Cayenne comes from the cayenne pepper. These peppers are also part of the Capsicum annuum family, but they’re much hotter than the peppers used to make paprika (from 35,000 Scoville heat units and up).


Red paprika has a sweeter and milder flavor. It may be smoked, which will give it a different flavor altogether. Additionally, Hungarian sweet paprika is milder than Hungarian hot paprika. The hot variety can be hotter than jalapeno. Spanish paprika comes in mild, medium and hot variants.