- The Intention
- The Ingredients
- The Ritual
- The Diaspora Story
Hailed for its aroma and flavor alike, the ubiquitous garam masala elevates just about any dish with its signature complexity, versatility, and heat. While every family's recipe is different, garam masala makes up the base of thousands of South Asian dishes. After testing 25 versions and creating five of their own, this is Diaspora's final blend — 12 single-origin, freshly-harvested spices that have been carefully roasted and blended for a perfect balance of spicy, sweet, earthy, and zesty flavors. As many Diaspora team members say, "Just use it like salt!" Sourced from 58 small regenerative family farms across India and Sri Lanka, the spices in this tin have been chosen for their flavor, freshness, and potency. In their commitment to building a more equitable spice trade, Diaspora pays an average 4x premium to their farm partners.
1.65oz
Jodhana Cumin, Hariyali Fennel, Nandini Coriander, Aranya Black Pepper, Wild Cinnamon Quills, Anamalai Mace, Anamalai Nutmeg, Black Cardamom, Himalayan Tejpatta, Green Cardamom, Makhir Ginger, Kandyan Cloves
Use in dishes, tonics, and recipes as desired.
The original intent of colonial conquest of the Indian subcontinent was a desire for domination of the spice trade. 400ish years later, as a young woman born and raised in postcolonial Mumbai, working at the intersection of food and culture, Sana Javeri Kadri was slowly discovering that not much about that system had changed. Farmers made no money, spices changed hands upwards of 10 times before reaching the consumer, and the final spice on your shelf was usually an old, dusty shadow of what it once was.
So in 2016, Sana booked a one way ticket home to Mumbai and signed herself up for 7 months of highly unpaid market research, 40+ farm visits, endless un-answered phone calls, a squishy motorbike ride through rice paddy, and one life-changing meeting with the good folks at the Indian Institute of Spices Research.
A lot of processing of doubts and fears later, 23 year old Sana founded Diaspora Co. in the fall of 2017 with just one spice - Pragati Turmeric - sourced from an equally young and idealistic farm partner - a now dear friend Mr. Prabhu Kasaraneni. But from their very first day, the big, audacious dream was to grow a radically new, decidedly delicious and truly equitable spice trade, to push a broken system into an equal exchange, and to have a lot of fun doing it.
Today, the Diaspora team sources 30 single-origin spices from 150 farms across India and Sri Lanka. They're proud to pay their farm partners an average of 6x above the commodity price. In a system where fair trade is a mere 15% premium, they pay what they believe to be a living wage - an investment in the kind of leadership and land stewardship that will build climate resilience and more delicious food systems.
The Intention
Hailed for its aroma and flavor alike, the ubiquitous garam masala elevates just about any dish with its signature complexity, versatility, and heat. While every family's recipe is different, garam masala makes up the base of thousands of South Asian dishes. After testing 25 versions and creating five of their own, this is Diaspora's final blend — 12 single-origin, freshly-harvested spices that have been carefully roasted and blended for a perfect balance of spicy, sweet, earthy, and zesty flavors. As many Diaspora team members say, "Just use it like salt!" Sourced from 58 small regenerative family farms across India and Sri Lanka, the spices in this tin have been chosen for their flavor, freshness, and potency. In their commitment to building a more equitable spice trade, Diaspora pays an average 4x premium to their farm partners.
1.65oz
The Ingredients
Jodhana Cumin, Hariyali Fennel, Nandini Coriander, Aranya Black Pepper, Wild Cinnamon Quills, Anamalai Mace, Anamalai Nutmeg, Black Cardamom, Himalayan Tejpatta, Green Cardamom, Makhir Ginger, Kandyan Cloves
The Ritual
Use in dishes, tonics, and recipes as desired.
The Diaspora Story
The original intent of colonial conquest of the Indian subcontinent was a desire for domination of the spice trade. 400ish years later, as a young woman born and raised in postcolonial Mumbai, working at the intersection of food and culture, Sana Javeri Kadri was slowly discovering that not much about that system had changed. Farmers made no money, spices changed hands upwards of 10 times before reaching the consumer, and the final spice on your shelf was usually an old, dusty shadow of what it once was.
So in 2016, Sana booked a one way ticket home to Mumbai and signed herself up for 7 months of highly unpaid market research, 40+ farm visits, endless un-answered phone calls, a squishy motorbike ride through rice paddy, and one life-changing meeting with the good folks at the Indian Institute of Spices Research.
A lot of processing of doubts and fears later, 23 year old Sana founded Diaspora Co. in the fall of 2017 with just one spice - Pragati Turmeric - sourced from an equally young and idealistic farm partner - a now dear friend Mr. Prabhu Kasaraneni. But from their very first day, the big, audacious dream was to grow a radically new, decidedly delicious and truly equitable spice trade, to push a broken system into an equal exchange, and to have a lot of fun doing it.
Today, the Diaspora team sources 30 single-origin spices from 150 farms across India and Sri Lanka. They're proud to pay their farm partners an average of 6x above the commodity price. In a system where fair trade is a mere 15% premium, they pay what they believe to be a living wage - an investment in the kind of leadership and land stewardship that will build climate resilience and more delicious food systems.