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Medium-Hot · 30,000 – 50,000 SHU

Tabasco pepper

The namesake cultivar behind Louisiana-style vinegar pepper sauce — small, juicy, and high-yield.

Origin
Mexico — commercialized on Avery Island, Louisiana
Peak heat
50,000
Heat band
Medium-Hot
A single Tabasco cultivar pepper, small Capsicum frutescens pod with glossy skin, photographed against a dark charcoal background.

About the pepper

Do not confuse the pepper with the brand: Tabasco is a specific Capsicum frutescens variety, small and upright on the bush, harvested from yellow-green through orange-red.

It sits in the same rough SHU band as Cayenne on heat-scale charts — ideal for fermented mash sauces where acidity and salt carry the fruit forward.

Also known as

Louisiana Hot Pepper

Good to know

Facts about the Tabasco pepper.

Quick facts, trivia, and context worth knowing before you reach for the bottle.

Fact 1

The McIlhenny Company has grown Tabasco peppers on Avery Island for generations.

Fact 2

The Scoville band overlaps with Cayenne but flavor profile is distinct after fermentation.

Fact 3

Capsicum frutescens, not annuum.

Keep exploring

More peppers on the scale.

Harmony grows and blends a wide range of cultivars — each brings a different place on the Scoville Scale and a different flavor to the bottle.