Kampot is renowned for the very high quality of its pepper where the best soil, climate and hydrology conditions converge to provide an ideal growing environment.
As a result, Kampot Pepper is the only pepper in the world to have attained Protected Geographic Indication (PGI), similar to Champagne, Cognac or Stilton Cheese. The PGI status was ratified by the European Union on 18 February 2016.
Originating in India, pepper (Piper nigrum L) is a vine that climbs up trees or poles planted in the ground reaching up to 10m tall. There are 2 types of pepper grown in Kampot - and on our farm - which qualify for the PGI status: Kamchay and Lampong, known locally as big leaf or small leaf pepper. The corns grow on a string, known as a “spike”, that grows up to around 10cm long, each producing up to 50 to 60 peppercorns per spike. As with most fruits, the corns turn red when ripe.
Black pepper is derived from the about to ripen, green berries, dried in the sun. The red pepper is produced from the red, ripe berries, and the white pepper is made from red peppercorns with the skins removed. Red and white corns are hard to produce and make up a small percentage of the pepper crop. Birds enjoy the taste of the ripe berries and are likely to get to them before we do, therefore we harvest the spikes when only the first half dozen or so berries have turned red.
