Herbs and Spices

Every culture on earth has relied upon the natural chemistry found in healing plants for their therapeutic properties. As far back as the earliest days of travel by sea, herbs and spices were among the most important trade items. They were in high demand, relatively light and were easy to transport.
In the beginning traders were able to ask sky high prices for their herbs and spices because they were quite exotic and rare. The traders were secretive about where their spices were grown and even told Herodotus (a Greek historian) that cinnamon grew in the jungles along the Nile River and that it was guarded by large ferocious birds. In fact the cinnamon grew in Ceylon and was across the Indian Ocean on rafts to Madagascar and from there it was taken to the Red Sea.
Sugar and Spice
Pepper started out as a very expensive medicine, but by the time of the Roman Empire, it had become an essential cooking spice. The price remained high and pepper was commonly used as a form of currency. Cane sugar also started to become popular around this time, but like pepper, it was it was used medicinally for centuries before it was used as a food item.
Chocolate and Vanilla
Chocolate flavoured with vanilla was the drink of the Aztec kings. The drink gained popularity in Spain and eventually in Europe. Carl Linnaeus, a famous botanist and physician loved the brew so much that he named it " Theobroma cacao" which means food of the gods. Coffee originally grew wild in Ethiopia but is now most extensively grown in South America.
Where They Came From:
Chocolate: Chocolate is made from the beans of the Cacao tree. It was originally grown in Central America.
Pepper: Pepper was found originally on the south west coast of India. It is still grown there in Thailand and Indonesia.
Cinnamon: Cinnamon is the inner bark of the Cinnamomum zeylanicum tree and grows in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India.
Nutmeg and Mace: Nutmeg and mace grow on tall evergreen trees. They grown in the West Indies and Moluccas
Coffee: Coffee was originally grown in Ethiopia but the Arabs were the first to drink it.
Tea: Tea grew wild in China.
Myrrh: Myrrh is the resin of a shrub and has grown in Somalia since biblical times.
Vanilla: Vanilla is native to Central America.