Introduction

Have you ever wondered where your black pepper comes from? Or have you ever tasted freshly harvested pepper right from the plantation? If you find yourself in Kampot, Cambodia, you’re in for a treat. La Plantation Pepper Farm offers a free tour of their farm, and it’s an experience that you wouldn’t want to miss!

La Plantation Tour Experience

Located just a few kilometers from Kampot, La Plantation is a pepper farm that offers daily tours in both English and French. The tour is free, and you get to taste all of the different varieties of pepper at the end! It’s an excellent opportunity to learn about the cultivation of one of the world’s most popular spices.

The tour guide will walk you through the history of the plantation and explain how the different varieties of pepper grow and gain their color. You’ll learn about the harvesting process, the different stages of processing, and the different ways you can use pepper in your cooking.

If you want to see a more in-depth experience of the tour, check out our Kampot Youtube video here!

Tasting the Spice

The highlight of the tour is the pepper-tasting session. You’ll be given a sheet of paper with all of the different pepper varieties on it, and you get to rate each one to remember which ones you liked the most. Make sure you try the ‘Smoky Spice Mix’; it’s a personal favourite and a must-try. My favourite kind of pepper that we tried was definitely the salty pepper!

Aside from pepper, La Plantation also grows other herbs and spices such as turmeric, cardamom, lemongrass, and tea. These spices are used in their pepper blends, which you can purchase at their shop.

The Perfect Souvenirs

The shop also sells a wide range of pepper-based products, such as jams, sauces, and even ice cream! Yes, you read that right – they have vanilla and red Kampot pepper ice cream! It’s the perfect treat to cool you down after a hot day on the plantation. However, I have to say that I think the vanilla ice cream is perfectly good without the pepper addition!

Contributing to the Community

La Plantation employs around 250 people during the high harvest season, with women doing the picking with their nimble fingers and men carrying the bags of peppercorns to be processed. The plantation also has a school of 100 students, which was founded in 2013, to provide education for the children of the plantation workers.

La Plantation pepper farm in Kampot is a real community gem! They provide jobs and training for locals, helping them develop valuable skills. The farm also supports fellow farmers by giving them a helping hand with technical assistance and resources. What’s cool is that they stick to traditional farming methods and promote sustainable practices, taking care of the environment. Also, visitors get to learn all about sustainable farming while enjoying the farm’s charm. It’s a win-win situation, boosting the community’s economy, culture, and environment.

Practical Tips for the Tour

How To Get To La Plantation

The easiest and cheapest way to reach La Plantation is by renting a motorbike for the day and driving through the Cambodian countryside to get there. The drive is relatively easy, there are stretches of dirt road to maneuver along but it’s not too bad!

Another option is to ask a tuk-tuk driver to take you there, this will likely be slightly more expensive but will save you from driving yourself!

Wrapping Up The La Plantation Experience

In conclusion, the La Plantation Pepper Farm tour is an excellent opportunity to learn about the cultivation of one of the world’s most popular spices. It’s a highly informative tour that’s free to enter, and you get to taste all of the different pepper varieties at the end. It’s an experience that’s not to be missed if you’re ever in Kampot. We really enjoyed it and it totally exceeded our expectations!

If you enjoyed this blog, be sure to check out my other Cambodia blogs here! And if you have any questions or suggestions you can contact me via email: tianitravels@gmail.com or via social media. Happy travelling!