Kampot pepper comes in four forms, Green, Black, Red and White. All of these varieties come from the same plant and are just different stages in the fruits maturity.

+ Green pepper is the unripe berry of the pepper plant. It is harvested before maturity and must be consumed within three days of picking. It has a very fresh citrus flavour and is less spicy than the dried variety. It is simply wonderful when cooked with any type of seafood, but particularly crab.

+ Black pepper is the sun-dried product of Green Pepper. The unripe berries are picked when just starting to turn from green to yellow, blanched and left to dry in the sun on bamboo mats for three to four days. Black Pepper, when stored correctly, can last many years. Once it is ground the pepper loses its full flavour in only a few days, which is why a pepper grinder is always a good investment.

+ Red Pepper is the sun-dried product of the fully ripened berry, the berries are left to turn red on the vine before harvesting. The berries must be picked at the right moment before they spoil, are blanched and dried in the sun for three to four days. The red peppercorns are then individually sorted by hand. Red Pepper is a much rarer and premium pepper with a unique flavour which is sweeter, more full and rounded, but with less heat than Black Pepper. Red Pepper is considerably less common than black or white pepper and is in extremely high demand.

+White Pepper comes from fully ripened berries. The berries are left to ripen on the vine, and once fully matured to a bright red colour are picked and placed in hot water until the skin falls away. The off white core of the peppercorn is then sun-dried for three to four days. White pepper has a very different characteristic to Black or Red Pepper as elements of flavour are removed with the outer skin. White Pepper is used where the colour of Black or Red Pepper would spoil the visual effect of food, for example in a white sauce.