- Heirloom
- Very hot
- 95 (estimated) days to maturity (from transplant)
- 350,000–577,000 SHU
- Brown
Chocolate Habanero
Brown Congo · Chocolate Congo · Black Habanero · Habanero Chocolate
Heirloom very hot pepper from Caribbean. Smoky and raisin-like under very high heat, the reason cooks reach for it over an orange habanero. Ready in about 95 days from transplant.
Single source · Updated Oct 2, 2026 · Values marked like this (estimated) are estimates.
At a glance
- Heat
- Very hot 350,000–577,000 SHU
- Pod
- Elongated 0–1 oz (10–18 g) (estimated)
Squat wrinkled lantern pods about 50 mm long and 38 mm wide, nearly as broad as they are long, ripening green to a deep glossy brown.
- Species
- Capsicum chinense
- Days to harvest
- 95 days (estimated) from transplant · Mid-late
- Plant height
- 2½–3 ft (76–91 cm) Medium height
- Spacing
- 18 × 30 in (46 × 76 cm) (estimated)
- Sunlight
- Full sun
- Position
- Handles open positions
- Growing sites
- Greenhouse · Open ground · Container
- Container growing
- Balcony friendly min. 5 gal (20 L) pot (estimated)
- Difficulty
- Challenging (estimated) 4/5
- Skin
-
- Brown
- Green
Heat
Scoville heat units
Very hot
Chocolate Habanero Scoville heat units: 350,000–577,000 SHU
Habanero territory and above: Orange Habanero, Caribbean Red, and Bhut Jolokia an order of magnitude past them. Handle with gloves, taste before committing a whole pod to a dish.
Flavor
“Smoky and raisin-like under very high heat, the reason cooks reach for it over an orange habanero.”
Growing calendar
95 (estimated) days from transplant Mid-late
Timing shown for temperate climates; sow indoors 6–8 (estimated) weeks before your last frost date. Look up your last frost date by ZIP code →
Disease resistance
No documented disease resistances — protect this variety with good airflow and crop rotation.
Uses & tags
- Sauce & paste
- Drying
- Heirloom classic
- High flavor
- Container star
Origin
Chocolate Habanero is the brown-ripening habanero, Capsicum chinense, sold under at least four names including Brown Congo and Black Habanero. Sources disagree sharply on how hot it is: True Leaf Market lists 435,000 to 577,000 Scoville heat units, while Pepper Joe's gives 350,000 to 425,000 for the same pepper. The range recorded here spans both, because no source resolves the difference and a single midpoint would hide it. What every source agrees on is the flavour, which is smokier and more raisin-like than an orange habanero, and the germination, which is slow enough that several weeks at 80 to 90 F is normal rather than a failure. Pod size is the second place the sellers disagree: Sandia Seed measures it at about 2 inches long and 1½ inches wide, a squat lantern, while Pepper Joe's rounds it to 3 inches long without giving a width. The record follows Sandia, because a length without a width describes nothing. No seller states the interior colour, and the record leaves it empty rather than guessing: the two brown peppers in this catalogue whose sources do state it, Sweet Chocolate and Chocolate Beauty, are brick red inside, so the obvious assumption that brown skin hides pale flesh is not supported here.
Sources
Where to buy seeds
Prices rechecked dailyLinks may earn us a commission at no cost to you. Prices checked Oct 16, 2026.
All photos
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Ripe Chocolate Habanero pepper pods on the plant -
Chocolate Habanero pepper plant with ripe pods -
A ripe Chocolate Habanero pepper pod held in a gardener's hand -
Freshly picked Chocolate Habanero peppers -
A Chocolate Habanero pepper cut open lengthwise beside a whole pod, showing the wall and seed cavity
Questions
How do you grow a Chocolate Habanero plant?
A Chocolate Habanero plant grows 2½–3 ft (76–91 cm) tall. Space plants 18 in (46 cm) apart in rows 30 in (76 cm) apart (estimated). Start seed indoors 6–8 weeks before your last frost (estimated); it germinates in 7–28 days. It needs full sun.
How long does Chocolate Habanero take to mature?
Chocolate Habanero is ready in about 95 days from transplant.
How hot is Chocolate Habanero?
Chocolate Habanero sits in the very hot range, about 350,000–577,000 Scoville heat units. Figures vary between seed sellers, so treat them as a band rather than a measurement.
Can Chocolate Habanero be grown in a container?
Yes — Chocolate Habanero grows well in a container of at least 20 L (5 gal).
Is Chocolate Habanero resistant to disease?
No disease resistance is documented for Chocolate Habanero.
