Colombia Cardamom Project. Part I.

Cardamom  is becoming one of the most relevant sources of income for many farmers in Colombia, who are trying to come up with solutions to the declining prices of coffee and the lack of a sustainable agricultural industry in our country.

Who better than the farmers/producers themselves to share their experiences from within.

Below you can find a transcript from the conversation between Antonio Saenz, a Colombian Cardamom producer and Jaime  Munera. an Empresario and exporter of Cardamom to the United States. whom along with Alonso Munera is championing the resurgence of the cultivation of cardamom in Antioquia.

Jaime:

We're here with Mr Antonio Saenz. he has a small farm in the municiple of Valparaiso , located at 1500 mts over the sea level, he has been a coffee grower from a long time, for how long would you say Mr. Antonio.

Antonio:

You could say my entire life. my father brought me to work in the coffee plantations since I was a kid, he thought me everything I know about the business.

Jaime:

how's that worked for you so far. 

Antonio:

well, it's been more of a resignation, once It came the harvest all I did was pay back my debts to the bank and once again I found myself in the same situation, without any money, and going back to the bank to ask for more money for the next crop.

Jaime:

All your hard earned money went straight to the bank

Antonio:

A vicious circle of debt you may say. and I couldn't get out of it cause the bank already owned my coffee production, so I was obliged to harvest the crop. 

Jaime:

Who suggested you to start planting cardamom.

Antonio:

An association called cultivares, a woman, Dr. Tamayo came to town and organized a series of meetings where they introduced cardamom to us. I liked the plant, I thought it was interesting but it took me a while to start planting it due to the lack of recognition, which made it a challenge to find a market for it.

Jaime:

You're right, getting into something completely different

Antonio:

Yeah, something I didn't know very well at the time, I was afraid to make the change from coffee to cardamom.

Jaime:

So, You started to grow cardamom around 2004, 2005?

Antonio:

2005, I took me about three years to finally decide I was going to start growing cardamom.

Jaime:

The cardamom plant starts producing around two and a half to three years. how many plants in production you have right now.

Antonio:

At the moment I have around six hundred and fifty plants.

Jaime:

What is the average of crop per each plant, let's say, on a yearly basis 

Antonio:

Well, in the year 2009, with six hundred and fifty producing plants I got around 5.300 kilos a year. divided into six harvests

Jaime:

That's impressive, that's an average of 900 kilos per harvest. and what was your selling price 

Antonio:

It was relative. prices oscillate, but It has never come down from the price in which I started selling. I remember it was around 1800 pesos per kilo, and from then it started going up to the point we're selling at today. 

Jaime:

Which is

Antonio:

Around 4.700 pesos 

Jaime:

Of course that is because you have really outstanding quality. so, on average, you sold your 5,300 kilos at 3,500 pesos. giving you a profit around 20 million pesos.

Antonio:

That is correct

Part II Coming Next Week.

In Part II of this series, we're going to delve deeper on the cardamom growing practices and also, we'll continue to learn from a cardamom grower such as Mr. Antonio Saenz himself.

Conversation Recorded on January 2010. (prices don't reflect actual market status)

Colombia Cardamom Project Part 2.

Cardamom  is becoming one of the most relevant sources of income for many farmers in colombia, who are trying to come up with solutions to the declining prices of coffee and the lack of a sustainable agricultural industry in our country.

Who better than the farmers themselves to explain us their experiences from within.

Below there's a transcript from the conversation between Antonio Saenz, a Colombian Cardamom producer and Jaime Munera. an Empresario and exporter of Cardamom to the United States. whom along with Alonso Munera is championing the resurgence of the cultivation of cardamom in Antioquia.

Jaime:
Antonio I see that your cardamom plants, the newborns are right next to  the coffee plants.

Antonio:
This knowledge was given to me from a young Coffee producer, his name is Nelson Ibarra. I told him that I wanted to knock down the coffee plants but he persuaded me from doing this explaining that coffee plants will serve as a source of shadow, and will provide shelter for the cardamom plant while it grows and sticks to the ground, I believe it has proved to be the right thing to do.  and at the same time I have been able to grow both coffee and cardamom . which is also a very sound Idea speaking in profitability terms.

Jaime:
It is quite a good strategy indeed,  having a cardamom plantation along with coffee. when the cardamom is growing, in the meantime  you can start harvesting the coffee beans.

Antonio: 
You do have a point, however,  I've decided to focus my entire efforts on the cultivation of Cardamom.

Jaime:
Why is that?

Antonio:
Coffee never gave me the possibility of getting out of debt, it was a vicious circle.  last year I had to refinance a Million pesos on the bank due to the low prices on the coffee, thank God, I had a nice cardamom crop which gave me the opportunity to pay back the million pesos to the bank and on top of that I made a profit of over one million two hundred pesos, something that never happened to me with the coffee.

Jaime: 
That's great news antonio. so, we move along to see the grown up cardamom plants.

Antonio:
Yes, as you can see there's a lot of trees and shadow, one of the most important things for cardamom to grow properly.

Part III Coming Next Week.

Baklava: Turkish Dessert

Ingredients:

 Phyllo dough,
 Sugar,
 Mixed nuts,
 Butter,
 Honey,
 Lemon peel,
 Cinnamon,
 Cardamom,
 Cloves.
 Juniper berries

Cardamom Mythology.

Ghat Mountains

Native to the Ghat Mountains of SW India in an area known as the Cardamom Hills, Cardamom was used by Hindus in ceremonies to pay respect to the recently deceased. Ancient Indians, more than 1,000 years before Christ, used cardamom medicinally to treat various maladies.


It is believed that the West got its first taste of cardamom when Alexander the Great brought it back from India. It was used widely in Europe to treat digestive problems.

Alexander the Great

Because this herb is considered an aphrodisiac, Culpeper assigned it to Venus. but it is all Mars--warming and stimulating. often described as sweet and having a "grateful warmth." It is frequently found in love charms (or perhaps better to say lust charms), but as a Mars herb, it can be equally effective in magical protection. It is a stimulant to the mind and warming to the body, said to uplift the spirits, calm the nerves, and help clarify thinking.

Kyphi Incense

This magic herb is an ingredient in some Dark Age versions of kyphi, the ancient Egyptian incense that became a medicine, and is often given as a substitute for cinnamon, which is a good match in terms of its strength of warmth. Pliny mentions it as an ingredient in the Egyptian perfume called Metopium, and the Romans incorporated into perfumes as well, often combining it with saffron and myrrh. Cardamom is still often found in perfumes, especially "masculine" ones, and it is especially nice combined with orange, cinammon, cloves, and caraway.

Cardamom Tapioca Pudding

Ingredients:

1/3 cup tapioca (sabudana, sago)
3 cups milk
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon sliced pistachios
Few strands of saffron
1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder

Cardamom Recipes

CARDAMOM GRANITA WITH CREAM

                                                                                                                                Ingredients:

- 9 capsules/ 350ml NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto Espresso Intenso (approx 9 shots)
- 110g (1/2 cup) demerara sugar
- 6 green cardamom pods, cracked
- 125ml (1/2 cup) pouring cream
- 1 tbsp icing sugar, sifted
- 75g (1/2 cup) ground pistachio kernels

Cardamom Perfumes III

   

La Nuit De L'Homme

La Nuit de L'Homme by Yves Saint Laurent tells a story of intensity, bold sensuality, and seduction that lies half-way between restraint and abandon. Bright, masculine freshness combines with sophistication and nonchalance to create a fresh, yet deep and mysterious scent with notes of Cardamom, Cedar, and Coumarin—a structure of contrasting forces.