Piper guineense

This peppersOort is known by various names: (African) cubeb pepper, gorilla pepper, and - under this name we sell this one - Ashanti pepper. Great confusion is caused on the internet by this genuine one. peppersEasily confused with grains of paradise, also known as Guinea pepper, but it is not true pepper. Grains of paradise are ginger-like.

What's in a name? Piper guineense is a cubeb pepper; that little tail is inextricably linked to the skin of the berry. This is also the case with Voatsiperifery and the Indonesian cubeb pepper (Piper cubeba), which is considered the true cubeb. In practice, the African cubeb is often shortchanged by using cubeb in African spice blends, but instead using the Indonesian variety. There are reasons for this other than taste. African cubeb and Indonesian cubeb share the little tail, but they taste decidedly different.