Throughout history, spices have been famous around the world as a magical set of ingredients that can give a delicate taste to all sorts of dishes. Some cultures have used spices for medicinal purposes as well because most of them are also known as herbs. Spices are often made from roots, flowers, seeds, leaves, and fruits of the plants that have properties to act as flavouring ingredients. When they are taken to the kitchen, some of them will appear as dust such as turmeric and pepper, sticks such as cinnamon, seeds such as cardamom, leaves such as lemongrass and curry leaves, and flower buds such as cloves.

According to history, Ceylon has been a well-known destination for spices since the 13th century when Marco Polo sailed to the east. In 1505, the Portuguese empire got to know Ceylon as a paradise of Cinnamon when General Lorenzo Di Almeida accidentally anchored on the south coast of the country.

From the 17th to 20th century, under the rule of the Dutch and British empires, Ceylon had become a primary destination of the world spice trade by earning the name: Spice Island.


To date, Sri Lanka has accomplished to supply cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, and mace to international markets as spices of the finest quality while preserving a story which is there for centuries.