Salt & Pepper

  What if there was a way we could replicate the healing magic of the jungle medicine that was grown in the Spice Islands before the dawn of Global Capitalism, East India Tea & Spice Company, and the Spice War Massacre? What is it about that particular Black Pepper, Cardamom, Nutmeg, Clove, and so many more of today’s “seasonings” that created such lust, hysteria, greed, and desire of man? The British, Spaniards, Dutch, and Portuguese were all known to have risked their biggest ships, bravest men, and most skilled captains to sail the seas for years on end to obtain the profound healing powers of the Spice Islands. This could not have been your average black table pepper, agree? Then what was it? After almost 15 years living on the Hawaiian island of Kauai and ten years building our tropical plant medicine farm, I finally had a chance to experience the alluring yet scarce Kauai-grown black pepper. Much to my surprise, the slow-growing vine produced a spicy fruit that resembled a bu