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chinense Carolina Reaper confirmed the world's hottest pepper

We all know this is all about a public marketing angle.  And if your in the biz of selling hot peppers, getting that piece of paper, gives you the "bragging rights" over on your competition = $$$
 
But we all know there are hotter and stable peppers that are reviewed on this forum frequently, that would
kick this one to the burb. Just sayin-
 
Ed's story hasn't changed since the start of this saga and he's stated many times in different forums as to the original plants.  He still has the original plants that can be used for genetic testing.  I've med Ed and he's not a "Snake Oil" salesman.  He has the science to back it up.  I don't know how many tests were performed to get the ratings of 1.56 average SHU and 2.2 for a high SHU, but I bet it was more than 2 tests!
 
edit- can't answer to NuHot's statement of $$$ being the reason.  It's almost kind of blasé now.... (yawn) another hottest pepper?  Having talked with Ed for quite a while afterhours at a festival, I don't think that's Ed's main motivation, but, can't say for sure as I'm not Ed!  :)
 
teejay said:
It's not hard, but VERY costly - there's a thread elsewhere discussing importing into Australia and the number of people who don't like it.
 
I can get the HP22B, but I won't go on record saying why I won't at the moment. I wouldn't want anyone to misinterpret me about Ed's glory at the moment.
 
If I could get the "real deal", i would be happy to volunteer my time and effort to grow it directly alongside my Primo's. But, I have probably 150 odd plants at the moment I'm caring for and I don't think I could grow enough reapers to get a big enough harvest to be useful - you know, the one versus many philosophy.
 
Is the general idea worth pitching to the whole THP community, or is it a hand grenade?

teejay yields to Mr Hill on the matter, other than to say I thought scientificc evidence could be *proof*. Isn't that what the Guinness record needs ?
 
But, personally, I grow for looks more than heat - most 7 pots make me sweat thinking about them ( I use the example of 7 pot's based on comment from Spicegeist)
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It's been lab tested for SHU but not Genetically tested as to what genes it carries.

I really have nothing invalided other then my thoughts and as this is a forum on peppers and is to shear our thoughts and knowledge. My brother use to test soil and water so I under stand what it takes to do the Lab test and being I studied genetics in College and on my own for over 30 years I under stand genetics but not a expert on ether one. The stinger in pepper plants is a incomplete Dominate gene so one gene shows some and two genes shows it to it's fullest, but if the pepper strain/s doesn't carry it it would never show up with out a mutant, and in a cross to have a mutant show up like the reaper odds are more then 100,000 to 1.
 
Hi Megahot,
 
Of the "hotter" chilli, isn't the death strain the HP48 ?
 
Ed must have a stupendously big growing setup based on these numbers - I'm jealous.
 
Regards,
 
Tim
 
PS - I read the death strain will not be released to the public (according to a "close friend"). So where to from the H strain of the HP22 for the next (official) hottest ? i.e. Nuhot's comments have been noted
 
teejay, Ed does have a very large grow operation.
 
\As to the odds of a chile having a stinger or not- from first hand experience ( and by first hand, I mean literally handling ### by HAND) I hand processed about 400 pounds of 7 Pots, Scorp varieties and habaneros.  Everyone posts pictures of the gnarliest pods when in fact only about 5 % of the pods I processed had that gnarly look.  Probably 25%-30% had a stinger, and all the rest just looked like red habs.
 
I also processed some habs that looked like serranos. 
 
 
Not quibbling with anyone's acclaimed lineages for their chiles, just saying that most people expect every single chile from a scorpion to have a tail and to look gnarly when that is not the case. 
 
Hmmm, I have hybrid nagas (mixed with other nagas) with stingers. I wouldn't be surprised if it came about through hybridization.
 
Here is my hybrid naga (which is almost stable) crossed with a 7 pot original (F1):
 
9620227343_8107c0d8d1.jpg

 
The naga used:
 
9520499358_44867b4a95.jpg

 
I wouldn't be surprised if through a lot of selection I could get a pronounced stinger.
 
 
Edit: Forgot. The 7 pot Primo is crossed with a naga. It probably got its tail from the naga. I see a lot of nagas with little tails.
 
