Next: about 15 Oct to 11 Feb 2027
Zanzibar clove harvest
From July to December, Pemba and Unguja pick the flower buds of the clove tree, climbing tall trees by hand.
Spices for Zanzibar clove harvest
Zanzibar, the "Spice Island", grew into the world's main source of cloves in the 19th century, after the Omani sultan had trees planted on plantations worked by enslaved people. Today the harvest runs for several months, led by Pemba island: pickers climb the evergreen trees, pluck the pink flower buds before they open, spread them on mats in the sun and dry them until dark brown. The state buys the cloves, and the clove oil is distilled from the stems and leaves. The spice is a common thread of Swahili cooking, in pilau, tea and biryani.
The spices
Also part of it, and being written: Pilau (Swahili rice spiced with cumin, clove and cardamom.).
Written by the EveryMasala desk with AI assistance. Background: "Clove" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Cinnamon: Luc Viatour, CC BY-SA 3.0, source