As one of our first four original spices circa 2019, our black pepper will always have a special place in my heart. This time five years ago, I was driving the winding road up into the lush hills of Thirunelly, Kerala to meet Parameswaran and Akash, the father-son duo behind your Aranya Pepper. It was the start of a beautiful relationship centered around shared values, hard work, and the most incredible, flavorful peppercorns.
It’s sometimes hard to describe the flavor complexities of a spice that’s such a normal part of our everyday cooking. Unlike spices like saffron or turmeric, pepper has little glamor attached to it. And yet, it has been our consistent bestsellers, and showered with so much love by all of you over the years that it is the only Diaspora Co. spice that you can purchase a subscription to!
What really makes our Aranya Black Pepper stand out is its complexity and ability to elevate any dish you add it to. Its smoky heat is as good in a date night Cacio e Pepe as in hurriedly made weekday fried eggs. It’s also great to balance out the sweetness in jams, tarts and cookies, and adds a lovely kick to a Kadak (aka stiff) Spicy Chai.
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Parameswaran and his son Akash have been growing pepper on their family farm in Thirunelly, Kerala for over 35 years. Their biodiverse farm is home to passion fruit vines, coffee, ginger, rice, birds, insects, fungus, elephants and even tigers—a rich ecosystem that contributes to the pepper’s complex tasting notes.
Unlike your grocery store pepper, Aranya Black Pepper is vine ripened and hand harvested at peak ripeness throughout the season (often up to eight times!) which ensures that each berry is bursting with flavor and aroma. What you get in your tin are fresh, fragrant, whole peppercorns. We’ve noticed most folks who try it very quickly turn into staunch Aranya loyalists, there's really no going back. We’ve even had a customer tell us their toddler, who has only ever had Aranya Black Pepper in his food, actually refuses food seasoned with a different pepper. Now that’s what we call a ringing endorsement :)
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P.S. THANK YOU for our biggest Black Friday ever! We sold over 25k spice tins over the four days of our sale—wild! We're so incredibly grateful. To celebrate, we're sending some festive spirit your way! Starting today through December 15th (aka our holiday shipping deadline), any order above $110 gets the delicious gift of free cookies! The five signature cookies have been created by brilliant NYC-based baker Laurie Ellen Pellicano, and feature Diaspora Co. signature spices like Chai Masala and Anamalai Cacao. The flavors? Milky Moringa, Salted Chocolate, Saffron Honey, Crunchy Millet Rusk and Sumac Hibiscus Cranberry! Once your cart value crosses $110, the cookies get added in automatically. A lil' sweet treat from us this festive season! 💝🍪
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Diaspora Co. 6631 Saroni Drive Oakland, California 94611 |
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