An apparatus for conditioning whole dried cloves, including a trough, for inputting a quantity of whole dried cloves into the trough, the trough having a top and a bottom, and a fully flighted screw conveyor for transporting a quantity of whole cloves therethrough. The trough further includes a plurality of steam inputs oriented at the bottom of the trough and a plurality of water inputs located at the top of the trough. The trough further includes an output to which the quantity of whole cloves is passed. The combination further includes a cutting apparatus having an input coupled to the output of the trough, a hopper, a first and second converging slotted conveyor belt, and a rotating knife drum which includes a plurality of cutting knives arranged thereon. Additionally, the combination includes a conveyor dryer having a plurality of independently controlled drying chambers and a conveyor belt for providing said cloves through said plurality of drying chambers.