Folks, the tepin pepper (pronounced tey-PEEN) is one mean pepper. I mean don't get me wrong, the Red Savina (proprietary red habanero) is one bad pepper also, but the tepin needs to be taken serious.

The tepin pepper grows wild in the dry dessert of Northern Mexico. They claim it is hotter than the "Red Savina", but I disagree as I have tried them both and a "Red Savina" is almost impossible to eat straight without some serious pain.

Has anyone else in here ever ate a raw tepin pepper?

Never eaten a tepin pepper, but I have eaten a habanero, and yes, I cried.

How did you get the peppers? The typical orange habaneros are the hottest peppers I've ever seen stocked at grocery stores. Mexico is only a couple hours away for me, but I'd rather not drive there just for some peppers.

So you tried eating it raw?? Care to tell the story how it went? :) Are you able to get an idea on their taste? Are they more like regular peppers or do they carry a fruity taste like habaneros? I wish I didn't swear off tortilla chips... I'd love to make a guacamole with those peppers if they're as hot as you say! Hmm, you don't happen to have a recipe for a crunchy raw chip do you?

And speaking of recipes, all my concocotions for a habanero smoothie end up with a bitter taste that make it difficult to enjoy drinking. It definitly gives one hell of a buzz though! Carrots + habanero has had the best combination so far. Carrots seem to offset some of the heat from the habanero blending okay together. You ever try making drinks from peppers? Any luck if so?

Zasko,

You can purchase fresh red habaneros (Red Savina) from Melissa's when they have them. Right now, they have only the orange variety.

http://www.melissas.com/catalog/index.cfm?info=No&Cat_ID=80&Sub_Cat_ID=134&Cat_Name=<!--9-->Fresh&Sub_Cat_Name=Fresh%20Chiles&product_ID=206

I have ate the tepin peppers raw and whole like M&M's and they bite back. You can buy seeds to grow your own in your kitchen. The cost is $4.00 for the first packet of 100 seeds and then $2.10 for each additional packet.

http://www.batnet.com/rwc-seed/Pepper.worlds.hottest.html

I have made my spicy carrot juice with both tepin and red savina and the savina is still king. Honestly, once peppers get to a certain level of hotness, it really is hard to differentiate which one is actually hotter. Both these pepper varieties will burn your face off.

That's they're actual size?? M&Ms do seem like a good analogy, they look like candy. :) yummy! Dissapointing to hear I'd have to grow them myself. Gardening is not one of my skills. A garlic bulb once decided to grow on my kitchen counter. I proceeded to plant its cloves into a box of soil and they grew to over a foot long before they all suddenly died. :( Thanks for the links. Good reading.

I might just buy some seeds for my aunt as a present for her garden...

I have - at a spontaneous pepper eating showdown between two guys at a bar in central Mexico (just to taste, I think chili-eating contests are silly). They are hot, if that's what you're looking for, but they don't have the wonderful flavor that Habaneros have. I haven't had them dried.