Spices We Offer

‘Ceylon’ cinnamon or ‘True’ cinnamon is the dried bark of the plant Cinnamomum zeylanicum. Blume. During harvesting, farmers cut off mature trees, which need to be processed on the same day.

The process of making cinnamon quills is a laborious technique, which has been handed down through generations. Given the highly specialised skill required, to date no machines exist to replace the human peelers.

First the trees are cut into manageable sizes, and the outer most bark is scraped off using a specialised tool. Then, peelers bruise the inner bark by rolling a brass rod over, which helps the bark to lift off the cinnamon wood.

The inner bark is carefully peeled off using a specialised knife, after which the bark is allowed to dry and then rolled in to quills.

We at PTC Agro, source the most premium grade of cinnamon directly from farmers and peelers. Despite the entry of corporations into the industry of spice processing in Sri Lanka, the bulk of cinnamon that is exported comes from the produce of small farmers and peelers. We always strive to develop business while promoting fair trade and entrepreneurship in rural communities, which is undoubtedly important to ensure the sustainability of these food sources.

Our aim is to provide you with this unique Sri Lankan spice in its most authentic form, allowing you to experience the true taste of our beautiful island nation.

Our product specification is available below for reference.

Undoubtedly pepper is the most popular spice in the world, and Sri Lankan pepper are dried berries of the Piper nigrum. L vine. Globally, Sri Lankan pepper is considered to be the best due to the higher piperine content.

Our pepper is made to pass through a mechanical thresher to separate the berries, following which the fresh berries are blanched in boiling water for few minutes and dried in flat bed air dryers.

Blanching ensures consistent colouration after drying, as well as reducing the drying time required. The use of an air dryer is important to achieve the required moisture content and to prevent the growth of fungi.

Dried berries are sieved to grade them and the berries are graded according to the bulk density.

Our product specification is available below for reference.

Nutmeg is the dried kernel of ripe fruit from the Myristica fragrasn. Houttuyn tree. Though not native to Sri Lanka, the nutmeg planting is well established in the hill country of Sri Lanka similar to cloves. It is believed that merchants travelling the Silk Road first introduced nutmeg in Sri Lanka.

At PTC Agro, stringent controls are practiced when sourcing to guarantee the product delivered to you is only the best. We only source hand picked nutmeg, which is de-shelled to ensure no presence of aflatoxin producing fungi.

Our product specification is available below for reference.

Sri Lankan cloves are the bud of the Eugenia caryophyllata. Thunberg tree. Most of the clove harvest comes from the hill country of Sri Lanka, where the harvesting period extends from December up till April.

We source our cloves from small to medium scale collectors, who posses flat bed air dryers. During harvesting, flower buds and stalks are detached and it is important to dry these to bring down the moisture content below 10% to prevent the formation of ‘khuker’ cloves.

At PTC Agro, all our cloves are stored in gunny bags in well-ventilated storerooms to prevent damage by insects and growth of fungi, which can produce aflatoxins.

Our product specification is available below for reference.