Our spin on a traditional Ethiopian spice blend that can be found anywhere throughout the country, with slightly different variants, Berbere is a somewhat spicy blend, with a touch of sweetness that tastes good on just about anything. Even delicious vanilla, coconut or pineapple or ice cream. Known as a peppery and fragrant blend, which is so bright and vibrant in color, which illuminates a radiant flamboyancy that is hard to miss.

 

Story behind our unique name...

It is said that scholars of the Amharic language believe that the name ‘barbare’ came from ‘papare,’ the Ge’ez word for pepper (Ge’ez was the language of ancient Ethiopia). In Amharic (now the state language of Ethiopia), ‘barbare’ means pepper or hot, like ‘papare.’ Berbere spice, is a common and largely used flavor of Ethiopian cooking which gives traditional dishes their spicy fiery kick. The constituent spice of Berbere is paprika (itself a ground spice made from Capsicum peppers), but the final blend could be made from up to 20 spices.We wanted to take on a more ancient name to our Ethiopian inspired spice blend giving homage to Ethiopian’s history all the back to the Axumite Empire. The Axumites controlled the Red Sea Route and the Silk Road, brought spices from Asia to Africa, into their galleys, which were loaded with black pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, clove and turmeric, among other exotic spices.

Ingredients: Organic Cayenne Chile Powder (35,000 SHU), Organic California Paprika, Organic Crushed Red Pepper Flakes, Organic Fenugreek, Organic Cloves, Organic Ginger, Organic Turmeric Powder, Organic Ground Cardamom, Organic Black Pepper, Organic Cumin, Sea Salt, Organic Coriander, Organic Korintje Cinnamon, Organic Allspice