Brazilian Starfish Pepper Review

I’m always on the look out for a pepper that I can simply pluck off the plant and snack while out in the garden or just walking by. I’ve found a few that come super close – all variants of the Sugar Rush Peach – but none have truly hit the bullseye. The Brazilian Starfish may be the closest to the center of that target so far.

This pepper hails from, you guessed it, Brazil and ranges around 10,000 – 30,000 SHU. My particular plant was not only prolific in producing more than enough of these fun little fruit, but was also the fastest growing and tallest of all that I grew this past season. The plant towered over the rest of the peppers, reaching almost five feet in height – it needed to be supported a couple of times over through the length of the grow season.

As you can see, this pepper has been named appropriately. The star shaped fruit were roughly an inch in width and flat with smooth, red flesh that produced a satisfying crunch when biting into it. The interior is clean with a small cluster of seeds.

The aroma is fruity with light floral notes and a lingering sweetness. It smells enticing to say the least. The flavor follows suit with a nice crunch and juiciness with each bite. It’s sweet and fruity upfront with a distant bitterness and light grass note toward the middle of the chew, eventually coming back around to the sweetness. This is a delicious pepper.

The Brazilian Starfish’s heat is mild at best with a nice balance between the tingle of heat and the long lasting sweetness. A mellow burn focuses on the roof of the mouth and throat a bit. Despite the measured SHU range, the fruit from my plant probably hit as hard as a Jalapeno. It’s a pleasing burn that goes wonderfully with the pepper’s flavor profile.

While the Chocolate Ghost WHP was my favorite overall pepper from the 2021 season, the Brazilian Starfish knocked it out of the park in terms of its snackability. These little peppers are delightful with an incredibly well-rounded flavor and tingling burn. I can’t tell you how many ripe fruit I enjoyed right off the plant – before they ever got a chance to make their way into a sauce or meal.