Cardamom is picked by hand, one pod at a time, across several passes through the same plants as each one ripens. It is among the most labour intensive spices in the world, which is why it has been among the most expensive for centuries.
Ours are picked at full maturity and dried carefully so the pod stays green rather than bleaching pale. A good pod is plump and closed, and rattles very slightly when shaken. Split one open and the seeds inside should be near black and slightly sticky, not pale and dusty.
Buy pods, not ground cardamom. The pod is the container that holds the oil in. Once it is broken the clock starts, and ground cardamom is noticeably flat within a couple of months.
If a shop is selling cardamom cheaply, check the colour. Pale, papery, open pods have usually been sitting for a long time or bleached to look uniform.
