The mulatto chili from Mexico is a type of fresh poblano pepper that is harvested ripe and dehydrated, which gives it a smoky flavor with notes of cherry, tobacco, mint and dark brown color. It is obtained from a very dark type of poblano chile that almost never goes on sale when fresh, as farmers preserve it to dry it and sell it as chile mulato.

It is easy to confuse the mulatto chili with the ancho chili, to distinguish them they should be opened and looked at each other by candling: the ancho will be red and the mulato brown.