Black pepper (Piper nigrum) is the flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, also known as a peppercorn. Peppercorns can also be described as pepper, black pepper, white or green pepper.  Black pepper is the world's most traded spice and one of the worlds most commonly used spice. Its spicy kick is due to the chemical compound piperine, and lends a different type of heat than that of capsaicin, commonly familiar with chili peppers. For some more fascinating facts about peppercorns, see this.

At Prima, we are not satisfied with just any peppercorns. Our suppliers know that if a particular lot of peppercorns do not meet our standards, it will need to be returned. Over the years, we have developed a relationship with both growers and suppliers so that they understand our needs. 

Some spice companies look to save money by grinding just the outer shell. The finished product is not too flavorful and quite dusty. Our pepper is ground from the berry itself, resulting in a delicious complexity of flavor, along with the characteristic biting heat of the peppercorn. It has a fruity and full bodied flavor. 

We source our pepper from either the Malabar or Lam-pong regions. These peppers are know for their fruitiness. Each lot is thoroughly inspected to ensure our standard of freshness and cleanliness is achieved.