Vanilla Milk: Vanilla, Ghee & Tellicherry Pepper

Elaka's Vanilla Milk is a rich, milk-based frozen treat made with vanilla bean, cardamom, sea salt, Tellicherry black pepper and ghee. It tastes like the vanilla you know, only deeper: creamy and sweet, with a soft savory warmth from the ghee and a gentle tingle of pepper at the finish. It's gluten-free.

Vanilla gets called "plain" a lot. We think that's unfair, and this flavor is our case for the defense. Here's the story behind Vanilla Milk, a closer look at the famous pepper from our founder's home state of Kerala, what it tastes like, and how to serve it.

The story behind Vanilla Milk

Vanilla Milk is one of our house flavors, and it shows what Elaka is about. We took the most familiar frozen dessert flavor there is and built it the way we'd build it at home: with whole spices, real vanilla bean and a few ingredients you might not expect.

It's a rich blend of cardamom, vanilla bean, sea salt, Tellicherry black pepper and ghee. Each one has a job. Vanilla brings the sweetness and the perfume. Cardamom, the little green pod Elaka is named after (elakka is the Malayalam word for it), adds a bright, warm note. Sea salt makes every other flavor pop. Ghee gives it a toasty, buttery richness. And Tellicherry pepper adds a quiet spark that makes you go back for another spoonful to figure out what it was.

There's a minty cousin, too. Karen's Peppermint Vanilla Milk starts with the same base and adds all-natural peppermint extract. Same great flavor, now with a refreshing twist.

Tellicherry pepper: Kerala's famous peppercorn

Our founder, Shafna Shamsuddin, grew up in Kerala, on the southwest coast of India, and that stretch of coastline, the Malabar Coast, is one of the most storied pepper regions in the world. Black pepper grows wild in the forests of the Western Ghats, the mountains that run behind the coast, and many botanists consider the region its native home, although some sources hedge and say only that it's native to South or Southeast Asia.

Pepper from this coast has been traded for a very long time. In Roman times, ships rode the monsoon winds to the Malabar Coast and returned with huge cargoes of pepper, much of it loaded at the ancient port of Muziris. Pepper was so valuable that it was sometimes called black gold.

Tellicherry pepper takes its name from Thalassery, a town on the Kerala coast that was once known as Tellicherry. Today the name refers to a grade of black pepper rather than just a place. Tellicherry peppercorns are the larger berries of the harvest. The most commonly cited minimum is a diameter of about 4.25 millimeters, though spice suppliers describe the finer sub-grades a little differently. The berries are left to ripen longer on the vine before they're picked and sun-dried, which is why Tellicherry pepper tends to taste fuller and more aromatic, with a fruity, warm heat rather than a sharp bite.

In a frozen dessert, that's exactly what you want. A little Tellicherry pepper doesn't make Vanilla Milk spicy. It makes it interesting.

Vanilla, ghee and sea salt

Vanilla comes from the seed pods of a tropical orchid. The Totonac people of what's now Veracruz, Mexico, are widely credited as its first cultivators, and Mexico was the world's main source of vanilla for centuries. Today most of the world's vanilla comes from Madagascar. Using real vanilla bean, rather than flavoring, gives you those tiny dark specks and a rounder, more floral taste.

Ghee is clarified butter, cooked until the milk solids turn golden and give it a nutty, toasty aroma. It's a cornerstone of South Asian cooking and sweets, and in Vanilla Milk it adds a richness that cream alone can't quite match. Sea salt ties it together. A pinch of salt in a sweet dessert is an old trick, and it works every time.

What Vanilla Milk tastes like

The first spoonful is pure comfort: sweet, creamy, fragrant vanilla. Then the cardamom shows up, followed by the buttery depth of the ghee. Right at the end there's a small, warm glow from the pepper and a hint of salt that makes you want more.

It's familiar enough for the pickiest eater at the table and layered enough for the person who orders the most unusual thing on every menu.

Key ingredients: milk base with cardamom, vanilla bean, sea salt, Tellicherry black pepper and ghee.

Dietary: gluten-free. Vanilla Milk is made with milk and ghee, so it isn't vegan. Our badges describe the ingredients in each flavor and are not a promise that a product is free of any allergen, so please check the label on your pack every time and contact us with any allergy questions before you order.

How to serve and pair it

Affogato style. Put a scoop in a small glass and pour a shot of hot espresso or strong coffee over it. The pepper and cardamom love coffee.
With ripe fruit. Sliced mango, peaches or a warm, caramelized banana make Vanilla Milk feel like a whole plated dessert.
As the base of a tasting flight. Its gentle flavor makes it a perfect starting point next to bolder flavors like Q'ahwa or Kulfi.

Where to find Vanilla Milk

Order a Vanilla Milk 4-pack, or choose it in a mix and match 4-pack from all flavors. It's also in two curated packs:

Kerala Roots: with Plantain, Jinn's Peanut Unda and Kulfi, the flavors closest to where Elaka began.
Midnight Cravings: with Kulfi, Rose and Strawberry Hot Chocolate, for when a craving hits.

Both curated packs contain nuts, so check the badges if you're shopping for someone with an allergy. Every order ships frozen on dry ice. See how shipping works.

Frequently asked questions

Is Vanilla Milk spicy?

Not really. The Tellicherry black pepper adds a gentle warmth at the finish, not heat. Most people describe it as vanilla with extra depth.

What is Tellicherry pepper?

Tellicherry is a grade of large, fully ripened black peppercorns from the Malabar Coast of Kerala, India, named after the town of Thalassery (once called Tellicherry). It's known for a fuller, more aromatic flavor than standard black pepper.