Ceylon Pepper is particularly favored worldwide as it is quite rich in piperine, the alkaloid which lends it a distinct pungency. As a result, Ceylon Pepper from Sri Lanka fetches a premium price in the international spice market. Black pepper is widely used as a ‘hot’ cooking spice and seasoning. The taste of Sri Lankan black pepper is richly aromatic, with floral and citrus notes, while retaining a strong pungency.

BLACK PEPPER CULTIVATION IN SRI LANKA

• In Sri Lanka, pepper or the woody perennial evergreen climbing vine, Piper nigrum, is cultivated over an area of 32800 hectares and majorly in the districts of Matale, Kandy, Kegalle, and Kurunegala where it’s grown either as a mono-crop or a mixed crop in coconut and tea plantations using live or dead stands as support. It’s also ideal for home gardens.
• Today, pure origin pepper enjoys a huge demand internationally, and the public is keener to discover spices that originate from a specific “terroir” just like wines. Ceylon Pepper is mainly exported to India, Germany and the USA and enjoys a growing demand from Australia and Canada.

DELVING INTO THE HISTORY

Piper nigrum has its roots in the Malabar Coast in the Indian state of Kerala, from where it was traded from ancient times: peppercorns were discovered in the nostrils of Ramses (around 1300 BC), put there when he was mummified. Romans used it in galore – in the Apicius, Roman cookbook probably compiled in 1st century AD, most of the recipes include black pepper.

Arabs merchants had the monopoly of pepper trade from India for centuries, with Venice and Genoa being the intermediaries for trade into Europe. This monopoly eventually spurred on adventurers like Columbus, Vasco da Gama and Magellan, to explore and find new routes toward the spice lands in the East and contributed to transforming the whole geography of the world at the time.