Gardeners -- how do I tell if my peppers are ripe?

impyimpyaj

I'm really hoping someone here can help me out. I bought a pinot noir pepper plant a few weeks ago, and it had a little pepper already growing on it. I've never seen a purple pepper before, which is why I bought it. And I can't find any information on how to tell when to pick it. The plant is small, so it's my understanding that the peppers won't be very large, so I can't go by size. And I've searched for pictures but apparently there are a whole bunch of different colorings for the same type of pepper, so that's not really helping.

For reference, my pepper is about 2 inches long and it's almost completely blackish purple. Just a hint of green around the stem. It *looks* kinda like it's probably ripe. But I don't know if there's something else I should be looking for, or any other criteria I should be using besides just the coloring. Help?

Drenched_N_Motivation

For reference, my pepper is about 2 inches long and it's almost completely blackish purple. Just a hint of green around the stem. It *looks* kinda like it's probably ripe.

Sorry, mind in the gutter.

impyimpyaj

For reference, my pepper is about 2 inches long and it's almost completely blackish purple. Just a hint of green around the stem. It *looks* kinda like it's probably ripe.

Sorry, mind in the gutter.

Yeah, I know. It's impossible not to go there. It's also pretty firm But I really am talking about an ACTUAL pepper. Not a "pepper."

impyimpyaj

<--- The pepper in question.