Collector Pepper
Tiny golden peppers bring fruity aroma and a concentrated kick to salsa, sauces and a pinch of dried seasoning. Chop a little into a dish, mix well and adjust gradually: these small pods have substantial heat.
CASA VERDE · HEAT PROFILE
Medium
- Sweet
- Mild
- Medium — this variety
- Hot
- Super hot
Understanding the heat
A diamond marks the midpoint of a listed range, or the listed value when only one number is given. An arrow marks a stated limit. These are variety guides, not measurements of our seed lot. This guide uses unequal numerical bands: sweet 0; mild up to 10,000; medium 10,000–50,000; hot 50,000–800,000; super hot from 800,000 SHU (display capped at 3 million). Heat varies between fruits and with growing conditions.
Shop all pepper seeds in Canada
- Packet
- 10+ seeds per packet
- Heat
- 30,000–50,000 SHU
- Origin
- Peru
FROM GARDEN TO KITCHEN
Charapita, from seed to supper.
Use tiny golden pods for fresh salsa, cooked sauce and dried seasoning, adjusting the heat a little at a time.
01 / CHOP A FRESH SALSA
Tiny peppers, bright tomato flavour.
Finely chop a little Charapita into fresh tomato, white onion and lime juice. Mix well and taste before adding more; the tiny pods still carry substantial heat.
02 / COOK A SAUCE
Fruity heat for fish and rice.
Cook a small amount of minced Charapita with tomato, onion and garlic. Blend to your preferred texture and spoon a little over cooked fish, rice or vegetables.
03 / DRY FOR SEASONING
A small pinch over roasted vegetables.
Dry healthy ripe pods thoroughly, then crush into flakes. Sprinkle a little over roasted cauliflower or carrots and adjust gradually. Avoid breathing pepper dust.
AI-generated culinary illustrations. Serving inspiration, not photographs of our harvest. Select a photo to enlarge.
CASA VERDE · GROWER’S NOTES
Get to know your pepper.
Fruity seasoning pepper · 10+ seeds per packet
Aji Charapita pepper seeds
Tiny golden peppers bring fruity aroma and a concentrated kick to salsa, sauces and a pinch of dried seasoning. Chop a little into a dish, mix well and adjust gradually: these small pods have substantial heat.
At a glance
Species
Capsicum chinense
Heat guide
30,000–50,000 SHU; variety estimate
Fruit
Small, round pods ripening to golden yellow
Packet
10+ seeds
Why grow it?
Charapita is useful when you want pepper aroma and heat in a small amount. Its little pods suit chopped condiments and dried seasoning for rice, vegetables or cooked fish. Choose it for flavour and kitchen use, without relying on claims about rarity or resale value.
In the kitchen
- Fresh salsa: Finely chop a small amount into tomato or fruit salsa, then taste before adding more.
- Cooked sauce: Blend with cooked vegetables, onion and garlic for a sauce you can portion to taste.
- Dried seasoning: Dry sound, ripe pods thoroughly and crush a little over a finished dish. Wear gloves when handling a batch and avoid breathing pepper dust.
Growing and harvesting
- Start indoors: Provide warm seed-starting conditions and bright light after emergence.
- Transplant: Harden plants off and wait until frost risk has passed and the soil and nights are warm.
- Site: Choose full sun, well-drained soil and steady moisture.
- Harvest: Start indoors and allow a long, warm growing season. Harvest healthy fruit as it reaches golden yellow. Timing and yield depend on growing conditions; no fixed harvest date or yield is guaranteed.
Explore the catalogue
Pepper seeds CanadaPepper germination guideCommon questions
How hot is Charapita?
Grower references commonly list 30,000–50,000 SHU, broadly comparable to cayenne. This is a variety estimate, not a measurement of Casa Verde’s seed lot.
Why does the scale say Medium?
Casa Verde’s Medium band spans 10,000–50,000 SHU. The midpoint of this listed range is 40,000, so the marker sits toward the upper end of Medium. Medium on this scale still means a distinctly hot pepper.
Is it suitable for stuffing?
The tiny pods are more practical for finely chopped salsa, sauce or dried seasoning than for stuffing.
Are these seeds produced in Peru?
Charapita is associated with Peru, but that does not establish where this packet’s seeds were grown. The production origin of this lot is unconfirmed.
Seed note: fruit size, ripening time and heat vary with the seed line and growing conditions. Use the Scoville range as a guide, not a guarantee.
Cook your harvest
Use your harvest in these recipes. Check the variety notes and substitutions in each recipe.
Start indoors 8–10 weeks before last frost. Germinate at 26–30 °C on a heat mat; peppers stall below 22 °C. Pot up to 10–15 cm before hardening off outside after nights stay above 12 °C.
Feed balanced through bloom, then bump potassium for fruiting. Stake taller varieties. More detail in our full Canadian growing guide.
Match the pepper to the technique: thin-walled varieties blister fast in a hot pan; thick-walled ones roast or stuff beautifully; fruit-forward ones make balanced sauces and pickles. The variety's flavour profile is your shortcut — see Choosing the right pepper for a use-case guide.
