Chilli in Africa: berbere, melegueta and the Mombasa chilli
Portuguese ships carried chillies down Africa’s west coast in the 16th century, and in West Africa they took over the role of the native melegueta pepper. In Amharic, berbere is both Ethiopia’s spice blend and the word for chilli itself, and Ethiopia now grows about 6% of the world’s dried chillies. Scoville’s first test in 1912 rated Mombasa chillies the hottest.
Checked October 20, 2026 · How we source facts
Timeline
- 16th century
Portuguese ships sailing down Africa's west coast become the main carriers of chilli into Africa. [1]
- After introduction
In West Africa chillies take the culinary place of 'grains of paradise' (melegueta pepper), citing Jean Andrews. [1]
- 1912
Wilbur Scoville tests the commercial grades 'Japan', 'Zanzibar' and 'Mombasa' chillies. Mombasa scores 1 in 50,000 to 1 in 100,000, the most pungent. [2]
- 2021
FAOSTAT: Ethiopia grows about 292,000 tonnes of dry chillies (about 6% of the world), Benin about 137,000 (3%) and Côte d’Ivoire about 130,000 (3%). [3]
Customs and words
- Berbere, a key blend in Ethiopian and Eritrean cooking, usually combines chilli with spices such as korarima, fenugreek and holy basil seed. The word berbere also means the chilli pepper itself. [4]
- Malagueta: in Brazil, people of West African descent called chillies 'malagueta', echoing the West African melegueta pepper. [1]
Peppers on ChilliFacts
Questions
What does berbere mean?
In Ethiopia and Eritrea, berbere is both a chilli spice blend and the word for the chilli pepper itself.
How did chillies reach Africa?
Mainly on Portuguese ships sailing down Africa’s west coast in the 16th century.
More chilli history
- Chilli in Mexico: where it began, and what the Aztecs did with it
- Chilli in Peru: 7,500 years of uchu
- How chilli reached Europe: Columbus, Spain and Portugal
- Chilli in India: from Portuguese ships to 40% of the world’s dried chillies
- Chilli in Korea: why kimchi wasn’t always red
- Chilli in China: a garden ornament that won Sichuan and Hunan
- Chilli in Thailand: the heat came from pepper first
- Paprika in Hungary: from Turkish pepper to a Nobel Prize
- Chilli in the USA: Tabasco, the Scoville test and New Mexico
- Chilli history myths, checked
Sources
- JSTOR Daily (Hallie Pugh-Sellers, 2022), citing Jean Andrews, Chilies to Chocolate: Portuguese primary vector along Africa's west coast; chillies replaced grains of paradise in West Africa; 'malagueta' in Brazil (secondary source)
- Wilbur L. Scoville, 'Note on Capsicums', Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Association 1(5):453-454, May 1912 (scan on Zenodo): Japan, Zanzibar and Mombasa chillies tested; Mombasa 1 in 50,000 to 1 in 100,000, most pungent
- Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University Chilli Outlook 2022 (data FAOSTAT 2021): Ethiopia 6%, Benin 3%, Côte d'Ivoire 3% of world production (secondary source)
- Wikipedia: Berbere ingredients; key to Ethiopian/Eritrean cuisine; word also means chilli pepper itself (secondary source)