Hot Pepper Seeds,
Chilhuacle Negro

Essential for authentic mole sauce, this rare, chocolate brown pepper native to La Cañada, Oaxaca, may be one of the oldest domesticated pepper varieties on Earth. It has one of the richest flavor profiles of any pepper, with heat ranging from 1,200 to 2,000 SHU on the Scoville Heat Scale. The two-inch, bell-shaped fruit is smoky and earthy, with a mildly spicy kick. Fresh, it can be used for rellenos or in soups. Dried, the complex flavor notes emerge to exhibit flavor notes of dried plum, licorice, and tobacco. The fruit matures from green to dark brown as it matures.  According to the Slow Food Ark of Taste, chilhuacle is today grown in small quantities, primarily in the San Juan Bautista Cuicatlán municipality of Oaxaca by the Cuicatecos and Chinatecos Indigenous peoples who inhabit the region.