Chocolate Reaper
A rare chocolate-colored variant of the Carolina Reaper offering extreme heat with distinctive smoky and fruity notes. Developed as a cross with Chocolate Trinidad Moruga Scorpion for its unique hue and flavor profile.
The Chocolate Reaper is a visually striking superhot pepper that ripens to a deep chocolate brown. It features the signature wrinkly, bumpy, and gnarled skin of the classic red Carolina Reaper, often with a pointed stinger tail, though some pods may have fewer tails. Pods average 1.5 to 2 inches in length on plants that grow to about 4 feet tall. Flavor includes a strong floral aroma, sweet and fruity base similar to the red Reaper, but with prominent smoky notes upfront, chocolate undertones, and hints of cinnamon. Heat levels are comparable to or exceed the red variety. This variety is still being stabilized through breeding, leading to potential pod variations in early generations. It is primarily used in extreme hot sauces, spice powders, and applications where intense heat paired with smoky depth is desired.
Gallery
No photos of Chocolate Reaper here yet. Got one? Share it with us.
Backstory
The Chocolate Reaper is a chocolate-hued cross between the red Carolina Reaper and the Chocolate Trinidad Moruga Scorpion, developed in the United States by seed companies to combine record-breaking heat with unique color and enhanced smoky flavor notes. It remains in the process of stabilization.
Flavor
Strong floral aroma with a sweet fruity base, smoky upfront notes, chocolate undertones, and a hint of cinnamon.
Culinary uses
Q&A
Substitutions
Appearance
Growing
Nutrition
Origin detail
Tags
Sources
Huge shout-out to the breeders, growers, researchers, and seed savers linked below — their independent work is what lets us fact-check our own. Go visit them.
These references are used to verify what we publish — not as the source of the content itself. Seed catalogs, breeder pages, research papers, and cultivar databases let us cross-check every fact before it lands here. Open any card to read the original or dig deeper.