of fragrant essential oils.

Our cardamom is grown on one of the only single-estate cardamom farms in Guatemala, which is also the only farm to manage the supply chain in its entirety, from cultivation to harvesting, drying and export. Cardamom is officially graded only by its size and green color; however, those factors don’t correlate to flavor. This cardamom has a yellow tinge since it's allowed to ripen fully, resulting in softer, fruitier, and overall more complex flavor.

Meet the Farmer: 

Our relationship with partner farmer Don Amilcar in Guatemala is one of our longest-standing and closest farmer partnerships. Maybe he was amused when Ethan first visited the farm in 2016 and hauled back a duffel back full of Don Amilcar's vine-ripened cardamom pods in 2016. We all hoped that would be the beginning of a long partnership... and it was.

In 2020, we brought in more than 20,000 pounds of spices from him, which, among other things, helped him build a new farmhouse. (Last photo, scroll to the end. )

Don Amilcar planted his first cardamom vine when he was 9 years old. In the years since then, he's created the only vertically integrated cardamom operation in Guatemala with his own farm, his own drying facility and now, his own export operation run by his daughter Meyllin.

His farming operation is so impressive and produces cardamom so good that Saveur called him "the farmer shaking up the Guatemalan cardamom trade."

Want to check out his farm? You can watch a short video we made with him here.