Black Voatsiperifery Pepper

Voatsiperifery pepper, is also called “Madagascar wild pepper”

Botanical properties of Madagascar wild pepper

Pepper is defined in botanical terms as the fruit of a creeper from the Piper genus, and the Piperace family. Voatsiperifery is the fruit of the Piper Borbonense vine. Voatsiperifery grows in the wild in the tropical forests of South-East Madagascar. Its name comes from "voa" which means fruit and "tsiperifery" which is the name of the plant in Malagasy.

Harvesting is dangerous making this rare pepper even more precious 

This very rare pepper is harvested between October and December, by the Malagasy villagers. The harvest is a perilous task as the creeper grows up to 10 metres high and the fruit only grows at the very top. 5kg of fresh peppercorns are needed for 1kg of dried pepper.

Where does Voatsiperifery pepper come from?

Voatsiperifery pepper is a wild well-preserved treasure from Madagascar

The island of Madagascar, off the coast of Mozambique, has a tropical climate which favours the growth of a wide variety of fruit, vegetables and spices. These include pink peppercorns, world-famous vanilla and wild Voatsiperifery pepper. You need to head off deep into the tropical forests far from the towns to discover where it grows.

Picked by hand with age-old expertise, fully respectful of biodiversity

This rare pepper is harvested by local villagers. They alone are skilled enough to climb to the very top of the creepers to pick the pepper. It’s a dangerous task as the creepers can grow up to 10 metres high where the pepper thrives in full sunlight at the very top of the trees.

During the harvest, neither the tree nor the creeper are cut, to protect the sustainability of this rare pepper. The peppercorns need to be left out to dry for several days, and are then sorted meticulously by hand before this wild pepper can be exported.

Voatsiperifery Pepper