Black Pepper

Pepper is graded on bulk density, and the number matters more than the name: a 550 g/l berry is heavier, oilier and more pungent than a 500 g/l one from the same field. Buyers who specify only “black pepper, garbled” tend to be disappointed by their second container rather than their first.

We supply garbled black pepper across the usual export densities, cleaned by gravity separation and optical sorting. For extraction buyers, we select on piperine and volatile oil rather than on appearance, which are not the same lot.

What to fix on the specification

• Bulk density: in g/l. 500, 550 or 570+ are the usual export grades.
• Garbled or ungarbled: stated explicitly. The price difference is the cleaning not yet done.
• Light berries: 2% maximum. Density alone can be met while shipping hollow berries.
• Piperine: contract on it directly if your process depends on pungency.
• Volatile oil: for grinders and extractors.
• Moisture: 12% maximum.

Density is a good proxy for value and a poor substitute for the thing you actually need. What 500 g/l and 550 g/l really tell you sets out where the proxy holds and where it breaks.