Pepper
15 fragrances with this note
Part of accords: Warm spicy, Fresh spicy
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- Latin name
- Piper nigrum
- Family
- Pepper family (Piperaceae)
- Origin
- India (Kerala), Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Madagascar
- Parts used
- fruits (peppercorns) — black, white, green
- Raw materials
- essential oil, CO₂ extract
- Extraction
- steam distillation or CO₂ extraction
- Olfactory group
- spicy
- Position in the pyramid
- top note
- Synthetic substitutes
- rotundone, caryophyllene, pinene (components of the oil)
Pepper is the fruit of a tropical vine that climbs trees. Black, white and green pepper come from the same plant: green is unripe fruit, black is dried unripe fruit, and white is ripe fruit without its outer skin.
How it smells: dry, spicy, fresh and slightly woody, with shades of pine and lemon zest. In perfume pepper does not burn: the pungent piperine is not volatile, so all that remains of pepper is a bright, lively spark.
Pepper adds energy and character to a fragrance, especially in the opening. It makes fresh compositions livelier and warm ones more modern, which is why it is loved in masculine and unisex fragrances alike.
What it pairs with: with bergamot and grapefruit — a fresh spicy opening, with rose — a modern “peppered rose”, with vetiver and cedar — dry woody compositions, with incense — resinous-spicy ones, with Ambroxan — modern masculine fragrances.
Good to know: in the Middle Ages pepper was called “black gold”: it was used to pay taxes and even dowries, and maritime powers fought over the trade routes to India.
Fragrances with Pepper
