Chiltepin Chilli Seeds

Chiltepin Chilli Seeds. The Chiltepin (C. Annuum var Glabriusculum) aka Tepin is a land race cultivar native to Southern North America and Northern South America. These perennial plants grow wild in this part of the world and are mainly propagated by birds. The Chiltepin is often also referred to as Tepin, Bird Peppers, Birdseye or Turkey Pepper. Chiltepins can grow for many years in equatorial regions, where they grow enormous into tree like bushes.

The Chiltepin can be a tad tricky to germinate in our experience. But once out of the starting blocks will grow with little fuss. Pods are round to oval in appearance with long peduncles. Pods ripen from a green, sometimes with a dark blush through to a bright orange/red and finally red when fully ripened. In Mexico, Chiltepins are harvested when ripe and sun dried. The small pods lend themselves perfectly to drying and can be turned into a wonderful powder or flakes with relative ease. This having been said, they can also be used fresh.

Tepins are little fire crackers. Given their tiny size, they are exceptionally hot. Eaten fresh their heat is immediate and the burn is well rounded. You get a lovely peppery burn from these. Flavour-wise these tiny pods are minerally and delicately fruit. There is a touch of smokeyness in the aftertaste too. The heat, burn and flavour is very reminiscent of  C. Frutescens. Although the heat is not quite on the level of our local PeriPeri. The little pods are very juicy and buttery inside when fully ripe. Fruity up front with a good firm heat, the burn from Tepins is quick to subside. So much so, that in Mexico Tepins are called Arrebatado, meaning – rapid or violent. We would estimate the heat range to be somewhere from 60,000 – 80,000 SHU.

All round a really delightful plant to grow. Our plant reached a good 60cm in height in our grow season, but will by all indications grow into a giant bush if left to come back every season.