Originally developed by our head horticulturist Steve Bender, the California Reaper is a cross between the Carolina Reaper and Jay's Peach Ghost Scorpion. Dr. Bender has spent numerous grow seasons developing the California Reaper. The pepper starts off light green and ripen to peach, with most pods resembling a peach colored Carolina Reaper. Although the California Reaper has not yet officially been tested, the Carolina Reaper pepper averages 1,569,300 Scoville Heat Units (SHU). Similar to that of the Carolina Reaper, the taste of the California Reaper is described as fruity and sweet.
The California Reaper was one of the first peppers developed at Innovation Acre, which is a project at Tyler Farms that focuses on developing unique crosses of peppers. The project is led by head horticulturist Steve Bender.
