Banasura pepper GI

The semi-wild Banasura pepper is the absolute top pepper from the Malabar Coast Strip. It grows in the Western Ghats, in the Wayanad Valley. Banasura pepper is a mild, hot pepper, partly due to the exceptional size of the berry.

In the Wayanad valley grows this authentic peppersagainst the naturally occurring trees. The area is known for the Periyar Tiger Reserve and is part of the UNESCO-protected Cardamom Hills. The main crops in the Wayanad Valley are coffee, cocoa, and cardamom, and the local black pepper. Banasura pepper is semi-wild; the vines grow against the trees in the forest, in the vicinity of the villages. The pepper plants are fertilized in the traditional way with cow manure and neem leaves (Azadirachta indica), a 'natural pesticide'. Naturally, no chemical pesticides are used.

The plants grow to a height of up to 12 meters, which is very exceptional for a pepper. The pepper in Wayanad is a landrace, a cross between the Karimunda and Panniyur varieties. In this unique setting of the valley, the pepper plant has the opportunity to grow into full, starchy berries for longer than usual. This produces a pepper that is deep red to deep brown, rather than black. The aroma is reminiscent of sandalwood. The pepper has been under Indian Geographical Protection since 2006.

Our Banasura pepper is a Tellicherry – a collective name for large peppercorns from the Malabar region – of the TGEB type (Tellicherry Garbled Extra Bold), with a grain size of 4.25 mm or larger. The pepper originates from Pulpally and is organically grown, just like the coffee and cocoa on the plantation. The harvest takes place at the end of winter and the beginning of summer, in late March. The unique growing method makes harvesting, which is done entirely by hand, time-consuming. Furthermore, our pepper is dried in special rooms and not in the sun, which preserves the already exceptional aromas even better.

The pepper is named after Banasura, one of the highest mountains in the Western Ghats of the Wayanad district, Kerala, India. The mountain, in turn, is named after a mythical character from Indian legends. Pulpally is located about forty kilometers from the Banasura Sagar Dam.

Usage

This particularly tasty black pepper is very suitable for general use.

Features:

• 100% peppercorns from the Piper nigrum var karimunda x panniyur
• protected by the Indian GI label (geographic protection)
• semi-wild
• origin: Wayanad valley, Malabar Strip, Western India

Assortment

• available in glass (60 grams), stand-up pouch (various weight classes) and test tube (10 ml)
• glarger quantities than shown on request

Save

• batch number **220238
• best before November 2028 (11-2028)

Would you like to know how this banasura pepper tastes?

You can also try a test tube. The tube contains enough banasura to fathom the flavor essence.