West Indian Bay Leaves- Katrepis

The West Indian bay or all-spice leaf, pimenta vulgaris, is a highly fragrant and aromatic leaf from a medium sized tree that has notes of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg with hints of vanilla, hence the name ‘quatre épices’ meaning four spices. The leaves are thick and shiny. The colour ranges from a bright green to bottle green.

The darker the leaves, the more mature and robust the flavour of the bay leaf and are used mainly in gamy meat curries like goat and rabbit.