Our namesake is the chile-tepin pepper. As the only wild chile native to the U.S., the chile-tepin is very small in size and has an extremely pungent flavor with a distinctive, smoky bite. It is rated very hot, 8-9 on a scale of 10. At Chile-Tepin we use this beautiful little wild-harvested pepper in many of our sauces and dishes.

From a general story, “Chiltepín” comes from the word “Chiltekpin” a combination of voices between totonacas and Tepehuas Mexican Cultures from  the ages of 800 A.D. On the mountain range, people call it “Chili flea” comparing it to his ferocity of the bite of a flea or insects of his kind, being the same for its size.