Don't let these cute and colorful little spheres fool you.. they're all firecracker. They originate from northern Peru and have only fairly recently been made available outside of the native villages. The Aji Charapita has an incredible fruity flavor that you would expect from a chinense but then also contains its companion, the intense heat. But our experiences with the chile indicate an intense, but short lived heat at the front of the mouth. The brightly colored fruit of the Aji Charapita when harvested, is considered one of the most expensive chile peppers in the world due to the difficulty in harvesting large quantities.

Some Aji Charapita facts..

• Origin:  Peru
• Species: Capsicum chinense
• Scoville heat units:  30,000 to 50,000 SHU
• Heat relative to a Jalapeño:  4 to 20 times hotter
• Primary use:  cooking, fresh, dried, powdered, sauced