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free shipping over $45, because you've suffered enoughour sauce is sooo hot we are legally not responsible for what happens nextside effects may include crying, sweating and texting your exa cure for tabanca (not medically proven)one drop. we said one.hotter than your ex's new partner (allegedly)free shipping over $45, because you've suffered enoughour sauce is sooo hot we are legally not responsible for what happens nextside effects may include crying, sweating and texting your exa cure for tabanca (not medically proven)one drop. we said one.hotter than your ex's new partner (allegedly)free shipping over $45, because you've suffered enoughour sauce is sooo hot we are legally not responsible for what happens nextside effects may include crying, sweating and texting your exa cure for tabanca (not medically proven)one drop. we said one.hotter than your ex's new partner (allegedly)free shipping over $45, because you've suffered enoughour sauce is sooo hot we are legally not responsible for what happens nextside effects may include crying, sweating and texting your exa cure for tabanca (not medically proven)one drop. we said one.hotter than your ex's new partner (allegedly)
tabanca

Trinidadian slang · noun

tabanca

/ta·BANG·ka/

The heartsick, can't-eat, can't-sleep feeling after love leaves you.

Also: the name of the only Trini pepper sauce hot enough to cure it. Six recipes. All very hot. Try at your own risk.

Shop Hot Girl SauceSee all six

Hot Girl Sauce

Try At Your Own Risk

Diagnosis

You may have a case of tabanca.

Symptoms include

  • Can't eat
  • Can't sleep
  • Sad soca on repeat
  • Checking their stories
  • Crying in the car

tabanca

Dept. of Heartbreak · Est. Trinidad

Rx No. 0014

Refills: unlimited

PatientYou, unfortunately

ConditionAcute tabanca

℞

One drop of Tabanca. Pepper so hot you forget who hurt you.

Take with food, never with your ex. Repeat as needed.

Made in small batches from real Trini family recipes.

Not a doctor.
Very much a pepper sauce.

Pria B.

Prescribing auntie

Very hot
Grown in Moruga, TrinidadVery, very hotSmall batchReal family recipesFree shipping over $45Grown in Moruga, TrinidadVery, very hotSmall batchReal family recipesFree shipping over $45Grown in Moruga, TrinidadVery, very hotSmall batchReal family recipesFree shipping over $45Grown in Moruga, TrinidadVery, very hotSmall batchReal family recipesFree shipping over $45

Six ways to cry

The Hot Sauces

Shop all sauces
Hot Girl Sauce by TabancaBESTSELLER
Hot Girl Sauce

Very hot. Try at your own risk.

Try At Your Own Risk

$16

Trini Firestorm by TabancaNEW
Trini Firestorm

A whole Carnival in one bottle.

Try At Your Own Risk

$16

Grill Daddy by Tabanca
Grill Daddy

Big grill energy.

Full Tabanca

$17

Situationship by Tabanca
Situationship

Sweet at first. Then it hurts.

Full Tabanca

$16

Main Character by TabancaTRY AT YOUR OWN RISK
Main Character

Not for side characters.

Try At Your Own Risk

$19

A little history

Pepper sauce crossed an ocean to get here.

Every Trini bottle carries two worlds: India and the Caribbean. Scroll the story.

Historic illustration of the ship Fatel Razack

1845

On 30 May 1845 the Fatel Razack docked in Port of Spain carrying the first 225 Indian labourers. Over the next 72 years, around 143,000 people would make the same crossing.
Archival photograph of East Indian families in Trinidad

c. 1890

They carried very little, but they carried recipes. Geera, turmeric, mango kuchela and a love of heat took root in Trinidad soil and in every family kitchen.
A basket of scotch bonnet peppers

The pepper

Peppers grew here long before any ship arrived. Indian chutneys and achars met Caribbean bonnets, African and Creole cooking joined in, and Trini pepper sauce was born.
Ripe red Trinidad Moruga Scorpion peppers

Moruga

From Trinidad's south coast came the Moruga scorpion, once crowned the hottest pepper in the world. Naturally, we put it in everything.
Doubles street food from Trinidad and Tobago

Today

Now no doubles, roti or curry duck is finished without it. Ask for 'slight pepper' and you'll still cry. Tabanca bottles that story, one very hot drop at a time.

Heat, rated in heartbreak

How hot is it, really?

We don't make mild. Slide to see what you're in for.

Try At Your Own Risk

We are not responsible for what happens next.

CrushHeartacheHeartbreakFull TabancaTry At Your Own Risk
Hot Girl Sauce

Hot Girl Sauce

Trini Firestorm

Trini Firestorm

Main Character

Main Character

What sets Tabanca apart

A closer look at our recipes, heat, production and the people behind each bottle.

Tabanca compared with conventional grocery store sauces
ComparisontabancaConventional Grocery Store
Authentic Trini recipes

Our family recipes. Indo-Caribbean heritage in every bottle.

Brand-dependent

Very hot, every sauce

The entire range is 4–5 out of 5.

Brand-dependent

Fresh batch preparation

Small batches, sometimes prepared as orders arrive.

A shelf purchase comes from existing stock.

Direct family support

Order directly from our bootstrapped NYC family.

Purchased through a retailer.

4.9 FROM HEARTBROKEN CUSTOMERS

“I cried. Then I bought four more.”
PREM, BROOKLYN
“Tastes like my grandmother's kitchen and a breakup.”
Marcus, Austin
“Grill Daddy made my actual dad emotional.”
Jess, Chicago

From Pria's kitchen

Hot Girl Wings

Made with Hot Girl Sauce

Hot Girl Wings

Saturday Doubles

Made with Trini Firestorm

Saturday Doubles

Curry Duck by the River

Made with Trini Firestorm

Curry Duck by the River

Pineapple & Mango Chow

Made with Situationship

Pineapple & Mango Chow

Ornate cobalt and gold Love, Pepper & Other Problems cookbook by Pria Batista, beside roti and pepper sauce

The cookbook · By Pria Batista

Love, Pepper
& Other Problems

Recipes from a homesick Trini kitchen

A little homesickness. A lot of pepper. Pria’s love letter to the food she left Trinidad for—and never stopped missing.

Digital edition

$25

Your kitchen, everywhere.

Signed hardcover

$85

Personally signed by Pria.

Choose your edition

Questions

Asked & answered

Is it really that hot?

Yes. Every sauce is 4 or 5 out of 5. A drop is a serving. Start with one.

Where are the peppers from?

Moruga, on Trinidad's south coast, home of the Moruga scorpion, once the hottest pepper in the world.

Can I ship a gift directly?

Yes. Add a free illustrated gift note, hide the price, and ship it straight to them.

Do you ship across the US?

All 50 states. Free shipping over $45, usually 2–5 business days.