Malabar Black Pepper, Whole

Details

Pepper from smallholder vines in Wayanad, on the Malabar side of the Western Ghats, where the vines climb living trees rather than concrete posts. The spike is left on the vine until the first berries turn red, which is late, risky, and the reason the corn is heavy and the piperine high. After picking the berries are blanched, sun-dried on mats for four to five days, then garbled so only bold corns above 4.75 mm remain.

• Single-origin Wayanad, not a multi-country blend
• Hand-garbled: no light berries, stalk or dust
• No mineral oil, no artificial shine or darkening
• No papaya seed or other bulking material
• Sold whole, because ground pepper loses most of its aroma within a month