Spices bought by the lot, not the container. Every pack carries the district it came from, the season it was picked, and the grade it was bought at.
Small lots, replaced when they run out rather than held for a year. When a lot changes, the docket on the pack changes with it.
Leaves stripped by hand, dried in shade rather than sun, milled fine. Stir into rasam, dal, or a morning drink.
Malabar garbled from the Idukki hills — heavy berries, sorted for density. Sharper and more floral than supermarket pepper.
Bold 8 mm pods from Vandanmedu, sold whole. Crush them as you cook; ground cardamom loses most of itself within weeks.
Erode finger turmeric, hand-sorted and milled in small runs. Deep ochre, not the pale yellow of bulk-blended stock.
Pressed slowly in a wooden mill so the oil never heats up. Nutty and heavy — the oil for pickles, kuzhambu, and oil baths.
Roasted chillies, urad and chana dal, sesame, asafoetida. Ground coarse. Mix with sesame oil and eat it with idli.
Every pack carries a code and a QR square. Scan it and you get the record for that exact lot — where it grew, when it was picked, how it was processed, and the residue test report when one has been run.
The code changes when the lot changes. Two packs of pepper bought six months apart carry different codes and lead to different records, because they are different pepper.
We publish the laboratory report rather than making a claim about it. If a lot has been tested, the panel and the result are on its page and the full PDF is linked. If it hasn't been tested yet, the page says so plainly instead of staying quiet.
Where we buy through an exporter rather than direct, the record names the village and district and stops there. We don't print a farmer's name we can't stand behind.
Buying for a shop or restaurant and need the paperwork? Ask and we'll send the lot records and any test reports before you order.
The name means greetings. Boxes ship with a handwritten card and the docket for every lot inside, so whoever opens it knows exactly what they've been given.
Turmeric, black pepper, and milagai podi. A first box for someone who cooks but has never tasted the difference.
$42All six from the shelf, packed in a lined tin. Enough to change how a household cooks for a season.
$88Built for Deepavali and Pongal — sweets-grade cardamom, sesame oil, and jaggery, with a card in Tamil or English.
$64Most spice sold in the US arrives blended — several origins, several seasons, mixed to hit a price. It isn't dishonest, but it means you can't taste a place.
We buy small lots from named districts and sell them until they run out. When the lot changes, the docket changes. If the pepper this month is different from last month's, you'll be able to see why.
Everything is packed and shipped from Charlotte, North Carolina.