Dulac, how all the cross-breeding works could probably take up a whole forum unto itself.  I'm not a grower so I can't comment about all that.     
 
 
But it is Official- the Carolina Reaper has passed the tests for the Guinness Book Of Records for the World Hottest Chile. 
 
 
 
 
until the next chile.....  :lol:
 
 
 
For a while it seemed like every chile was the newest hottest.  It sounds like Guinness has set up some tests and guidelines to get a handle on all the new superhots and to provide the general public with something that actually is what it is for a chile. 
 
hottoddy said:
 
I don't see anyone in this thread is saying it's a Primo, or another chile pepper in disguise.  Maybe I missed it.  It seems many see the "naga x habanero" cross claim as quite perplexing - given the strong similarities to other varieties.  Either way, it's cool to see a new cross get the record. Congrats!
 
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It tastes unique compared to other superhots. Nothing like a 7 pot. I don't like how they marketed the pepper, but it tastes really good imo. It's a good pepper. I'm kinda happy a good tasting pepper has made it as the "hottest." The Moruga and TS Butch T. taste terrible to me.

salsalady said:
Dulac, how all the cross-breeding works could probably take up a whole forum unto itself.  I'm not a grower so I can't comment about all that.     
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True. I don't think Ed is lying to us about the cross. 

Spicegeist said:
"Habanero" is probably code for 7 Pot or Trinidad Scorpion of some sort, "Naga" is probably code for Dorset Naga or something like that. 
 
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I don't think it was a naga x a 7 pot or TS because of the flavor. A sweet pepper that isn't a superhot seems to be used to get a sweet flavor. He might have backcrossed the naga many times with the sweet habanero to get the heat and flavor right. It's possible he introduced a 7 pot or TS, but if he did, the breeding had to be very complex and laborious to get the sweet flavor.

teejay said:
Up to H strain ?
 
A through H makes 8 generations by my count.
 
2013 back to 2008 is 6 years (inclusive).
 
So, 8 generations in 6 years? (A genuine question without malice since I do not know much about what's possible or not). 
 
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Yeah, it's possible if you live in the right climate or grow indoors. You could do 8 gens in less than 6 years even. I bet he grow a ton in his greenhouse. 

teejay said:
I can get the HP22B, but I won't go on record saying why I won't at the moment. I wouldn't want anyone to misinterpret me about Ed's glory at the moment.
 
If I could get the "real deal", i would be happy to volunteer my time and effort to grow it directly alongside my Primo's. But, I have probably 150 odd plants at the moment I'm caring for and I don't think I could grow enough reapers to get a big enough harvest to be useful - you know, the one versus many philosophy.
 
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No need to grow them side by side. I've eaten them both. The flavors are radically different. I don't care for the grower either but don't take it out on the pepper! The flavor is different than other superhots, which is something we should embrace. Not only is it different, but it tastes very good. 

salsalady said:
edit- can't answer to NuHot's statement of $$$ being the reason.  It's almost kind of blasé now.... (yawn) another hottest pepper?  Having talked with Ed for quite a while afterhours at a festival, I don't think that's Ed's main motivation, but, can't say for sure as I'm not Ed!  :)
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I suspect money isn't the the motivation either. It seems absurd to spend so much time and money on trying to get the record for the purpose of making money.
 
And now for something completely different..............the original topic!
 
Congratulations to Ed!  He has worked hard at breeding and damn hard at being recognised!  Gotta give the man his duly earned fame (or is it notoriety?)
 
This is his reward and he deserves it.  He obviously doesn't want to give anything away because he intends on bettering his own record.  The challenge has been laid down.  I really don't think many people actually give a hootananny about the whole schlep.  He obviously does and that's his train.  I have no bones with him for choosing this as his mission and wish him the best of fortunes.
 
He is quite shrewd though.  He obviously knew he would be lambasted by the Chili community for stating that the parents are what they allegedly are.  But that has only increased the publicity - it is trending folks, it is trending!
 
I for one have surmised that there were no such parents involved.  It is a complex hybrid of (frutescens x chinense) x chinense.  Obviously hot ones.  No sweeties in there.
 
