The Spice Trail

Kate Humble goes on the trail of some of the world's most valuable spices revealing their history, trade, mythology and usage.

Storyline

Kate Humble goes on the trail of some of the world's most valuable spices revealing their history, trade, mythology and usage.

First Aired

2011-02-17
Last Aired

2011-03-03
Creator

Paul Sapin
Genre

Documentary
Seasons

1
Episodes

3
Status

Ended
Language

English
Network

BBC Two

Keywords:

spice travel discovery social & cultural documentary exotic

Stream and watch The Spice Trail

Season 1

1. Pepper and Cinnamon

The first episode sees Kate Humble retraces the steps of fifteenth century explorers as she heads for ...More

The first episode sees Kate Humble retraces the steps of fifteenth century explorers as she heads for India and Sri Lanka, the birthplaces of pepper and cinnamon. On India’s spice coast, she tells the story of pepper, the most consumed spice in the world. She does the pepper dance to shake the berries from their stalks and meets farmers fighting a disease that is destroying crops. In Sri Lanka, the story moves to cinnamon and she learns how the spice is harvested and cinnamon quills are made. She also witnesses the negotiations of local farmers trying to sell the crops they rely on to make their living.Less

60mins 2011-02-17

2. Nutmeg and Cloves

Indonesia is the setting for the second episode and the spices covered are nutmeg and cloves. These tw...More

Indonesia is the setting for the second episode and the spices covered are nutmeg and cloves. These two spices, grown on an archipelago of volcanic islands, drew European explorers in search of wealth but also led to massacres of local people and the decimation of their culture. Kate Humble meets the people who rebuilt their lives and communities around nutmeg and cloves and discovers how the battle for these spices led to the beginning of the British Empire in North America.Less

60mins 2011-02-24

3. Vanilla and Saffron

The final episode takes in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco and the plains of Spain for the world’s most...More

The final episode takes in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco and the plains of Spain for the world’s most expensive spice, saffron, before crossing the Atlantic to Mexico in search of vanilla. In the Atlas Mountains, she joins a local saffron farmer and his family to harvest their crop. In Spain, she joins a blind tasting to sort out the genuine from the fakes and meets the man who tests the DNA of saffron. In Papantla, the birthplace of vanilla, she meets the Totonac, the original guardians of the spice. She witnesses a fertility dance and comes face to face with the people determined to keep Mexican vanilla alive in the face of competition from other producersLess