51 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:I have a packet of Penzeys "Tien Tsin China Chili Peppers." What might these be?
Tien Tsin is the old romanization of 天津 (Tiān jīn) Tianjin, the large port city in northern China bordering Beijing. Tianjin and other northern cuisine seldom uses chillies.
The chillies are very similar in flavour and strength to those used in Sichuan and Hunan cuisine, but tend to be smaller at about 5 cm / 2 inches long. They are actually a Japanese cultivar that was introduced to China via Tianjin in the late 1970s, hence the name. There is no other connection to the city.
They are not so common in China as they appear to be abroad. The fact that they are using the old romanization tends to support that. It isn't used in China.