Chile Comapeño
Also known as Comapeño · Chile de Comapa
Chile Comapeño is a Capsicum annuum landrace from Comapa, Veracruz, Mexico. Capsi’s sourced range is 50,000–100,000 SHU (Vendor Claim). Flavor is citrusy, acidic, earthy, nutty. Used for Salsa macha, chileatole, tlatonil, dried powder, fresh molcajete salsas. Heat is a range, not a single marketing number.
Chile Comapeño is a small Capsicum annuum landrace from the municipality of Comapa in the coffee highlands of central Veracruz, Mexico. Most of the crop is sun-dried and sold in markets around Orizaba, Huatusco, and Córdoba.
About 2.4 times a Capsi Jalapeño (31,902 SHU typical).
Growing
~80 days to maturity
Fruit size
1.2–3.4 cm
Flavor & Use
Dried powder is citrusy and acidic, with heat that hits hard then drops. Fresh pods are more earthy and nutty. Local cooks sometimes mention a coffee note and credit the cafetales around Comapa.
Culinary
About
Ripe pods are conical to campanulate, 1 to 3 cm long, thin-walled, and heavy with seed. They start green and finish orange-red. Fresh fruit tastes earthy and a little nutty. Dried, the same pods turn citrusy and acidic, with a sharp heat that fades quickly. Central Veracruz cooks use them in salsa macha, chileatole, and tlatonil. Outside the region the powder stands in for cayenne. Plants stay compact, 66 to 85 cm, and set fruit in 70 to 90 days.
Backstory
The name points to Comapa, a highland municipality in central Veracruz where families have kept this chile for more than seventy years. Universidad Veracruzana field work in 2015 recorded it in local plots and at La Rosalía, grown in small milpas with squash and beans. Most of the harvest is sun-dried on mats for three days and sold in Córdoba, Orizaba, Tierra Blanca, and Huatusco. Production stays tiny. Seed from the Veracruz mountains later reached California, where one farm now grows a commercial powder crop.
Appearance
Growing
Heritage
ExploreChile Comapeño is a traditional landrace.
Sources
FAQ
- How hot is Chile Comapeño?
- Capsi’s sourced range is 50,000–100,000 SHU (Vendor Claim). Capsi uses a sourced range and a trust tier, not a single marketing number. How we verify heat: https://web.thecapsi.app/learn/heat-and-capsaicin/how-we-measure-heat
- What does Chile Comapeño taste like?
- Dried powder is citrusy and acidic, with heat that hits hard then drops. Fresh pods are more earthy and nutty. Local cooks sometimes mention a coffee note and credit the cafetales around Comapa.
- How do I grow Chile Comapeño?
- Chile Comapeño: about 80 days to maturity, subtropical highland climate, full sun, hardiness zones 9-11.
- What can I substitute for Chile Comapeño?
- Cayenne, Chiltepin, Pequín, Chile de Árbol