Guatemala exports 80% of the world’s cardamom. Much of their cardamom ends up in the Middle East, where cardamom coffee is a morning staple. Our partner farmer's Middle Eastern customers wanted to see if he could also provide them with whole black limes, another spice common in Persian cuisine, and he was happy to oblige.
Meet the Farmers:
Cecilia and her husband Jonathan work together with Emilio (Milo) to run the drying facility two hours outside Guatemala City. Cecilia's father learned how to dry limes from a Middle Eastern spice buyer in the 1970s, and they made a family business of drying and grinding the limes that grow abundantly in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. (They are not used in the local cuisine, but Cecilia makes a mean lemon pie with the ground black lime.)
Cecilia, Jonathan and Milo oversee a hand-built drying area of rows of raised earth platforms that stretch as far as the eye can see. Furrows between the rows give the lime juice an outlet to run off into as they dry. It takes 2-3 months for the limes to transform from bright green fresh fruit to sun-cured, blackened, hard limes. The process is overseen by workers who turn the limes throughout the day, ensuring they dry evenly.
Origin:
Alta Verapaz, Guatemala
Aliases:
Limu omani, Persian lime, Omani lime
Process:
Sun-dried, then ground
Tasting notes:
Citrus Peel • Sauvignon Blanc • Leather
