Pepper 101

With high marks for “enticing” aroma and complex flavor, and with only “moderate” heat, tasters praised these peppercorns for a “beautiful scent,” “like licorice, sweet and spicy; rich, a little smoky,” “winey,” “floral,” with a “hint of sweetness,” and a “fruity” taste with “mild heat that gradually builds.” Tasters enjoyed notes of pine or eucalyptus and an aroma “reminiscent of a fire on a cold day” or “like newly varnished wood” that was “smoky, earthy, sweet—a very nice pepper.”

“Spicy but not hot,” this organic Lampong pepper from Indonesia (sold by a San Francisco-based spice company) won our initial supermarket-brand tasting, and was the only non-Tellicherry pepper to make it to our final lineup. It won praise for being “very fragrant and floral and piney, very spicy,” with notes of “cinnamon” and “citrus,” “sharp and fresh” with “some good berry notes.” “The heat came at the end—a slow burn.” In sum: “A classic pepper—what I expect pepper to taste like.”

“This smells like green peppercorns, ripe, pungent, sharp and hot,” noted one taster of this pepper from a Michigan-based gourmet catalog and retailer, while others described its “creeping heat and lovely floral undertones,” including “herb, lavender, and rosemary,” and called it “bright,” “lively,” and “grassy, with balanced heat and spice, nice and aromatic.”

With a “bright, fresh scent” and a “mellow bite,” this pepper from a Baltimore spice purveyor was described as “floral” and “fruity” with hints of “currants,” “mulling spice,” “nutmeg,” and “orange,” while others less flatteringly mentioned “slightly pungent barnyard flavors,” “gravelly undertones,” and “no depth of flavor.”

While several tasters noted this supermarket pepper’s “very nice” “floral” aroma, with notes of “coffee grounds, clove, turpentine, pine” and “menthol,” they also noted that, compared to other samples, it was “bland” and “flat” and offered “not as complicated or layered flavors.” Overall: “Taste is unremarkable.”

Tasters enjoyed this gourmet spice purveyor’s offering for its “piney, rosemary scent” with “citrus” and “lavender” notes, but many complained of “a lot of burning heat” that was “not very pleasant.” “I taste mostly heat, not flavor,” said one unhappy taster. “It finishes very hot but without much depth.”

With a “super strong aroma” that was “very appealing—piney, citrus, fresh Christmas tree,” these peppercorns from the Chicago spice purveyor founded by a branch of the Penzey family also came across with a peppery intensity that “is really assertive—a smack-you-in-the-face kind of heat.” “It reminds me of Fireballs, sharp and somehow sweet.” But reactions were mixed: Several found it “slightly bitter” and “stale.”

Tasters noted this pepper’s “mild aroma and flavor”—described as “soft,” “faint,” and even “dull”—and “barely detectable heat.” What little flavor and aroma tasters did perceive they mostly liked: “almost like cloves or allspice,” “a cinnamony aroma” that was “a little chocolatey on the finish.” Overall: “Not great; smells better than it tastes.”