7 pot chili peppers can boast their heat as being among the hottest found in the world. Originally from Trinidad, they’re a breed of Capsicum Chinense pepper and very difficult to find. In fact, you’re unlikely to find them anywhere other than the Caribbean.
Although people certainly eat them, they’re often used for other purposes – including the prevention of barnacles on the bottom of boats.
Although rare, they’re increasing in popularity among pepper fans, as have hot chili peppers since the ‘90s. Let’s look into some more details about this mysterious chili pepper.
What’s The Origin Of The 7-Pot Chili Pepper?
These chili peppers hail from Trinidad, which is an island within the Caribbean. Supposedly, the name is derived from the idea that if you were making 7 pots of stew, you’d only need to use 1 of these chili peppers to spice them all up.
The scientific name is Capsicum Chinense, which belongs to the Habeneros family. Any pepper in the Habeneros family will be found almost exclusively in the Caribbean and parts of the Americas that are situated close to the equator.
Although 7-pot chili peppers can be harvested in slightly cooler areas, you’re far more likely to source them in tropical and hot climate environments.
With the growing popularity of chili peppers, and certainly the hot chili peppers, their seeds are becoming available outside of their Caribbean homeland – although it’s a slow process currently, so you’re still far more likely only to find their seeds in stores within the Caribbean.
How Do These Chili Peppers Look?
7-pot chili peppers are small – roughly 2 inches high and shaped like a bell pepper with wrinkled skin – however, when they’re ripe, they have a dried out appearance.
Their mother plant can grow much larger and stand about 3 feet high and have large leaves which appear with creamy leaves before they fruit the peppers.
Most 7-pot chili peppers look red, but start off green when they’re growing. However, it is possible to find brown or yellow peppers.
How Hot Are These Peppers?
The heat is somewhat like the Bhut Jolokia but contains a different flavor, which is described as nutty and fruitier. In the Scoville Heat Unit scale (SHU) it’s over 1 million units!
