- The Intention
- The Ingredients
- The Ritual
- The Diaspora Story
The spices in Diaspora's very first masala are the result of four years of sourcing across 40 small, regenerative family farms throughout India and Sri Lanka. In this masala, you'll encounter Iniya Cardamom from Tamil Nadu; Aranya Pepper from Kerala; Makhir Ginger from Meghalaya; Lucknowi Fennel from Uttar Pradesh; and Kandyan Cloves and Peni Miris Cinnamon from Kandy, Sri Lanka. It's the result of over a million WhatsApp messages and voice notes, over 20 sourcing visits, and thousands of humans’ dedication across three continents all blended and poured into the dreamiest, spiciest cup of chai.
1.59oz
Baraka Cardamom, Makhir Ginger, Hariyali Fennel, Peni Miris Cinnamon, Aranya Black Pepper, Kandyan Cloves
Bring 1 cup of water to a boil. Add in 1-2 teaspoons of Chai Masala. Simmer for 2 minutes. Add half a cup of milk of choice and desires sweetener of choice (honey or maple syrup work great) to pot/pan. Gently boil for about 2 minutes. Add 1 tsp of black tea (or tea of choice) and boil for a couple more minutes. Pour through a strainer into a mug. Enjoy!
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
The spices in Diaspora's very first masala are the result of four years of sourcing across 40 small, regenerative family farms throughout India and Sri Lanka. In this masala, you'll encounter Iniya Cardamom from Tamil Nadu; Aranya Pepper from Kerala; Makhir Ginger from Meghalaya; Lucknowi Fennel from Uttar Pradesh; and Kandyan Cloves and Peni Miris Cinnamon from Kandy, Sri Lanka. It's the result of over a million WhatsApp messages and voice notes, over 20 sourcing visits, and thousands of humans’ dedication across three continents all blended and poured into the dreamiest, spiciest cup of chai.
1.59oz
The Ingredients
Baraka Cardamom, Makhir Ginger, Hariyali Fennel, Peni Miris Cinnamon, Aranya Black Pepper, Kandyan Cloves
The Ritual
Bring 1 cup of water to a boil. Add in 1-2 teaspoons of Chai Masala. Simmer for 2 minutes. Add half a cup of milk of choice and desires sweetener of choice (honey or maple syrup work great) to pot/pan. Gently boil for about 2 minutes. Add 1 tsp of black tea (or tea of choice) and boil for a couple more minutes. Pour through a strainer into a mug. Enjoy!
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.