Capsicum chinense is the scientific name for the tena pepper. The name tena comes from the region in Ecuador where the pepper is most commonly seen.

The tena pepper belongs to the solanaceae family, which includes at least an additional 1,700 species of plants and herbs.

Plants are biannual shrubs, which grow as single plants to a height of about 4 feet.

This pepper is somewhat similar to the habanero, although it is not as hot and the fruit tends to be more heart shaped.

Cultivation

Tenas take about 100 days from seeding to flowering. They are very disease resistant and tolerate wide ranges of soils and climate conditions. Tena has the potential of producing close to 10 tons of mature red pepper per acre per year.

Uses

Tena is used primarily fresh to make aji for local dishes. This pepper has a very good shelf life so it is very suitable for shipping and for the fresh market. It also makes an outstanding mash and dry whole pepper.

Tena in Ecuador

Tenas are commercially cultivated mostly in the coastal regions of Ecuador where dryer climates prevail. However this pepper can be planted all year around depending on the production needs.

What we offer

Our company processes tenas into a dehydrated powder, dry whole, mash and pickled red in brine.

The dry powder is made by first selecting freshly harvested peppers, which are then placed, into drying tunnels.

Once the peppers are dry they are then passed through stainless steel mills that grind it to a powder.

The powder is then packed in poly bags and stored in airtight plastic drums.

Dry whole peppers go through the same process except that they are not ground and are also stored whole in poly bags.

The pepper mash is made of ripe red peppers ground with 12% salt. This mash is left to ferment at least 60 days prior to shipping.

Brined peppers are made by selecting ripe red peppers and placing them in a pickling solution made of water, salt and sodium benzoate.

Once the peppers are cured the solution is drained and the peppers are placed in plastic drums where a new pickling solution is added enough to cover the peppers.