Kampot pepper gets its name from the southern province of Kampot in Cambodia. This province, bordered on the south by the Siam gulf, is well known for its beautiful scenery and the genuine kindness of its inhabitants.
A “terroir” is a combination of natural (climate, soil, hydrology) and human (know-how) factors that dictate the production and elaboration of a product.
Kampot Pepper is grown in some districts of Kampot province and of the neighbouring province of Kep.
The porous soils of the Phnom Voa mountain surroundings are essential to Kampot pepper cultivation as they allow a good drainage of rain water, especially during rainy season.
The origin of a product, the natural environment of the production region, leads to subtle difference of its quality, of its taste, and gives that origin products’ its particular style, and its distinctive character.
Fruits from Kampot region are sought after in Cambodia for their exceptional qualities: coconuts, durian, mangos… and pepper of course.
The region of Kep and Kampot has these specific attributes that make the pepper grown there unique.
From Angkor civilization…
Pepper in Cambodia has a centuries’ long history which precedes the great civilization of the kings of Angkor. The Chinese explorer Tchéou Ta Kouan describes pepper production in Cambodia as early as the 13th century.
To Indonesian wars…
In 1873-1874, war erupted in the Aceh province of Indonesia. Unable to contain the powerful Dutch army, the sultan of Aceh - not wanting to leave this wealth in the hands of his enemies - burned down his pepper plantation. Part of the production then moved to Cambodia, in the Kampot region.
Kampot province witnessed a real “pepper fever” with the arrival of the French colonists at the end of the 19th century. They intensified the production and produced up to 8000 tonnes a year at the beginning of the next century.
In the middle of the 20th century, Kampot Pepper is at its pinnacle. Production which stabilized around 3000 tonnes per year is of exceptional quality. Kampot Pepper is then the spice of choice for the top French restaurants.
In 1975, the Khmer rouge took over the country and put in place a regime of terror that ruled the country for the next 5 years. Land and people were monopolized in order to grow rice almost exclusively.
During this period, 2 million Cambodians disappeared, infrastructure was destroyed, and intellectual elites systematically eliminated. Since the 1998 elections, the country enjoys again a relative calm but everything needs to be rebuilt.
These 5 years of terror and the 30 years of civil war that followed put a stop to the pepper production in Kampot. Pepper farms almost completely vanished and only a few poles remained out of the million still in place in the 60’s.
At the end of the 20th century, producers’ families came back on their ancestral land. Coming from several generations of pepper producers, they naturally cleared the land left abandoned and started cultivating their favourite spice once again.
In 2006, thanks to the support of private business and development organizations, production picks up and recovers its former glory.
Discover the process and story from the roots to your plate. Be sure you are granted by the best quality product from the location protected by certificates.
How its made