Cubeb (
Piper cubeba), or
tailed pepper is a plant in
genus Piper, cultivated for its
fruit and
essential oil. It is mostly grown in
Java and
Sumatra, hence sometimes called
Java pepper. The fruits are gathered before they are ripe, and carefully dried. Commercial cubebs consist of the dried
berries, similar in appearance to
black pepper, but with stalks attached – the "tails" in "tailed pepper". The dried
pericarp is wrinkled, and its color ranges from grayish-brown to black. The
seed is hard, white and oily. The odor of cubebs is described as agreeable and
aromatic and the taste as pungent, acrid, slightly bitter and persistent. It has been described as tasting like
allspice, or like a cross between allspice and black pepper.