Spices and coffee, they are not only paired together in coffee shops, they may also coexist in their place of origin!

From Turkish coffee brewed with cardamom to pumpkin spice lattes, coffee and spices have been paired for almost as long as coffee has been enjoyed. Coffee consumers enjoy beverages made with dozens of different spices, including cinnamon, turmeric and ginger.

However, the relationship between coffee and spices is not limited to coffee shops. In producing countries around the world, some producers grow spices alongside their coffee trees for a variety of reasons.

Spices are now affordable and readily available in shops and supermarkets around the world. However, centuries ago, many of them (such as ginger, turmeric, pepper and cardamom) were rare and expensive, usually only available to the rich and elite.

Although spices have been grown and used for thousands of years, it was not until the 14th and 15th centuries, when explorers from Europe traveled around the world, that they were brought to international trade. It was during this process that people discovered that there were so many spices that they had never seen before.

These major European powers began to trade spices on an international scale around the end of the 15th century. Historians call the spice trade "the beginning of globalization," which established maritime trade routes between Europe, China, India, Arabia, and North and East Africa. Of course, it also brought disaster to these relatively backward regions.

The spice trade contributed greatly to global economic and cultural development throughout the 15th and 16th centuries. Many spice traders became powerful and wealthy both at home and abroad; the spice trade did not slow down until the 17th century, when coffee and tea became more popular in Europe.

The historical parallels between coffee and spices (and how they were traded) are interesting. Both were coveted luxury items and status symbols in Europe, and both have deep and complex relationships with colonialism and early international trade. This similarity was also noted when they were first traded. It is believed that when traders first brought coffee to Venice, it was originally considered a spice.

It’s no surprise, then, that different cultures around the world brewed coffee with spices, as they were all luxury items associated with wealth, power, and enjoyment. Some recipes have been around for centuries and are still widely used today. For example, authentic Turkish and Arabic coffee is often brewed with cardamom, while in Yemen, coffee beans are sometimes blended with hawaj – a mixture of ginger, cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon.

For many coffee drinkers today, the concept of combining coffee with spices is somewhat novel. While the two have been combined for centuries, coffee shop drinks made with nutmeg, turmeric, allspice, and ginger are becoming very popular.

Pumpkin spice lattes have even dominated the coffee shop calendar for the entire season, with Nielsen data showing that sales of pumpkin spice-flavored products hit $ 600 million in 2018 (up nearly 5% from the previous year).

While consumers are choosing these beverages for their novel flavors, many also believe that the spices have nutritional value and certain health benefits. For example, turmeric is a strong antioxidant with anti-inflammatory properties, while ginger can be used as a digestive aid.

However, it's important to note that spiced coffee from some major chains may contain high levels of added sugar, which may outweigh any nutritional benefits.

For coffee producers, spices and coffee have a fundamentally different relationship. Around the world, some farmers intercrop coffee and spice plants to gain many long-term and short-term benefits.

Intercropping is the practice of planting two or more crops side by side to increase farmers' yields. Although it takes more manpower and resources to care for a denser population of different plants, intercropping with spice plants can increase crop yields and soil fertility, and can also bring economic benefits, so why not ?

These producers can use intercropping to generate income outside of the crop harvest period, thereby increasing the stability of their farms. With a diverse source of income, producers are more financially stable, which means they are able to improve their living conditions, reinvest in their farms, and use natural resources more efficiently. For example, the coffee harvest season in Guatemala runs from November to April , while spice plants can be harvested in July and August .

In coffee-producing regions, allspice, cardamom and cloves are commonly intercropped spices. Cloves and allspice are grown in a “mixed intercropping system” that does not require unique row arrangements and small plots of land can be intercropped. Cardamom, on the other hand, is often grown in a strip intercropping system that requires individual plantings and “ strips ”. This means that both cardamom and coffee plants can grow to their full potential individually, and they don’t compete for space, nutrients or sunlight.

Spices and coffee have a rich relationship in brewing and production, fundamentally linked on an international scale for hundreds of years. Today, it’s easy to recognize that spices play a unique role at different stages of the coffee supply chain. However, whether it’s supporting producers through crop diversification or flavoring coffee, it’s a unique relationship that’s been forged over centuries of international trade.

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