Is Chocolate Primotalii just a brown Primotalii?
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Probably not. The Primotalii started out red, and the chocolate form came later. One seed company that sells it says the chocolate "cannot be just a color variant", because the pods are larger, shaped differently and thicker in the flesh. The dried Chocolate Primotalii in our SpiceQuest chili grinder tested at 1,361,754 Scoville units.
The red original
The Primotalii is credited to Chris Saunders, an independent breeder in the United Kingdom, as a cross of 7 Pot Primo and Fatalii begun around 2012. Our page on what a Primotalii is covers the type.
Its signature is the long tail, which growers call a stinger. A pepper reference says the stingers appeared in the second generation of the cross and breeders then selected for them. The same reference calls the variety stable, with most pods carrying a long tail, and describes the pods it grew as 2 to 3 inches long, narrow and thin-walled.
What sellers say about the chocolate form
The seed company quoted above treats the chocolate form as a cross of unknown parentage with the original red. Its reasoning is that something crossed into the line and the name stayed. It also says the plants pass four feet and produce more than the red.
A second seller words it more carefully: likely a cross of the original red. A third still lists the parents as 7 Pot Primo and Fatalii. So the sellers do not agree on what it is.
Two of the three add a warning. Some plants give mustard-colored pods in place of brown ones. That fits a line that is not fully settled.
Who worked on it
Jim Morrow was one of the first growers to offer Primotalii seed. He is credited with working to stabilize both the chocolate and the golden forms. We have not found his own account of that work, so we give it as the references do.
Claims and one lab result
| Source | Heat figure for the chocolate form |
|---|---|
| Seed seller | 1,000,000 to 1,500,000, an estimate |
| Seed seller | 1,500,000 to 2,200,000 or more |
| Pepper reference, for the Primotalii in general | likely above 2,200,000, with no official rating |
| Our lab result | 1,361,754 |
Our Chocolate Primotalii flakes were tested by HPLC at Southwest Bio-Labs. The result falls inside the lowest of the three ranges. It is about 1.4 times our pure Carolina Reaper, no. 9 Reaper X, at 975,612. Every result we have is on the Scoville chart.
Three colors in our grinders
We use three forms of the Primotalii. Chocolate is sold as a pure pepper, and its tasting notes are in the Chocolate Primotalii profile. Red Primotalii goes into three blends: Crying Lion, Screaming Eagle and the 2026 World Cup blend. Mustard Primotalii goes into Atomic Gator, which contains natural capsaicin extract.
Chocolate Primotalii is a limited release, and the product page shows whether it is available. It tested over 1,000,000 Scoville units. Start with one press and read the ultra-hot safety page first.
Questions people ask
Who created the Chocolate Primotalii? The original red Primotalii is credited to Chris Saunders. Jim Morrow is credited with working to stabilize the chocolate form. One seed company says the chocolate is a cross of unknown parentage with the red.
Do all Chocolate Primotalii plants give brown pods? Not according to two seed sellers. Both say some plants produce mustard-colored pods.
Sources
- Refining Fire Chiles, Chocolate Primotalii chile plants, for its own description: the differences from the red, the unknown cross, plant height and yield
- Bohica Pepper Hut, Chocolate Primotalii seeds, for its own listing: likely a cross of the original red, mustard-colored pods and the estimate of 1,000,000 to 1,500,000
- Atomic Pepper Seeds, Chocolate Primotalii, for its own listing: the parents, mustard-colored pods and the claim of 1,500,000 to 2,200,000 or more
- PepperGeek, page on Primotalii peppers, for the credit to Chris Saunders, the stinger, pod size, Jim Morrow and the estimate above 2,200,000
- Harmony Peppers, Primotalii pepper, for Jim Morrow and the chocolate form