Seasons

Jahreszeiten from Altes Gewürzamt, one species in five stages of maturity

Jahreszeiten from Altes Gewürzamt is a blend of a single species of pepper in five stages of maturity. Green, black, white, red, and Tellicherry sit side-by-side, ranging from fresh-grassy to fully ripe-pungent, finely ground and ready to use without a mill.

Jahreszeiten is the spice blend from Altes Gewürzamt in Klingenberg am Main, packaged in a 90-gram tin. All peppercorns originate from Piper nigrum in India—the same species that produces common black pepper—here presented in five stages of harvest.

From fresh-grassy to fully ripe-pungent

More complex than any other pure blend, Jahreszeiten has a unique fragrance because it brings together the same berry in five different life stages.

The green peppercorn provides a fresh, grassy note; the white, a mild spice; the black and Tellicherry, a robust depth; and the red, a fruity ripeness. Fresh, nutty, fruity: this tin contains the entire history of a single plant.

All five stages originate from the same vine, separated only by the time of harvest. Green is the unripe berry, carefully preserved to maintain its color; black is the same unripe berry, briefly scalded and sun-dried, causing the skin to shrivel and darken.

For the white pepper, the fully ripe berry is soaked in water until the fruit skin can be rubbed off. The red is the rarest, as it is harvested fully ripe and dried with the skin intact, which requires patience and dry weather. Finally, Tellicherry is a grade consisting of the largest berries from a late harvest on the Malabar Coast in southwestern India.

A fine all-rounder for the table

As a table seasoning, Jahreszeiten is versatile, as meat, fish, vegetables, and salads readily absorb its well-rounded spectrum.

Its complexity shines pure on a simple buttered slice of bread with egg, or over quickly seared meat. Because it is already ground, you can add it directly to your dish—no mill required.

If you truly want to distinguish between the five stages, sprinkle a small amount on the back of your hand and taste it slowly. First, the grassy notes come through, then the mild warmth of the lighter grain, and finally, the heat. The fact that all the peppercorns come from a single species in India is what makes this comparison honest in the first place.

Ground spices have a shorter shelf life than whole ones, as essential oils escape from every fractured surface. Therefore, keep the tin closed and stored in a dark place, and consume the contents within months rather than years. Those who prefer whole peppercorns will find them in our black Tellicherry pepper, and the red Kampot pepper shows exactly how a single fully ripe berry tastes on its own.

One plant and the right harvest time

The reason the same plant tastes so different depends on ripeness; the later it is harvested, the fruitier and more pungent the result. This specific expertise is distilled into Jahreszeiten, compiled by the masters at Altes Gewürzamt.

Piper nigrum vines climb up support trees, bearing their berries in long, hanging clusters. Because the berries on a single cluster never ripen at the same time, the harvest date determines the color in the tin: early picking yields green and black, while late, individual harvesting yields the red.

Incidentally, pink peppercorns are not part of this mix, as they grow on a completely different tree and carry the name incorrectly. At Altes Gewürzamt, Jahreszeiten can be found in our pepper selection, the grainiest section of the Altes Gewürzamt spice assortment.