7 pot brain strain peppers are some of the hottest and strangest looking peppers on the planet. Like many of the other 7 pot hot peppers, the brain strain variety is at the top of the Scoville heat scale with 1M-1.35M SHUs.
What Is A 7 pot brain strain Pepper?
The 7 pot brain strain pepper is a variety of Capsicum chinense that originates from the famous Caribbean family of peppers known as 7 pot. David Capiello first bred the brain strain in 2010 after he began selectively breeding 7 pot chilis that he received from Trinidad.
Capiello’s breeding efforts produced one of the world’s hottest peppers. It’s believed that brain strain peppers share a lot of similar genetics to Trinidad Moruga scorpion peppers, as they have a very similar appearance and offer about as much heat!
7 pot brain strains get their name from their brain-like appearance. Brain strain peppers share a similar stout shape and size as many other 7 pot varieties but are distinguished by the many folds and sinuous markings resembling the human brain.
Capiello intentionally chose to continue breeding peppers with most of these textural attributes until the 7 pot brain strain was officially created and deemed stable.
How Hot Are 7 pot brain strain Peppers?
The term 7 pot refers to the fact that just one of these chili peppers is hot enough to bring heat to 7 pots of stew.
Brain strain Peppers come in at 1,000,000-1,350,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU), putting them right up at the top of the Scoville scale with infamously hot peppers such as the bhut jolokia, Carolina reaper, ghost pepper, and naga viper.
The best point of comparison for heat when considering the 7 pot brain strain is another infamously spicy Caribbean pepper: the scotch bonnet pepper. Scotch bonnets are renowned in the Caribbean for bringing incredible heat and a fruity flavor to many classic Caribbean foods.
However, scotch bonnets only come in between 100,000-350,000 SHUs, making them 10 times milder than 7 pot brain strain peppers!
What Are The Types Of 7 pot Peppers?
Brain strain peppers aren’t the only variety of 7 pot hot pepper. Several others also are near the top of the Scoville scale. Let’s look at the best-known varieties of 7 pot peppers and see which is the spiciest.
- 7 pot Jonah – 800,000 – 1,200,000 SHUs
- 7 pot douglah – 900,000 – 1,800,000 SHUs
- Chocolate 7 pot – 800,000 – 1,800,000 SHUs
- 7 pot bubblegum – 800,000-1,000,000 SHUs
- Red 7 pot – 1,000,000 – 1,200,000 SHUs
- Yellow 7 pot – 1,000,000 – 1,200,000 SHUs
- 7 pot brain strain – 1,000,000-1,350,000 SHUs
- 7 pot Primo – 1,200,000 – 1,700,000 SHUs
As you can see, while brain strain is undoubtedly one of the hottest peppers, the douglah, chocolate and primo varieties are hotter at the top end.
If you’re looking for an excellent introduction to 7 pots but want to avoid going straight to the spiciest, 7 pot bubblegum peppers are likely to be the least intense option. Remember, at 800,000 – 1,000,000 SHUs, 7 pot bubblegums are still no joke!
How To Use 7 pot brain strain Peppers
7 pot brain strains are most commonly used in extremely spicy dishes and hot sauces. Because of their high SHU level, they are often dried and ground into a powder to be used as a potent seasoning.
You can even take that “7 pot” naming history literally, using brain strain pepper powder in minuscule quantities to bring serious heat to a soup or stew. Just one dried brain strain pepper can last a long time, as a little will go a long way.
Where To Buy 7 pot brain strain Peppers
Due to their rarity, it’s often challenging to find fresh 7 pot peppers at grocery stores and even farmers’ markets where local growers might grow them. However, you might be able to find them dried or in the form of hot sauce, as these are the most popular ways of using 7 pot brain strain peppers.
One of the best ways to get your hands on 7 pot brain strains is to grow them yourself! Plenty of online pepper seed sellers will ship them directly to your front door.
Can You Grow 7 pot Peppers?
If you live in an area that offers a growing season that can sustain other varieties of Capsicum chinense peppers, then you can grow 7 pot brain strains right in your own backyard!
When planting peppers, sunlight, soil, and water should be your top three priorities. Most chili pepper plants need at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight every day and prefer to be in hot-weather climates. Typically, as long as temperatures remain between 65°F-80°F, your plants should do just fine.
Pepper plants prefer a nice loamy soil, meaning a well-balanced soil of dirt, sand, clay, and other small particles. This allows water to drain freely, so the plants don’t become overwatered while retaining a proper amount of water for hydration.
Once planted in the appropriate location with the proper soil conditions, your peppers will need to be regularly watered enough so that they don’t dry out but don’t become overwatered. This is a fine line to walk, but a good rule of thumb is to water your 7 pots 1-2 times per week.
Finally, once your 7 pots start to flower, it is time to fertilize. Fertilization will ensure that the fruits will grow big and spicy!