Meet Our Black Peppercorn

Better spices start at the source. Our pepper is sourced from multiple small-holder farmers deep in the hilly region of the Western Ghats in Kerala, India, this black pepper varietal, Panniyur, grows in a dense forest area in a tropical zone. This pepper is commonly found in coffee estates, but local farmers have expanded to growing cocoa, nutmeg and vegetables to maintain diversity and sustenance. Once the flowering pepper plant matures, the pepper is hand harvested, sun-dried then sorted and graded. This pepper is mellow and fruity to compliment our teas.

Botanical name: Panniyur

Origin: Kerala, India

Harvest date: May

Processing: Hand harvested, sun dried, milled fresh 

Farm type: Small holder farms

Food’s oldest spice. Peppercorns have been used to season food and aid in digestion for at least 4,000 years. Pepper plants produce stone fruit called drupes that encase a single pepper seed. It is from this seed that black, white, green and red peppercorns are produced. Black pepper is derived from unripe drupes that are cooked, dried and fermented whereas as white peppercorns are the naked seed from ripe fruit soaked in water.