Buena Mulata Hot Pepper Seeds

This Nicaraguan heirloom cayenne-type pepper stands out for both its history and its stunning colour shifts. Plants reach roughly a metre in height, forming slim, branching stems with long, elegant leaves. The pods are slender and typically six to seven inches long.

Each fruit moves through a full spectrum of colour: beginning as a deep purple, then shifting to yellow, salmon, orange, and finally a rich red. With multiple stages of ripeness appearing at once, the plants are strikingly ornamental and exceptionally productive.

Flavour changes with each stage. Purple pods offer earthy, savoury sharpness, while fully mature red fruits develop sweeter, fruitier notes with the occasional hint of wild berries. Throughout every colour, Buena Mulata maintains a dependable cayenne-like heat of 30,000–50,000 SHU and can be harvested at any stage depending on the flavour profile desired. The purple stage is traditionally used for Salsa Morada, though the peppers suit a wide range of dishes. Plants also perform well in large containers.

Buena Mulata carries a unique legacy. These seeds were stewarded through Horace Pippin, an artist and folk singer of the 1930s, who exchanged them with William Woys Weaver’s grandfather in return for bee sting therapy to ease a war injury. After Weaver’s grandfather passed, the seeds were rediscovered in a basement freezer, eventually grown out through the Roughwood Seed Collection and shared more widely. 75–85 days to maturity. 15 seeds.