Naga Brain Chocolate
Also known as Naga Brain Chocolate · Chocolate NagaBrain · Naga Brains Chocolate · Naga Brain Choc
A US-bred Capsicum chinense superhot with deeply wrinkled, brain-like pods that ripen from green to a rich chocolate brown.
About 40 times a Capsi Jalapeño (25,086 SHU typical).
Growing
~110 days to maturity
Fruit size
3.5–6 cm
Flavor & Use
Sweet Naga flavor up front, then fruity and lightly floral, with earthy-smoky chocolate notes and little bitterness. Heat arrives fast and dominates after a few seconds.
Culinary
About
Chocolate Naga Brain is the dark-brown phenotype of Naga Brain, an accidental early-2010s cross of Dorset Naga and 7 Pot Brain Strain. Pods are gnarly and heavily wrinkled, ranging from compact and round to slightly elongated with a small point, typically about 3.5–6 cm long. They start green and finish a deep chocolate brown. Flavor opens with a sweet Naga note, then turns fruity and floral—growers mention passion fruit or grape—with mild smoky-earthy chocolate tones and little of the bitterness common in red Nagas. Heat is immediate and aggressive. Plants are vigorous and high-yielding, usually 90–120 cm tall. The line is often sold as an F6 or later generation and is still described as only semi-stable.
Backstory
In 2011–2012 Florida grower Jamie Hill sent 7 Pot Brain Strain seed to Gary Montcalm in Louisiana. One plant set red, brain-wrinkled pods with a tapered Naga shape; the other parent is believed to have been Dorset Naga in Hill’s garden. Montcalm named the hybrid Naga Brain and shared seed. In 2013 Todd Warosh (Tmudder) grew a plant whose brown pods were clearly better than other chocolate off-types that year. The community adopted his line as the canonical Chocolate Naga Brain, and current seed descends from that plant. Catalogs still describe the variety as only semi-stable.
Appearance
Growing
Heritage
ExploreNaga Brain Chocolate is a selection of Naga Brain.
Todd Warosh · 2013
Sources
FAQ
- How hot is Naga Brain Chocolate?
- Capsi’s sourced range is 900,000–1,700,000 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 Naga Brain Chocolate taste like?
- Sweet Naga flavor up front, then fruity and lightly floral, with earthy-smoky chocolate notes and little bitterness. Heat arrives fast and dominates after a few seconds.
- How do I grow Naga Brain Chocolate?
- Naga Brain Chocolate: about 110 days to maturity, subtropical climate, full sun, hardiness zones 9-11.
- What can I substitute for Naga Brain Chocolate?
- 7 Pot Douglah, Chocolate Ghost Pepper, Moruga Scorpion Chocolate