Cultural Cartography

The Spice Routes

14 spices. 60,000 tons. Rivers of colour.

Every tagine is a trade route. Cumin from Alnif, saffron from Taliouine, black pepper from Vietnam via the Indian Ocean, cinnamon from Sri Lanka via the same Arab maritime networks that brought it a thousand years ago. The souk is where these routes converge — and where a $4/kg spice at origin becomes $25 in Paris. This is the supply chain behind every Moroccan meal.

core spices

mapped origin to plate

grown in Morocco

6 imported via Casablanca

~70K

tons/year consumed

estimated domestic market

ras el hanout ingredients

"head of the shop" — the master blend

The 14 Spices

Click any card to expand. Price bars show origin → souk → Paris escalation. Markup shown at right.

Saffron3×

Zaâfrane● grown

Origin

$2000/kg

Souk

$3000/kg

Paris

$5000/kg

Cumin6×

Kamoun● grown

Origin

$4/kg

Souk

$8/kg

Paris

$25/kg

Paprika6×

Felfla Hlouwa● grown

Origin

$3/kg

Souk

$6/kg

Paris

$18/kg

Mint12×

Naânaâ● grown

Origin

$1/kg

Souk

$2/kg

Paris

$12/kg

Black Pepper6×

Elbezar○ imported

Origin

$5/kg

Souk

$12/kg

Paris

$30/kg

Turmeric10×

Quekoum○ imported

Origin

$2/kg

Souk

$5/kg

Paris

$20/kg

Coriander8×

Kozbor● grown

Origin

$2/kg

Souk

$4/kg

Paris

$15/kg

Ginger7×

Skinjbir○ imported

Origin

$3/kg

Souk

$7/kg

Paris

$22/kg

Cinnamon4×

Karfa○ imported

Origin

$8/kg

Souk

$15/kg

Paris

$35/kg

Anise6×

Nafaâ● grown

Origin

$3/kg

Souk

$6/kg

Paris

$18/kg

Caraway6×

Karwiya● grown

Origin

$4/kg

Souk

$8/kg

Paris

$22/kg

Fenugreek5×

Helba● grown

Origin

$3/kg

Souk

$6/kg

Paris

$16/kg

Cloves4×

Qronfel○ imported

Origin

$12/kg

Souk

$25/kg

Paris

$45/kg

Nutmeg4×

Gouza○ imported

Origin

$15/kg

Souk

$30/kg

Paris

$55/kg

Ras el Hanout

“Head of the shop” — the master blend. 17 ingredients. Every attar (spice merchant) has a different recipe.

Cumin 12%

Coriander 10%

Turmeric 10%

Paprika 10%

Black Pepper 8%

Ginger 8%

Cinnamon 8%

Nutmeg 5%

Cloves 5%

Cardamom 5%

Allspice 4%

Anise 4%

Fenugreek 3%

Rose petals 3%

Lavender 2%

Long pepper 1.5%

Mace 1.5%

Cumin 12%Coriander 10%Turmeric 10%Paprika 10%Black Pepper 8%Ginger 8%Cinnamon 8%Nutmeg 5%Cloves 5%Cardamom 5%Allspice 4%Anise 4%Fenugreek 3%Rose petals 3%Lavender 2%Long pepper 1.5%Mace 1.5%

Price Escalation: Field → Souk → Paris

Every spice gets more expensive the further it travels. Saffron: $2,000/kg at origin, $5,000 in Paris. Cumin: $4 at origin, $25 in Paris. The souk is the inflection point.

Mint

$12

12×

Turmeric

$20

10×

Coriander

$15

8×

Ginger

$22

7×

Cumin

$25

6×

Paprika

$18

6×

Black Pepper

$30

6×

Anise

$18

6×

Reading Notes

The Local Eight

Eight of fourteen core spices are grown in Morocco: cumin (Alnif), paprika (Béni Mellal), saffron (Taliouine), coriander (Meknes), anise, caraway, fenugreek, and mint. These represent the indigenous flavour base. Everything else arrives through Casablanca port.

The Indian Ocean Six

Black pepper, turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg all arrive via trade routes that predate the nation. The same Arab maritime networks that brought cinnamon from Sri Lanka a thousand years ago still supply Casablanca today — only the ships changed.

The Saffron Exception

Saffron is the only spice where Morocco controls the entire chain from field to plate. Taliouine produces 90% of the kingdom's crop: 200,000 flowers hand-picked for one kilogram. It has PDO protection. The markup from Taliouine to Paris is 2.5×. For cumin, it is 6.3×. Scale matters.

Spice Origins — Mapped

The tagine is an atlas. Cumin from the Anti-Atlas. Saffron from Taliouine. Cinnamon from Sri Lanka via a route older than the nation that eats it. Black pepper from Vietnam. Cloves from Zanzibar. The souk in Marrakech or Fes is where these routes converge, and where a woman's hand measures what a thousand years of maritime trade delivered. Every pinch is a map.

Sources

Spice origins, trade routes, and culinary uses from field research, ONSSA (National Office of Food Safety) import records, and FAO agricultural trade data. Saffron: Taliouine cooperative data, PDO registry. Ras el hanout composition: composite from published recipes and attar interviews (Marrakech, Fes). Prices approximate based on 2024 souk surveys, European retail averages, and wholesale source-country data. Volumes estimated from domestic consumption models. Mint classified as aromatic herb, not spice, but included for cultural significance.