7 Pot Chili Varieties

Among the hottest chilli varieties from the Caribbean, it has the fruitiest taste. If you can stand the fiery burning of this pod, you will also be pampered with a wonderful smoky and nutty aroma.

Originally, the 7 Pot Chili comes from the Caribbean island state of Trinidad and Tobago1. The small island state belongs to the Lesser Antilles and has only 1.3 million inhabitants. Thus a single pod of the 7 Pot Brain Strain reaches as much SHU as there are inhabitants of Trinidad. Because their chilli peppers are hot up to 1,300,000 Scoville Heat Units2.

Fresh 7 Pot Chillies are hard to come by and if they are, they are considered treasures. On the Caribbean islands, however, they grow in abundance. So much that the local navy uses the high capsaicin content for painting their ships. The offset colour slows down the growth of the hull with barnacles and algae. This keeps the boats streamlined and makes them faster.

Some of the many varieties of 7 Pot Chili have great similarities to Moruga Trinidad Scorpion and Carolina Reaper Chili. There have been some discussions as to whether they are related or even identical varieties. In fact, the 7 Pot Chocolate looks like a cross between a Habanero chocolate and Scorpion Chili. However, once the subject was boiled up, many chili growers finally accepted it as their own variety.

Perhaps its nutty aroma has convinced critical growers. It can hardly be compared to the chemical taste sometimes said for Bih Jolokias.

All 7 Pot Chilis belong to the species Capsicum chinense. This species name was given about 200 years ago under a false assumption. Differently than the name suggests it does not come originally from China. Only after the discovery of America Capsicum plants reached Asia and spread fast in China. Capsicum chinense originally come from the Amazon basin and were spread by birds mainly in the Caribbean.

The plant, a little over a metre tall, forms quite heavy, brown pods. It carries a lot and with a green thumb you can harvest a few kilos of chocolate brown chillies after about 6 months.

With a Scoville value of 800,000, brown Seven Pot are quite mild.

Unfortunately there are hardly any seeds left. In fact, we could not determine whether Merlot and Burgundy were different varieties. The designation probably aims at the beautiful wine red color.

The history of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is marked by the slave trade. A Dougla is a hybrid with African and European roots. Whether the Douglah carries the variety name because of the beautiful coffee brown color or because it was bred from different cultivars? Both are possible

Ripe fruits shine in a bright red-orange. Incredibly beautiful. Primo is the nickname of the breeder Troy Primeaux.

A young and sharp member of the 7 Pot family. The fruits of the 1.2 meter high plant reach on the Scoville scale between 800,000 and 1,350,000 SHU. Sharper than the Naga Morich, not quite as sharp as the record holder Carolina Reaper.

All the varieties listed here reach more than 0.8 million Scoville. The sharpest also reach up to 1.35 million SHU. Depending on the variant, this chili has a degree of sharpness of 9 or 10.

The 7 Pot Chili fruit is especially suitable for chilli sauces and chilli powder because of its great taste and the unspeakable hotness. Mainly ripe, red or yellow pods are used. Unfortunately, the green capsules of this chili plant are not so tasty.

Remember to wear gloves. This variety is very spicy and can cause severe pain when touching sensitive areas.

To make a chilli sauce yourself, bring water to the boil. Add the cleaned chilli peppers without stalks and seeds.

Mix the sauce with a blender. If you better wear protective goggles, chili will be very painful when it comes into your eyes. Season the puree with salt and vinegar. Many still like the juice of fruit and tomatoes in the homemade chili sauce. Also try to make a relish or chutney with this chili yourself.

The halved chillies are dried in the oven or drying appliance without the stalk. You can crush them later with a mortar. Inhaling the dust can cause severe irritation of the respiratory tract. A breathing mask is not a bad idea. Article to dry and make yourself of chili powder.

7 Pot chili plants grow between 0.8 m and 1.2 meters high. Their huge leaves are striking. In summer, countless white to cream-coloured flowers form. Green chilli peppers grow on the fertilized flowers with a slight scorpion spine. When the fruits reach a size of 4 - 6 cm, they later change to a ripe colour. A magnificent sight when this Caribbean chili plant hangs full of ripe chili pods.

Start growing 7 Pot Chilis early. It takes 6 months for the plant to form chillies. Indoor cultivation from January is not wrong. It is not possible to go outside on the balcony or garden until mid-May. Until then, we take care of the plant with regular watering and fertilizing. A plant light provides additional light.

Experiences with heavy summer storms have shown us that we plant our favourite chillies in tubs. So before a storm warning we still have the opportunity to put the chillies under.

The chili seeds are not easy to obtain. Unfortunately they are often sold out. Get 7-pot chili seeds early, preferably this year. After the obligatory soaking, you will go to a heated greenhouse. A crucial point in the cultivation of tropical chili is its higher germination temperature. At least 25 °C to 30 °C should be kept relatively constant in the growing station. In the homeland of these chili varieties, the Lesser Antilles, the temperature fluctuations are low and lie between 25 °C and 28 °C. The temperature of the chilli is relatively constant.

Depending on whether you have sown the seeds in spring pots or directly into the growing soil, you should repot or prick the seedlings. The right time has come when the first 4 - 6 leaves have formed. At the latest when root tips protrude from the coconut bale, it is time.

Artificial plant light is a must during the cultivation in the house. About 10 hours and more light is necessary for a healthy and fast growth. The air humidity should remain high. If it goes direction 60 %, the plant feels like in its natural environment.

Before going outside in May, you need to harden young plants against sunlight. A Hardening Off against wind, we reach from early on by air movement by ventilators. We use a set of ventilators together with a power supply unit from the zoo. Twice a day the small wind machines are switched on by a timer. This supports a strong and upright growth from the first days on. Chilis have to get used to sun, wind, rain and dryness before they can go out into the wild.

Canaries are common in the natural environment of the 7 Pot Chilis. That is why we like to use Guano fertilizer. With this natural fertilizer we had achieved incredible harvest quantities. Probably the already productive Chilli variety likes the bird fertilizer, because the Caribbean is teeming with canaries.

You can read about other chilli fertilizers, from tomato fertilizer to coffee grounds, in a separate article on the topic of chilli fertilizers.

If the location, care and fertiliser are right, you can harvest several kilos of fresh pods. We ourselves were surprised by the quantities of chillies. In addition, the fruits have a nice weight. Some of the 6 cm chicken eggs weighed 25 grams. With a 7 Pot Primo orange we counted more than 50 ripe chillies in one season. After we collected the chillies in the freezer, they became a great hot sauce, which we still lick our fingers for today.

The ripe chillies are best harvested with a small pair of pruning shears. You should be careful because of the high degree of sharpness. It makes sense to wear disposable gloves during harvesting and later processing.

7 Pot Chili plants are used to warmth and do not cope well with temperatures below 18°C. Plant this variety quite late. At the beginning of October it goes after a cure against pests into the dwelling. If there is enough artificial plant light, further chilli peppers will ripen. We have summarised in a separate article how best to let chillies spend the winter.