Ahhh Cardamom… this spice has got to be one of my faves, if not my fave. I add it to my coffee by grinding it fresh with the beans. It also goes well with chocolate 🙂
I came to love this spice through my friend Hannah. Every time I see a recipe that has coffee, chocolate and cardamom in it, it reminds me of her. We have done a few foodie experiments involving cardamom.
This awesome spice hails from India, comes from an evergreen tea and is a member of the ginger family. It is very common in Indian and Arabic cuisines.
Health Benefits of Cardamom
As cardamom is a member of the ginger family, it can be used similarly to ginger – for digestion/gastrointestinal issues such as constipation, heartburn, flatulence, stomach cramps, liver and gallbladder complaints.
Cardamom is also useful for the common cold, cough, sore throats, nausea, bronchitis and asthma.
Cardamom can also assist with dental health issues such as bad breath and cavities! All you need to do is chew on the pod and seeds, simple as that 🙂
What a super spice!
Another thing that cardamom claims to do is negates the effects of coffee. Cardamom contains chemicals that can neutralise the acid from the coffee.
When I first started writing this post, I was grinding my beans with my Vitamix (which I have now learned is now a big no-no in the coffee snob world).
Now that I’ve got my fancy schmancy pro grinder, it is not recommended to grind anything other than beans in a proper coffee grinder. I’ve added ground cardamom to the freshly ground espresso but the flavour does not come out when I extract the espresso. So I’ve added pods to the milk when frothing and steaming the milk. This works.
However, a better way I found, is to put the ground cardamom into a capsule and consume it after having my coffee (or during, doesn’t matter either way).
Unfortunately, coffee affects my sleep–so any way to help negate the effects, I will do… as giving up coffee is not an option 😛
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