Teja

Teja, often sold as S17 Teja, is a hot Indian Capsicum annuum cultivar strongly tied to the Guntur trade and growing belt of Andhra Pradesh, with major production also extending into Telangana. Live sources consistently describe it as a long, slender, pointed red chilli with high pungency, usually around 4.0–8.0 cm long depending on source. A recent paper using fresh S17 Teja measured average fruit length at 8.0 cm and diameter at 8.1 mm, which aligns well with commercial descriptions of a small, thin, narrow chilli.

Its commercial and cultural identity is very clear. Teja is one of the key export-oriented chilli types moving through the Guntur and Khammam trade system, and current reporting still singles it out by name. APEDA archive reporting describes Teja as the pungent variety preferred by Chinese buyers, while more recent trade coverage notes demand from China, Bangladesh, and Southeast Asia. Other reporting contrasts Teja with locally preferred types by describing it as especially suited to colour and capsaicin extraction, reinforcing its role as a high-pungency trade chilli rather than a mild flavour-first domestic type.

Flavour and usage descriptions are consistent across sources. Teja is described as sharp, peppery, fiery, and strongly pungent, with rich red colour and thin skin. It is widely used for powder, sauces, oils, capsaicin extraction, and bulk spice processing.

The main inconsistency online is the exact heat level. One older product sheet gives capsaicin at 0.589% and a range of 50,000–170,000 SHU, while other live listings place it more tightly around 60,000–110,000 SHU. The value of 85,000 SHU is used here as a practical midpoint reflecting the tighter repeated trade range while staying inside the broader published band.

Colour wording also varies slightly between sources, with mature fruit described as bright red, dark red, or deep red. These descriptions still point to the same basic green-to-red ripening path rather than clearly different named colour forms.

Historically, the name is well established in Indian chilli trade by the mid-2010s. Live references appear by 2014 in export and sales material, and by 2016 it appears in NCDEX futures documentation as a recognised traded chilli type.