Zimbabwe Birds Eye

Zimbabwe Birds Eye is a small African bird pepper associated with Zimbabwe and widely circulated as a peri-peri or piri-piri type. In Zimbabwe it is also referred to locally as Bile Bile. It is used fresh, dried, powdered, and in sauces, stews, soups, marinades, and piri-piri preparations, and it has also been grown commercially for export.

The plant is described as compact to bushy and very productive, usually around 30.0 to 90.0 cm tall depending on source. Pods are small, upright, tapered, and tabasco-like, usually ripening through green to orange and then red. Most descriptions place the fruit around 20 to 30 mm long and about 8 to 13 mm wide, with thin flesh that dries easily, though one source lists a much longer 5.0 to 7.0 cm fruit length, which does not line up well with the rest of the material.

Its flavour is described as strongly peppery, fruity, and intense, with some sellers specifically noting that the pods stay firm and crunchy rather than soft like Tabasco. Heat figures conflict sharply across circulation, with published numbers ranging from about 30,000 to 50,000 SHU, 50,000 to 100,000 SHU, around 175,000 SHU, and up to 225,000 SHU. There is also a species conflict around the name, with some commercial listings calling it Capsicum annuum while multiple other sources and species references place Zimbabwe Bird Pepper under Capsicum frutescens.