Naga Brain

Fruity and floral up front, with tangy and slightly earthy notes that show briefly before a delayed, lingering superhot burn. Flesh is thin-walled and chewy and dries well.

Naga Brain is a fattened, short naga- or bhut-type chinense whose heavily wrinkled, warty skin gives the fruit its name. Pods ripen from green to red, run about 5–8 cm long, and have thin, chewy walls packed with placenta. Heat is estimated at 800,000–1,000,000 SHU — never formally HPLC-tested, but in the same class as its 7 Pot and Naga parents. Flavor is fruity and floral with a tangy, slightly earthy edge that appears briefly before a long, brutal burn. Plants are productive, typically 70–120 cm tall, and need a long warm season.

In 2011 Florida grower Jamie Hill sent 7 Pot seeds to Gary Montcalm in Caddo Parish, Louisiana. One 2012 plant set bumpy, naga-shaped pods; Hill traced it to an accidental 7 Pot Brain Strain × Dorset Naga cross in his garden. Montcalm named the hybrid NagaBrain and began stabilizing it in 2013, when yellow and chocolate phenotypes also appeared. The red form is the cultivar sold as Naga Brain.

How hot is Naga Brain?

Capsi’s sourced range is 800,000–1,000,000 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 taste like?

Fruity and floral up front, with tangy and slightly earthy notes that show briefly before a delayed, lingering superhot burn. Flesh is thin-walled and chewy and dries well.

How do I grow Naga Brain?

Naga Brain: about 110 days to maturity, subtropical climate, full sun, hardiness zones 9-11.

What can I substitute for Naga Brain?

7 Pot Brain Strain, Ghost Pepper