Letter designations prolly have little to do with generations.
You cross a couple pepper plants.
Around f2/f3 you see interesting variations.
You choose several to breed out to stable.
Maybe some interesting variations crop up in f5/f6.
Maybe you add another letter, or maybe you dont---keeping the line designation and changing your desired outcome.
 
RobStar said:
I for one have surmised that there were no such parents involved.  It is a complex hybrid of (frutescens x chinense) x chinense.  Obviously hot ones.  No sweeties in there.
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What makes you think it's a frutescens x chinese hybrid? No sweeties? Where did it get its sweetness from?
 
As far as I know the Naga is a C. frutescens x chinense hybrid.
 
Dulac said:
 
What makes you think it's a frutescens x chinese hybrid? No sweeties? Where did it get its sweetness from?
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The Bhut is a frutescens x chinense hybrid.  In all likelihood an introgressive hybrid whereby frutescens had one little fling with chinense.  The resultant offspring were either line bred or backcrossed onto chinense - this might all have been accidental and random - i.e. without someone purposefully guiding it.
 
Now.  The Naga Morich appears to be a different cat.  I surmise that it is a continuation of the original chinense that found it's way from Trinidad via an English dude who was the governor in Trini but was then seconded to India (true story).  Many chinense are actually sweet.  So are some annuum.  But they aren't part of this drama so let's leave them alone.
 
So let me explain my hypothesis a bit better:  a Naga Morich was crossed with a frutescens (the now-infamous Pakistan naga perhaps - remember naga is not a specific chili in those parts but rather refers to their heat level).  This produces a very hot but somewhat crappy tasting chili in the initial offspring.  This is then backcrossed with a chinense - not the Naga morich though - probably an original 7 Pot (basically the BrainStrain).  Out of these offspring (could've been 1000's) certain plants were kept on for further trialling and/or breeding projects.
 
I think his smoke screen (as regards the parents) has done exactly what he wants - create hype but also put growers on the wrong trail.  Breeders on the other hand will know he blowing smoke out of his arse.
 
I said TO MY KNOWLEDGE. I don't know all the stuff Ed has.

teejay said:
Up to H strain ?
 
A through H makes 8 generations by my count.
 
2013 back to 2008 is 6 years (inclusive).
 
So, 8 generations in 6 years? (A genuine question without malice since I do not know much about what's possible or not). 
 
Also, if the plant needs to be stable before relying on it to try and set a record, say something like 5 generations (?), then we potentially go back to HP22B "A" strain coming into existence about 2003 - a decade ago. Does that make sense ?
 
So, having said all that, and coming back to the original topic, I can see how much time Ed and co have put into this endeavour so can't blame them for persisting. They must have a smile as big as the chesire cat !
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What is almost funny to me is that farmers all across this great country grow hybrid corn, beans and every other veggie that we all eat and none of these farmers know what the cross is. The makers of these hybrids do this for a reason... So people cannot duplicate their products. Do you think this is new? Seed companies have done this since the days of single blade plows. It's called business. I'm also amazes that so many people think they have the RIGHT to know all the ins and outs. The ones of you talking about DNA, what's stopping you from testing? Pretty easy to grow out reapers and test the DNA. What's stopping you? Spend less time bitching about someone else's success and go to work. Get motivated. Grow them out. Take them to one of the thousands of labs across the country. Pay the money like Ed has done for testing.

To the moron that said Ed "bribed"...I guess lots of folks must bribe them. It's not a bribe it's a process. Anyone going for any record can pay to expedite the FACT FINDING. As I said, Guinness doesn't test, they simply gather the results and determine the legitimacy of them and if they meet the guidelines. This isn't unique to Ed.
 
Congrats to Ed. You certainly worked hard enough for this.
 
 
sicman said:
1299505846_concert-throw-up.gif

 
all of our press/hype and what not has come from other people. i have never seen ed say anything rude or mean about anything. i feel all the negativity is because of other people that had to get thier fingers in eds cookie jar.

by the end of the day i bet 30 web sites have the tag "home of the worlds hottest pepper" :rofl:
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QFT! For both statements.
 
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