Chocolate Bhutlah Pepper – Among The Spiciest

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The number of “superhot” pepper varieties is always growing larger. Through cross breeding, the frontier of spice seems to be expanding every year.

One of the long-standing superhots is the chocolate bhutlah pepper. This variety was an early entry into the world of cross breeding peppers to create something new and extra-spicy.

Chocolate Bhutlah pod in hand
Chocolate bhutlah pepper.

Chocolate Bhutlah Pepper Overview

The chocolate bhutlah was initially created by crossing the 7 Pot Douglah and the bhut jolokia (ghost pepper). These were already among the hottest varieties available, and cross breeding them created something even spicier.

This makes the chocolate bhutlah a part of the Capsicum chinense species where all of the hottest peppers come from.

The peppers ripen from a light green to a deep brown color (hence the ‘chocolate’ naming). However, don’t assume this pepper tastes anything like chocolate!

  • Pod shape & size – The peppers grow to be 2-3″ in length and have a teardrop shape. The ends are usually pointed and the skin is folded.
Chocolate Bhutlah pepper top
Chocolate bhutlah pepper from top.
  • Planting – Plants can become very large in a single season, 5 feet or taller. This is true of most C. chinense species plants.
  • Flavor – The chocolate bhutlah has an earthy flavor with slight sweetness and a mild bitterness. Ghost peppers are more floral, while the 7 pot douglah is a Caribbean variety known for fruitiness.

Chocolate Bhutlah Scoville Rating (Heat)

As we’ve established, the chocolate bhutlah is one of the hottest peppers in the world. However, the Scoville Scale gives us an objective look at how hot the pepper really is.

In short, the chocolate bhutlah pepper can be as hot at 2,000,000 SHUs on the Scoville Scale. This places it near the very top of the list of hottest peppers in the world.

Chocolate Bhutlah peppers ripe
Ripe chocolate bhutlah peppers.

If you are looking for a pepper with a unique color and scorching heat, this may be the perfect one for you. Growing chocolate bhutlah peppers is just as easy as any other superhot.


Chocolate Bhutlah vs. Carolina Reaper

The Carolina reaper was the hottest pepper in the world for about a decade, but some have said that other peppers feel hotter. In the real world, the chocolate bhutlah is definitely as close as it gets to being equal.

Carolina ReaperChocolate Bhutlah
ScovilleUp to 2,200,000 SHUs2,000,000 SHUs
SpeciesC. chinenseC. chinense
ColorRedBrown/burgundy
Size1-2″2-3″

Perhaps the chocolate bhutlah seems just as hot due to its larger size. A single reaper will typically weigh less than a single chocolate bhutlah.

In any event, the chocolate bhutlah is a seriously hot pepper with a completely different look and flavor. The Carolina reaper is a small, red pepper with wrinkly skin and a pointed stinger. The chocolate bhutlah is larger, brown, and has smoother skin and a simple teardrop shape.


Chocolate Bhutlah Seeds and Growing

If you want to grow your own chocolate bhutlah peppers, seeds are fairly easy to find online. Get seeds here, or try our list of the best places to buy pepper seeds online here.

Growing the chocolate bhutlah is easy, too. Use our detailed guide to growing ghost peppers from seed here. Keep in mind that superhot peppers take longer to grow and ripen than most other pepper varieties.

Chocolate Bhutlah pepper
Chocolate bhutlah pod.

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Calvin

One of the original Pepper Geeks! When Calvin isn’t gardening or learning more about peppers and botany, he might be traveling new places or playing some music.

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4 Comments

  1. I grew chocolate bhutlahs for the first time in the 2022/23 season.
    I had two plants that I grew from seeds and they gave me about 60 peppers but the plants a4e smallish at about 2.5 feet in height. They both grew in 10 gallon grow bags so that might be the reason for their lack of size.
    They were easy, but slow to grow (I live near Brisbane, Australia) with one of my plants still producing peppers well into Autumn.
    The heat of the chillis is extreme, on par with the Carolina Reapers and Chocolate Scoprions I also grow, so I dry the Bhutlahs and grid the into powder for use in curries.

  2. Family and I have a farm. We plan to grow nut trees one day, for now we are experimenting with pepper varieties.

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