After smelling a dozen samples, Harry showed the group a little vial with the inscription Timur Pepper Pure Jungle Essence. “This is the one I am most excited for you to smell.”

Blotters were gently dipped into the golden liquid and passed around to the 10 Keap team members sitting at our studio’s communal table in early 2024. “Smell it first, and then I’ll tell you what you are smelling.”

“Oooh!”

“Aaah…”

“What… what is this? I’ve never smelled anything like it!”

After smelling more vials, this was the one that everyone wanted a second whiff of.

Dear reader, here is the story behind what we smelled that day.

A Medicine Born of the Mountains

Zanthoxylum armatum is a deciduous shrub with dense foliage, prickly branches, and deep red berries that, when dried, reveal fragrant Timur peppercorns. It grows in sunny and semi-shaded temperate climates and is native to moist, mountainous regions in Southern Asia. ¹ Born where mountains, forests, and water meet, Zanthoxylum armatum is the result of convergence.

In traditional medicine, every part of the antioxidant and antimicrobial plant has a novel purpose. ^2,3 Its fruits have been pickled to treat fever and the common cold, steeped in water to ease stomach ache, and powdered to ward off chest infections. Its twigs have provided relief in times of tooth pain, granting it the nickname “Toothache Tree” in some cultures. ^4,5 Its wood has been fashioned into fishing rods for sustenance and shaped into walking sticks to steer difficult journeys.

Through the ages, Zanthoxylum armatum has served as equal parts companion and protector. And it continues to be an essential resource in the communities where it grows.

Cultivating Community

The Timur pepper in our new candle hails from the Salyan district in the mid-mountains of Nepal. This land of rugged beauty is primarily inhabited by the Khas people—many of whom rely on agricultural exports to make a living. Timur is now the main non-timber forest product in the region, and roughly 450-650 tons of it are cultivated annually. ¹ 

Once ripe red berries freckle the Zanthoxylum armatumplant, local women start their picking. After hand-cultivating enough tiny berries (careful to avoid the shrub’s prickles as they go), they spread their haul out to dry and shrivel in the sun, revealing the prized peppercorns within.

As the first step in the value chain, these women have historically been undermined and undervalued for this meticulous work. They’ve had to sell Timur to extractive middlemen who paid pennies for the product with no guarantees that they’d buy it again next year. Without a stable long-term income, many women have had family members travel to India or Qatar in search of more reliable work, putting households and communities at risk of splintering.

Our new partner, Mane, a multigenerational family-owned fragrance house, seeks to provide income stability to these remote Nepalese cultivators by engaging in mutually beneficial, long-term relationships. Instead of working with middlemen, Mane buys Timur directly from 75 households across Salyan and pays the high, stable price the luxury product deserves. ⁶ This helps families make a predictable living wage, stick together, and plan for larger expenses like home repairs.

Mane also funds the construction of rainwater reservoirs in the regions they partner with. This type of community involvement aligns with our mission at Keap: to foster deep connections to the natural world and the people who carefully tend to it. 

Under the Same Moon

Timur pepper is a centerpiece of spiritual and religious rituals across Asia. Notably, the Tharu people of Southern Nepal incorporate it into their Maghicelebration, which marks the full moon during the eleventh month of the Hindu calendar. ⁷

During Maghi, loved ones gather for a traditional feast of rice, lentils, fish, and meat prepared on a chula (earthen cook stove). The spice of Timur pepper is incorporated into the meal to offer strength and protection for the months ahead.

Nature-based celebrations like these are important features of Indigenous traditions across the world. ⁸ Through many of these rituals, the moon is a common thread, serving as a marker of time, a source of wisdom, and a symbol of fortitude. The moon’s light can only be seen in darkness, yet on it hinges the entire world. As poet Hila Conkling writes in Moon in October:

The moon sits by her crystal window; 

She sings to herself and spins.....

Spins the pale blue silken thread

That holds earth dangling

Over deep light.....

The steady, universal moon up above and the reverence it evokes below is the inspiration for the name Timur Moon.

A Candle of Contrasts

Timur Moon is unlike any candle you’ve smelled before: It is at once bright and dark, spicy and smooth, with notes of bark and grapefruit (Zanthoxylum armatum belongs to the same family as citrus plants). It’s fruity, but not sweet; floral without being pungent. Members of our Keaper Lab have described it as "balanced," "musky," and "cozy,” all agreeing that its scent is enigmatic, singular, and difficult to put into words.

It’s only recently that perfumers were able to isolate the complex fragrance of Timur into an oil. Traditional fragrance extraction methods like essential oil distillation apply too much heat and essentially “burn off” Timur’s delicate scent. Mane’s cutting-edge supercritical fluid extraction method protects Timur’s aromatics by applying high pressure but very little heat. The result smells incredibly like the actual plant in all its mesmerizing complexity.

When you take a whiff of Timur Moon, this innovative Timur Pepper Extract is primarily what you’ll smell. The six additional ingredients—all of which are 100% plant-derived and 100% biodegradable in accordance with our new natural fragrance standards—help reinforce and balance its profile to work effectively in a candle.

Timur Moon is a reflection of tradition and a feat of science — a voyage to faraway lands and a journey to the depths within.

Whether you light it while cooking for loved ones or taking a moment to yourself to journal, in the light of early morning or under a sky littered with stars, we hope it acts as the moon itself: a guiding light, a centerpiece of ritual, and a reminder that we all exist under the same sky.