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75 grams, granules
Umami, spicy, and with a subtle smoky flavour
Grind just before use: the aromatic compounds dissipate quickly.
Coarsely ground, the smoky flavor is best appreciated. Delicious over an egg or pasta dishes.
No pepper mill, no problem. You can also use a mortar and pestle or crush them.
Whole peppercorns add a subtle kick to stews and soups. And those who love a bit of spice will then eat the peppercorns ;-)
This pepper has a relatively high pungency with 7-8% piperine.
Delicious with many vegetables and meats, but also with strawberries and blackberries.
This black pepper starts with a refined umami flavour, characteristic of the local pepper variety. This is followed by a subtle smoky taste, which results from the peppercorns being partly dried over fire. But make no mistake: the pungency quickly follows and then comes through powerfully. You only need a little to spice up your dish.
The farmers of Eko Land grow this black pepper in a food forest in the interior of Sri Lanka, where this climbing plant grows against other trees.
Eko Land was founded by father and son: Nihal and Remon. Two completely different characters who perfectly complement each other. A few years ago, they returned to their family land to realise their dream: an eco-lodge and sustainable spice production together with the local community. They facilitate the drying of the spices, share their knowledge, and look for new markets for the products.
How is this chain structured?
All our chains have their own story. Their own piece of land, their own farmer. It is cultivated and processed in a specific way. Join us on a journey into the story behind this flavour.
The farmers of Eko Land cultivate black pepper in food forests in the interior of Sri Lanka.
Black pepper is a climbing plant that grows well against other trees. This makes it very suitable for a traditional food forest: the Kandyan Forest Garden. In these forests, 50% is pure nature, 40% is mixed nature with trees and shrubs that yield agricultural products, and 10% is for human use only, often vegetables.
This method of cultivation is naturally organic and provides habitat for a wide range of wild animals.
Growth cycle: Black pepper has two growth cycles per year, one in autumn and one in spring. When exactly the black pepper is harvested depends on the micro-climate of the pepper. There can be weeks of difference between one side of the hill and the other.
Black pepper is harvested by hand to select unripe berries. After harvesting, it is briefly boiled, partly dried in the sun and partly in a wood-fired oven.
Jawid - The Spice Change
"Since 2022, we have worked together with The Good Spice on a shared mission: to support poor families, while providing our customers with healthy products and fairly rewarding farmers for their hard work—building a sustainable business and hope, together."
Let's make an impact!
Each supply chain not only has its own story, but also its own challenges. We would like to tell you what impact we make per supply chain and how we deal with specific challenges.
The black pepper comes from our own land or from small-scale farmers in the community. These farmers receive 10 to 20% above the market price, depending on the market price.
The community is supported by Eko Land providing employment and paying a fair price for local spices.
The Kandyan Forest Gardens maintain biodiversity.
Together with the Forest Healing Foundation, 10% of Eko Land's profits are donated to new spice trees and the preservation of forest areas at risk of destruction.
There is a shortage of labor because young people are less interested in agricultural work, due to its low social status, physically demanding nature, and limited income.
In Sri Lanka, there are tensions between population groups, exacerbated by economic challenges, which sometimes lead to severe shortages in the country. Both of these factors pose challenges for Eko Land.
Air, light, and moisture are detrimental to the quality of your spices. Therefore, store them in a well-sealed jar or tin that is opaque (or in a dark kitchen cupboard or drawer). Also, do not store them above your stove, as cooking fumes can reach them there. Always ensure that you transfer spices from a repack into a well-sealable jar or tin as quickly as possible.
The shelf life of spices is primarily determined by the loss of flavour that occurs over time, as they generally do not spoil otherwise. We use a shelf life of 2.5 - 3 years after harvest. This depends partly on the time of packaging and also on whether they are whole spices that you grind yourself or pre-ground powder.
Spices found in supermarkets are often already 2-3 years old before they are even packaged, and then they are given another 3-5 year shelf life. Always use your senses to assess if they are still good. At some point, they simply lose all flavour, which is a waste for a nice meal!
We do not have organic certification, despite our spices meeting these standards. All farmers work in harmony with nature and without pesticides, but the certification process is unfortunately very expensive. For small farmers, it's virtually unaffordable. And we want to show them that it is worthwhile to grow spices sustainably. That there are people willing to pay for a quality natural product and that they don't first have to make a huge, impossible investment in the form of a certification.
Some of our farmers do have the certificate, by the way. Cooperatives, for example, can apply for the certification process jointly, which makes it much more affordable. But to be allowed to put this on the packaging, our entire chain would also have to be certified, including the Social Workplace where the spices are packaged. This is currently not possible because they also work for other non-organic producers. So, in short: no, we are not officially certified, but the quality and way of working are at least as good.
Single Origin means that a product comes from one specific place. Often, harvests from different places, sometimes even from different countries and different years, are mixed together. Traders do this to develop the cheapest possible product with a consistent taste. With us, you know exactly where your spices come from, right down to the name of the farmer. This also means that the quality can sometimes vary, as it is a natural product. For example, one year may be drier than another, which can lead to a change in taste. But our farmers always strive for the highest possible taste experience, and you can taste it!
We always strive to purchase the latest harvest. Of course, it can sometimes happen that we still have some harvest in stock, while the new harvest is already ready. So we cannot always guarantee that you will get the very latest harvest, but we do strive for that as much as possible. On the packaging, you will find a QR code leading to a page where you can find out exactly when your spices were harvested and when they were filled into the tins/bags. With this, we aim for complete transparency in our process.
We ship to most European countries, but this will, of course, involve higher shipping costs. Would you like to order from a country, but are unable to? Please contact us so we can look at the options.
At the Siza Social Workplace, they do their utmost to pack the parcels the day after the order. If it's busy, it might take a day longer. They don't work on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, so if you order on a Thursday, for example, it will take a bit longer for your parcel to be shipped.
Once the parcels are ready, they are picked up by the Groene Rijders and delivered by their bicycle couriers in the areas they serve, or outsourced to PostNL. Depending on how busy they are, they also aim to deliver within 1 working day.
