Fragrant, earthy, and intensely flavored, these cloves are harvested from the Kandyan forest gardens of Sri Lanka, a diverse and canopy-rich ecosystem with native forest trees sharing space with mature nutmeg, jackfruit, and cinnamon trees.

They are picked and sorted for us by Ekoland, a community initiative that works with farmers and their families to grow food in a way that conserves the biodiverse forests and native flora of Kandy. The result is a highly productive landscape that also supports a wealth of wildlife.

Cloves are the dehydrated flower buds of the Syzygium aromaticum tree. Harvest is a short window: they have to be picked, by hand, when the bud has formed, but before the flower has developed.

Clove trees are tall evergreens, so harvesting is a delicate and cumbersome process. Once the buds are collected from the tree, they are gently dried to remove moisture, and intensify the flavors without losing any of their fragrant oils.