Kampot Black Pepper PGI (Cambodia)
In brief — Kampot is the black peppercorn that smells of eucalyptus and green citrus instead of dusty heat. Picked just before it turns red and sun-dried for a few days, it gives a clean, bright bite that wakes meat up without flattening it. Cambodia's PGI grain — the reference for Asian pepper. A 50g tube runs about $12, and you grind it fresh, at the end. Its aromatic profile develops notes of eucalyptus, dried white flowers, green citrus, extended by cedar and light menthol, for an intensity of 8/10. In the kitchen, it's best added as a finishing touch and it pairs with seared steak, sautéed crab, roasted fish. Recommended dosage: two or three turns of the mill, ground at the end of cooking or raw over the plate. Expect from $10.00 to $16.00 per 50g (1.76 oz) tube (median $12.50).
Origin : Kampot and Kep provinces, Cambodia (PGI)
Piper nigrum
Kampot is the black peppercorn that smells of eucalyptus and green citrus instead of dusty heat. Picked just before it turns red and sun-dried for a few days, it gives a clean, bright bite that wakes meat up without flattening it. Cambodia's PGI grain — the reference for Asian pepper. A 50g tube runs about $12, and you grind it fresh, at the end.
Pepper · Black pepper
Kampot Black Pepper
Kampot and Kep provinces, Cambodia (PGI)
eucalyptus · dried white flowers · green citrus
Aromatic profile
| Family | Piper nigrum |
|---|---|
| Intensity | ●●●●○ (8/10) |
| Main notes | eucalyptus · dried white flowers · green citrus |
| Secondary notes | cedar · light menthol |
| Mouthfeel | a clean, fresh heat that wakes up the saliva without the rough burn of a supermarket peppercorn |
| Finish length | long, with an airy menthol finish |
Culinary use
- When to add : finishing
- Dosage : two or three turns of the mill, ground at the end of cooking or raw over the plate
- Ideal pairings : seared steak, sautéed crab, roasted fish, scrambled eggs, green mango salad, aged cheese
- Avoid with : dishes already heavy on eucalyptus or menthol, very long simmers (the fresh top notes cook off), acidic marinades
The grain in detail
Kampot black pepper is the volume heart of Cambodia's PGI. The berries are picked tender and green, just before they turn red, briefly blanched to set the color, then sun-dried for three to four days on mats. That Khmer method gives a matte black grain with a faint brown cast, and an aromatic signature unlike any Indian or Indonesian black pepper. The nose is immediately fresh — eucalyptus, green citrus, dried white flowers — with none of the cocoa heaviness of African peppercorns. On the tongue the heat arrives clean and direct, no rough burn, trailed by a menthol coolness that wakes up the saliva. That freshness makes it the right grain for dishes that are bold but delicate: pepper crab (Cambodia's national plate), beef lok lak, roasted fish, soft scrambled eggs. Grind it at the very end or raw over the plate — a long simmer cooks off the top notes you paid for, so this is a finishing pepper first. PGI growers work tiny family plots, training vines that live twelve to twenty years up exotic-wood posts, hand-harvesting from January to May. La Plantation, Bo Tree Farm and Kampot Pepper USA are reliable names. A good grain is dense and uniform, with no brown dust at the bottom of the jar — that dust is the tell of careless drying. Worth the upgrade over commodity black pepper; it is a different flavor, not just a better one.
History & origin
Noted by Chinese travelers as far back as the 13th century, Kampot pepper hit its commercial peak under the French protectorate, when it filled the mills of grand Parisian houses. The Khmer Rouge (1975-1979) all but wiped it out — vines torn up, growers killed — and it survived only on a few wild plants revived in the 1990s. Cambodia's first-ever PGI, granted in 2010, brought roughly 400 family farms back to a workable trade.
Provenance & authenticity
What sets the real thing apart — appellation, species and verification cues.
- Protected appellation
- PGI/IGP
- Register : EU eAmbrosia EUGI00000016985 (national GI 2010)
- Year : 2016
- Authority : EU eAmbrosia GI register
- Species
- Piper nigrum
How to verify the real one
- KPPA Kampot Pepper Promotion Association certification mark
- EU PGI logo on label
- origin: Kampot/Kep provinces, Cambodia
- traceability lot number
Indicative price
Reference format : 50g (1.76 oz) tube — from $10.00 to $16.00 (median : $12.50).
Storage
Keep whole in an opaque jar away from humidity. Grind at the last moment. Best within 24 months.
Where to buy?
Where to buy it
Prices checked on
| Merchant | Price | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon US | — | Amazon US |
| Sous Chef UK | — | Sous Chef UK |
| Kampot Pepper USA | — | Kampot Pepper USA |
Prices may vary depending on current promotions on the merchant site.
Alternatives if unavailable
Tags
- PGI
- Cambodia
- black pepper
- Piper nigrum
- Kampot
- finishing pepper
Frequently asked questions
- How do you store Kampot Black Pepper?
- Keep whole in an opaque jar away from humidity. Grind at the last moment. Best within 24 months.
- What dosage for Kampot Black Pepper?
- two or three turns of the mill, ground at the end of cooking or raw over the plate
- When should you add Kampot Black Pepper in cooking?
- It's best used finishing.
- What should you avoid pairing Kampot Black Pepper with?
- Avoid with: dishes already heavy on eucalyptus or menthol, very long simmers (the fresh top notes cook off), acidic marinades.
Go further
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