They were discovered in the Far East, commonly known as the Spices Island. The Chinese were the first who organized the trade on grand scale. Spices were so important in their daily life that they soon became the most expensive goods: in 1100, pepper was sold grain by grain, and as its price was the same as silver's, people in the cities paid all their bills and expenses with pepper grains.

The treasure was kept secret until Marco Polo came back from his legendary trip to the East. It was then that people in Europe, accustomed to eating flavorless meat, went crazy. Spices became even more and more expensive: travels from the Far East to Venice lasted 2 years; 1 out of 5 ships got lost during storms or in pirates' hands; taxes were paid in each country that was crossed. As a result, the final price of spices was 100 times higher than its production cost.

But the Europeans were so avid for spices that the most famous travels at that time had the aim of discovering new routes to get to the Spices Island in shorter time and at lower costs- throughout a planet in which there were lots of places to be explored. Thanks to this trips, Magellan went around the world for the first time, Vasco da Gama went around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, and mainly, Christopher Columbus discovered America. Through the search of these precious spices, man began to discover and explore the planet.

Nowadays, Alicante offers the best flavors brought from the four corners of the world in order that this long history - built up by so many men throughout centuries - remains in your own kitchen.

info@especiasalicante.com.ar