Add Some Spice to Your Life with Cardamom!

Variety is the spice of life, so we thought we'd add some ground cardamom seed powder to our ingredient mix at TheMadOptimist.com! Cardamom powder is derived from green cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum), an herbaceous, perennial plant in the ginger family.

“It's a very mild exfoliant, and it adds a sort of sweet, spicy scent,” according to one of our resident soapsmiths, Anthony Duncan. Just how mild is it? Somewhere between a soft kitty's ear and a tomcat's whiskers.

We've found cardamom's light scent blends best with clove, lavandin, lavender, and patchouli, and we've whipped up some suggested recipes for you to try:

Ebony Spice

This deep-black bar combines activated charcoal with cardamom powder for a powerfully seductive blend of spice and earth.

Classic Clove + Cardamom

This time-tested recipe was our very first with cardamom, and it's always been a favorite.

Zesty Bouquet

This scent blend pairs nicely with Cardamom powder, and brings out the sweetness, as well as the spiciness of our newest add-in. (Pro-tip: This scent blend also works wonderfully as a bath soak!)

Rather experiment with your own cardamom concoctions? Get started now!