Black pepper (Piper nigrum) is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. When dried, the fruit is known as a peppercorn. Once the peppercorns are dried, pepper spirit and oil can be extracted from the berries by crushing them.

Dried ground pepper has been used since antiquity for both its flavor and as a traditional medicine. Black pepper is the world’s most traded spice. Known as the “King of spices”, it occupies the largest percentage in the international spice trade.

It is one of the most common spices added to cuisines around the world. The spiciness of black pepper is due to the chemical piperine. Black pepper is ubiquitous in the modern world as a seasoning and is often paired with salt.

Pepper spirit is also used in many medicinal and beauty products, and Pepper oil is used as an ayurvedic massage oil and used in certain beauty and herbal treatments. Matale, Kandy, Kegalle, Kurunegala and Nuwara Eliya, are major areas of cultivation, within Sri lanka.

Specifications of Sri Lankan Black Pepper: