Find your heat level, from Mild to Ghost.
Not all hot sauce is created equal, and that goes double in Hawai‘i, where local chili peppers get layered with tropical fruit, garlic, and umami in ways that can sneak up on you. To make it easier to shop with confidence, every hot sauce and spicy condiment at Tutu’s Pantry is rated on a simple five-tier scale: Mild, Medium, Hot, Extra Hot, and Ghost.
Here’s how to use it.
How to Choose Your Heat Level
Step 1: Know your baseline. If you rarely eat spicy food, start with Mild or Medium. If you already reach for jalapenos and sriracha without a second thought, Hot or Extra Hot is a safe starting point.
Step 2: Consider how you’ll use it. A finishing sauce drizzled on eggs or poke calls for something milder than a marinade or wing sauce meant to carry real heat through cooking.
Step 3: Match your pick to the tiers below. Each tier has real products from our shelves, not just a description.
Step 4: When in doubt, start one tier down. Hawaiian hot sauces often layer real chili heat with tropical fruit and umami, which can taste hotter than the label suggests. If you’re between two tiers, the milder one is the safer bet.
Mild
Little to no heat, flavor-forward. Safe for sensitive palates and great as an everyday table sauce.
• Hawaiian Hot T’s BBQ Bruddah — sweet, smoky mango chipotle whiskey BBQ sauce
• Hawaiian Hot T’s Sop Brah — creamy serrano, avocado, and soursop
Medium
Noticeable warmth that’s still approachable for most people. The safest bet if you’re unsure where to start.
• Hi Spice Triple Garlic — oven-roasted and caramelized garlic, three ways
• Hawaiian Hot T’s Oahu Onion — sweet onion, roasted garlic, and pineapple
• Hawaiian Hot T’s POG — passion fruit and orange with a ghost pepper kick
Hot
Real heat that builds and lingers. Not for the heat-averse, but still food-forward rather than punishing.
• HI Spice Sriracha — Hawai‘i-grown jalapenos, local chilies, and Maui honey
• Hawaiian Hot T’s Maui Owie — onion, garlic, pineapple, and habanero
Extra Hot
Serious, front-loaded heat, habanero-level and up. Know what you’re signing up for.
• Kauai Habanero — fermented chocolate habanero, about twice as hot as a regular habanero
• Da Big Island Burn Mango Habanero — Big Island mango and local habaneros, nothing else
Ghost
Top-tier heat, ghost pepper, Carolina Reaper, and hotter. A warning-label product — a little goes a long way.
• Volcano Spice Carolina Reaper — one of the hottest peppers in the world, straight up
• Volcano Spice Ghost Chili Pepper — full-bodied, even heat from Maui-grown ghost chilies
Still Not Sure?
When in doubt, Medium is the friendliest place to start — and every bottle in our Hot Sauces collection is made in Hawai‘i with real, local ingredients.
