Tamarind forms and grades explained

"Tamarind" can mean five materially different commercial products, each with its own grading convention, buyer and price point. Most misunderstandings in tamarind trade come from not stating which form is being quoted.

The five forms

Grading the block

Deseeded block is graded by how much seed remains. About 5 percent seed or less is premium, roughly 95 percent seedless. Up to 10 percent is standard. Between 35 and 40 percent seed is economy grade.

Concentrate and Brix

Concentrate is deseeded, deveined and fibre-free, and is traded at 65 to 80 degrees Brix, dark brown in colour. A depectinised (enzyme-treated) variant, at about 65 degrees Brix, is more water-soluble. Brix is a trade convention rather than a regulatory figure, so state the Brix you need.

A note on standards

There is no dedicated Codex standard for tamarind pulp or paste, and no single authoritative numeric standard for moisture, acidity or sulphur dioxide. Specifications are therefore agreed between buyer and supplier, and confirmed by an accredited laboratory. Include the parameters you care about in your enquiry.

India and the sweet-tamarind question

Indian tamarind is typically the sour culinary and processing type. Thailand's sweet tamarind, which has its own Geographical Indication, is a different product for different occasions. They are not fully interchangeable, so match the variety to your end use. Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala are commonly cited as India's leading producing states.

Packing

Block is packed in 20 kg cartons or 25 kg PP bags, and retail units run from 125 g to 1 kg. Concentrate ships in 25 kg HDPE drums, with 200 kg drums for very large orders. Tamarind is dense rather than bulky, so containers are weight-limited rather than volume-limited.

Registration note

In India, tamarind is a Spices Board scheduled spice, which means an exporter needs Spices Board registration. Paste and concentrate have no dedicated HS line and are declared under different headings by different exporters, so agree the code with your customs broker from the first shipment. See HS codes explained.

See the Tamarind dossier for DVG's range.