According to a German proverb, annoying fellow beings were told in the Middle Ages to "Go where the pepper grows!". They were to disappear to an inconceivably distant land from which there was no return. Because originally, Piper nigrum was only native to the Malabar Coast in Southern India. Now, however, it is now cultivated in numerous tropical countries.

The nutmeg tree is indigenous to the Banda Islands in the South Moluccas of Indonesia, the Spice Islands. In the 18th century, a naturalist managed to smuggle seedlings out of the country and introduced the plant to Mauritius and the Ile de Bourbon. It was from there that the spice took the world by storm. With its very subtle aroma and characteristically hot spicy, slightly bitter taste, it's hard to image modern households without it.

Mace is the purple-coloured aril around the nutmeg seed. Mace, which when dried turns a golden-yellow colour, has an even subtler taste than oily nutmeg, and is one of the most expensive spices in the world, after saffron.

Cloves have a long history. They were well-known and coveted in China and India centuries before the birth of Christ. Nevertheless, they only found their way to Europe during the heyday of the Roman Empire. In those days, the main trade centres of the spice trade were Alexandria and Constantinople. The further history of the clove tree, which comes from the Moluccas, is closely tied to that of the nutmeg tree.

Cardamom is one of the oldest and most valuable spices in the world, taking third place in the price list after saffron and vanilla. Its history can be traced back 5000 years. In Ancient Greece and Rome, cardamom essence was used in perfumes for its pleasant fragrance. In Arab countries, cardamom capsules are an essential ingredient to coffee and tea.

Cinnamon is one of the oldest known spices. The cinnamon tree is native to Sri Lanka. Ceylon cinnamon, also known as "true cinnamon", is traded as the highest quality type of cinnamon, due to its very subtle, balanced, sweet, warm-aromatic and fiery aroma.

Native Americans named vanilla the "black flower". When the Spanish came across it on their conquests, they even called the orchid the "Queen of Spices". What would cakes, tarts, biscuits, ice-cream or even chocolate be today without the seductive aroma of the tropical plant? Vanilla refines perfume, lends brandy a bitter taste, and aromatises not only coffee and cocoa but also tobacco. Even medicine now makes use of several of its healing substances.