Mareko Fana
Also known as Ethiopian Brown · Ethiopian Brown Chile · Ethiopian Berbere · Marako Fana · Marko Fana
Mareko Fana is a Capsicum annuum selection from Mareko, Ethiopia. Capsi’s sourced range is 10,000–45,000 SHU (Vendor Claim). Flavor is earthy, smoky, cocoa. Used for Dried and ground for berbere, wot stews, lentils, and meat sauces. Also used fresh. Ethiopian processors extract oleoresin from this cultivar.. Heat is a range, not a single marketing number.
Mareko Fana is an Ethiopian cayenne-type chile grown for dry pods and the berbere spice used in wot. Ripe fruit is chocolate brown, with some pods finishing dark red.
Growing
~90 days to maturity
Fruit size
7–10 cm
Flavor & Use
Earthy and a little smoky when ripe, with a short, usable burn. Dried pods lean cocoa and warm spice rather than bright fruit.
Culinary
About
Pods are slender and tapered, usually about 8 cm long and 2 cm across, starting green and ripening through brown. Wall thickness varies from plant to plant. The heat is medium. Dried and ground, the fruit gives berbere its color and a warm, earthy bite. Fresh pods work in stews, but this line is really a drying pepper. Plants stand 90 to 120 cm in full sun and set ripe fruit about 90 days after transplant. Ethiopian dry-pod trials hold the crop closer to 110 to 130 days.
Backstory
Peppers reached Ethiopia in the 1600s, likely with Jesuit missions from Goa, and took hold in the Mareko district of the Gurage highlands. Melkassa Agricultural Research Center released this named selection from those local collections in 1976. It became the factory cultivar for Ethiopian capsicum oleoresin. Menkir Tamrat later brought seed to California, where Fred Hempel grew it on for US gardens. Packets also sell it as Ethiopian Brown or Ethiopian Berbere.
Appearance
Growing
Heritage
ExploreMareko Fana is a selection of Mareko local chile.
Melkassa Agricultural Research Center · 1976
Parent
Sources
FAQ
- How hot is Mareko Fana?
- Capsi’s sourced range is 10,000–45,000 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 Mareko Fana taste like?
- Earthy and a little smoky when ripe, with a short, usable burn. Dried pods lean cocoa and warm spice rather than bright fruit.
- How do I grow Mareko Fana?
- Mareko Fana: about 90 days to maturity, subtropical climate, full sun, hardiness zones 9-11.
- What can I substitute for Mareko Fana?
- Cayenne