The climate makes it ideal for growing spices, tea, coffee, cocoa, banana, mango jackfruit, papaya, pineapple, coconut, rice and lots more...
March is the hottest month with an average temperature of 29 degrees and the coldest is June 27 degrees, June is also the month of monsoon, when there is an an average of 341mm of rain.
So this really goes to show why Kerala can succeed in growing virtually anything.
We were in Kerala during second week of March to end of March, each day got hotter and hotter, for me unbearable at times, even the evenings after beautiful sunsets was not much of a relief from the heat.
I was not aware that Kerala had huge tea plantations.
Tea
The tea growing area is in the Munnar hills. We stayed a couple of days in Munnar region. It is beautiful, green, lush and hilly with tea plantations as far as the eye can see in some areas. It is one of the largest tea centres in India. Before 1790 the whole area was just a huge forest.
I had no idea that so much tea was grown in this Kerala region. The weather at the beginning of March in Munnar was 25 degrees, and we had lot of rain over our two nights' stay. By end of March the temperature is around 30 plus degrees, far too hot for me.
So the climate for any growth in Kerala is just right.
Tea Plantation
Spices
I was not really aware of the spices from Kerala, nor its history.
Kerala was a major spice exporter as early as 3000 BC, according to ancient records. Around the 15th Century, the portuguese dominated the eastern shipping trade and the spice trade in particular.
During the 18th century, French, Dutch and British all had a monopoly over the spice trade of India.
Did you know that India produces 75% of the world's spices ?
Much of the spice plantations are in the Thekkady region. We visited Thekkady and I was awe-stuck by the spices grown there.
We were amazed to see spice plantations in the Thekkady region of Kerala and so many spices also just growing on the road sides and spices like pepper and cloves spread out on roof tops left to dry in the sun.
Kerala grows 70% of India's cardamom and the majority of India's black pepper. Black pepper is known as the king of spices.
What did we see in the Thekkady spice growing region ? We saw
- black Pepper
- cardamom green and black (black cardamom are much larger than green and are smoked to give the brown woody colour and smoky taste)
- cloves
- nutmeg
- cinnamon
- star anis
- turmeric
- ginger
- curry leaves
- bay leaves
Some of the spices and other food we saw at the beginning of March.
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| Green cardamom, grows at the base of a tall plant |
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Large cardamom - brown after smoking Pepper is harvested as it begins to turn red on the plant, it is then dried out in the sun and goes black.  
Nutmeg is a really fascinating spice. When it ready to harvest the outer layer splits and ripen the nut that is encased in it.
The nut is surrounded by a membrane and when dry it turns orangey/brownish red in colour, and that is mace. The nut has another layer, which is hard and once cracked it has the nutmeg inside.
 The outer greenish flesh is pickled, the reddish membrane is mace and the nutmeg is the hard brown nut inside the shiny brown casing. All parts of this spice are used.
Spices ready and dry for sale
So much is grown in the Kerala state.
Coffee
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Cocoa
   
Coconut
Sold for drink.
Papaya
Jackfruit
 
Rice harvested, being weighed bagged and ready for transportation.
 
Rice transported by boats to main roads where it is loaded on trucks.
 
Bananas
  
Bay leaf
I feel I learnt a great deal about the spices in Kerala and was just amazed. So, what is a spice ? Well, it is a fruit, a seed, a root, bark, a plant used to flavour food as well as having properties that helps to digest the food.
Spices have hot and cold properties. Some spices are used in the cold weather to provide the body system with internal heat, some are used in the heat to cool the body system.
Some spices are used whole, some are ground and also used whole, a selection of spices are also used together whole and or ground.
Some spices are used in medicine and in cosmetics and perfumes. In Kerala in particular, spices are used in herbal and ayurvedic medicines far more than in the west.
Herbs are stems from plants, leaves or flowers and mainly used for flavouring and garnishing.
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