Mulato negro chillis—a deeply ripened, sun-dried variety of the poblano pepper—display a distinctive flat, wrinkled, and wide shape that tapers to a blunt point, sporting an opaque, brownish-black skin that resembles a prune.

They possess a low to gentle medium heat, registering between 2,500 and 3,000 Scoville Heat Units. Their exceptionally complex and layered flavor profile is dominated by rich notes of bittersweet chocolate, black liquorice, and dried cherries, rounded out by undertones of tobacco and coffee.

Alongside ancho and pasilla chilis, they form the legendary "holy trinity" of Mexican dried peppers and are an irreplaceable, essential ingredient used to provide a velvety body, dark color, and sweet complexity to traditional mole poblano, mole negro, rich adobo pastes, and slow-simmered stews.