Himalayan Sichuan Pepper
30 grams
Sichuan pepper is not "hot" like chili pepper (capsaicin), but causes a unique, tingling and numbing sensation on the tongue and lips, known as málà. Furthermore, Sichuan pepper contains fresh citrus aromas.
The aromatics are in the brown skin of the fruit.
The fewer black seeds, the more intense the flavor. Briefly toasting in a dry pan activates the aromas.
Sichuan pepper can also be cooked for a long time, but is more often used as a finishing touch before serving.
A mix of Sichuan pepper and sugar is a surprising sprinkle spice, e.g., on your granola or fruit salad. It pairs well with: aubergine, avocado, potato, mushrooms, tofu, chicken, pork, fish, maple syrup, orange, pear.
Blends in which it is used include Five spice, Chinese chili oil, and shichimi togarashi.
Spice friends are ginger, cumin, cardamom, star anise, cassia cinnamon, chili,
nutmeg & mace
Let's start with a small rectification. This pepper is not actually a Sichuan pepper, as it doesn't come from Sichuan, but from Nepal. The correct name would therefore be Timur pepper, but because more people know the term Sichuan pepper, we have kept that name.
This Timur pepper grows natively in the Himalayan region. The botanical name of the Timur pepper plant is Zanthoxylum alatum, and this plant bears small berries with a red-brown color.
The berries are dried, after which they break open and small black seeds emerge. The spice is also called grapefruit pepper because the husks smell and taste like citrus fruits.
How is this chain structured?
All our chains have their own story. Their own plot of land, their own farmer. It is grown and processed in a specific way. Journey with us to the story behind this taste.
We collaborate with farmer Shambu Kumar Thakuri, a pioneer of regenerative agriculture in his community. He is supported by Green Intelligence. This Nepalese-Dutch social enterprise focuses on restoring degraded mountain landscapes through
environmentally conscious farming.
Sichuan pepper is not related to black pepper. The medium-sized trees can be found in many regions in Asia. This Nepalese variety, Timur pepper, is known for its strong orange aroma.
In Nepal, there is a long tradition of collecting non-timber forest products as a source of income.
Timur is a branched, climbing or upright shrub or a small tree up to 6 meters high with dense foliage. The branches have thorns up to 2 cm long. The species naturally occurs as an understory species in forests and in clearings at altitudes between 1000 and 2100 meters. According to farmers, timur grows best in places with deep, moist soils that are also exposed to the sun.
The trees are primarily dispersed by birds, which enjoy the fruits. During digestion, seeds are scarified, which stimulates germination.
However, it can also be propagated vegetatively through cuttings of branches or by planting the seeds.
Timur regularly flowers around April to May and yields consistent fruit harvests throughout the years. However, hailstorms in spring can destroy the flowers.
Let's make an impact!
Every 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.
We work with farmer Shambu Kumar Thakuri, a pioneer of regenerative agriculture in his community. He is supported by Green Intelligence. This Nepalese-Dutch social enterprise focuses on restoring degraded mountain landscapes through environmentally conscious agriculture.
Green Intelligence was founded in 2021 to increase biodiversity and to manage the land in a more sustainable way, benefiting both people and nature from the developments.
A very big problem in a lot of agriculture is monoculture and the disappearance of biodiversity. Green Intelligence helps farmers create a 'Multi Layered Forest' for much greater biodiversity and more income for the farmer.
Frequently asked questions
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Air, light, and moisture are detrimental to the quality of your spices. Therefore, store them in a tightly 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-sealed jar or tin as quickly as possible.
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The shelf life of spices is primarily determined by the loss of flavour that occurs over time, as otherwise, they generally don't spoil. We apply a shelf life of 2.5 - 3 years after harvest. This depends partly on the time of bottling and also whether they are whole spices that you grind yourself or pre-ground powder.
Spices in the supermarket are often already 2-3 years old before they are even packaged and then receive an additional shelf life of 3-5 years. Always use your senses to assess if they are still good. At some point, they simply won't have any flavour left, which would be a shame for that beautiful meal!
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We do not have organic certification, even though our spices do meet these standards. All farmers work in harmony with nature and without pesticides, but the certification process is unfortunately very expensive. For small farmers, it is actually 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 have to make a huge impossible investment in the form of certification first.
Some of our farmers do have the certificate, by the way. Cooperatives, for example, can apply for the certification process jointly, which makes it a lot more affordable. But to be able to put this on the packaging, our entire chain would also have to be certified, including the sheltered workshop where the spices are packed. 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.
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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!
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We always strive to purchase the latest harvest. Of course, it can happen that we still have some old harvest in stock when the new harvest is already ready. So we cannot always guarantee that you will receive the very latest harvest, but we do strive for it as much as possible. On the packaging, you will find a QR code to a page where you can find exactly when your spices were harvested and when they were filled into the tins/bags. With this, we aim for full transparency in our process.
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We ship to most European countries, but this will, of course, incur higher shipping costs. Would you like to order from a country, but are unable to? Please contact us, so we can explore the options.
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At Sociale Werkplaats Siza, they do their utmost to pack the parcels the day after the order. When it's busy, it might take an extra day. 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 Groene Rijders and delivered by their bicycle couriers in their delivery areas, or outsourced to PostNL. Depending on the workload, they also aim to deliver within 1 working day.