I decided to do some written reviews of some of the chiles to save some time. Here are my thoughts about some of the other chiles that have been sent to me. Thanks Jacob and Sean
Sean’s Naga / Jalapeno Cross – This was a really neat chile. What potential this could have if it was stabilized. Looks and feels exactly like a medium size Jalapeno but really packs a punch. I had heard this was a good pepper so I was looking forward to trying it. Cut it open and it looked just like a Jalapeno. It had very juicy looking medium-thick skin and a smaller amount of seeds(16). It had a similar amount of placenta in veins running through the chile and around the seed pod. Aroma was similar to a Jalapeno… poddy with a light Naga influence. Initial flavor was jalapeno, fresh and poddy then the aftertaste was a medium watered down Naga flavor. It really did not taste that good, I don’t like to eat Jalapenos raw off the pod. What was so intriguing is the possibilities of this pepper. I eat Jalapenos and Green Chile pretty much every day of the year. Roasted with everything, fresh in pico de gallo salsa, baked in poppers and boiled into salsas. It is such a versatile chile. So were they hot? The heat on these was awesome… a good step above an Orange Habanero I would say. Could even be a tad hotter than that. They gave me a great overall mouth burn similar to a Naga Morich just toned down quite a bit. If these were stable I could see planting a bunch of these plants. As it is, I will be planting several just to see what happens. I can’t wait to roast one and put the other one raw in to some fresh Pico. Another great one Sean.
Black Pearl – I have always wondered what an ornamental type pepper tastes like. The BP is a really beautiful black/purple plant with nice small round deep red mature chiles. First thing I have to say is holy cow these things have a ton of seeds for their size. I popped a whole little chile in my mouth (Woo hoo My first “Eating the whole chile pod” review) and almost had to spit it out because it seemed like more seed than flesh. I filtered the seeds through my teeth and spit them in the sink. Kept chewing the small pod… very fresh poddy taste, a bit like a raw jalapeno for me. Almost no flavor aside from the poddy or lettuce taste. Heat was pretty peppy. Gave me a nice slow building overall mouth burn. Very little on the tongue, more roof of the mouth. It actually lingered nicely for 15 minutes or so. I really can’t see a use for these other than looking awesome and to get some conversation going about chiles when people see it.
Congo Trinidad – Smooth nice looking Medium size red pods. When I cut it open I got a hint of fruity aroma. Small placenta with and medium amount of seed attached. The inside of the one I had was really really oily all the interior surfaces were shiny. It looked impressive. I would say medium–thin skin had nice juicy crunch. Flavor was similar to a Red Habanero I have had. Mildly fruity with the signature Habanero flavor but smoother than an Orange Hab. Heat was similar to an Orange Habanero which was surprising considering how they inside looked. I liked it quite a bit, but I will still keep looking to see if I can find a better Red Hab variety. I am thinking Antilles Caribbean or even Caribbean Reds but if those turn out to be similar I would be happy just growing this one. I used the extras I had of these to make some great salsa, much better than when I make it with orange habs.
Mustard Habanero – Really cool looking deep yellow mustard colored pods. Very wavy and undulating this particular pod was pretty small. I have heard however, that these can get very big. Skin seemed a little thinner than the Congo Trinidad and the inside was not nearly as shiny or oily but had more placenta with very few seeds. Flavor was typical habanero. I did not find it at all fruity like the Congo. Still I thought it was smoother and better tasting than a normal orange habanero. Heat was the similar to an orange habanero. These would make some cool looking poppers or give a salsa a nice color.
Foodorama Scotch Bonnet – Cool looking pod. Flat and smushed looking yellow pod. Wondering if this is one of those Scotch Bonnets that is not a true C. Chinese variety. When I cut it open I did not get any aroma. Smelling it revealed a poddy, sweet grassy smell. Medium thick skin. Very little placenta and a good medium amount of seeds. Flavor was a sweet grassy/poddy flavor. Not bad not great. I kept nibbling on it though so it had something about it that was intriguing . Heat was very nice, more burn than an orange habanero. That may be due to this being my first scotch bonnet. I am really looking forward to trying another variety of Scotch bonnet. I have heard so many good things about them and their flavor. This one as of now, was just average flavor. I was really expecting this one to be better based on comments I have read about this variety, so I would definitely give this one a second chance.
Sean’s Naga / Jalapeno Cross – This was a really neat chile. What potential this could have if it was stabilized. Looks and feels exactly like a medium size Jalapeno but really packs a punch. I had heard this was a good pepper so I was looking forward to trying it. Cut it open and it looked just like a Jalapeno. It had very juicy looking medium-thick skin and a smaller amount of seeds(16). It had a similar amount of placenta in veins running through the chile and around the seed pod. Aroma was similar to a Jalapeno… poddy with a light Naga influence. Initial flavor was jalapeno, fresh and poddy then the aftertaste was a medium watered down Naga flavor. It really did not taste that good, I don’t like to eat Jalapenos raw off the pod. What was so intriguing is the possibilities of this pepper. I eat Jalapenos and Green Chile pretty much every day of the year. Roasted with everything, fresh in pico de gallo salsa, baked in poppers and boiled into salsas. It is such a versatile chile. So were they hot? The heat on these was awesome… a good step above an Orange Habanero I would say. Could even be a tad hotter than that. They gave me a great overall mouth burn similar to a Naga Morich just toned down quite a bit. If these were stable I could see planting a bunch of these plants. As it is, I will be planting several just to see what happens. I can’t wait to roast one and put the other one raw in to some fresh Pico. Another great one Sean.
Black Pearl – I have always wondered what an ornamental type pepper tastes like. The BP is a really beautiful black/purple plant with nice small round deep red mature chiles. First thing I have to say is holy cow these things have a ton of seeds for their size. I popped a whole little chile in my mouth (Woo hoo My first “Eating the whole chile pod” review) and almost had to spit it out because it seemed like more seed than flesh. I filtered the seeds through my teeth and spit them in the sink. Kept chewing the small pod… very fresh poddy taste, a bit like a raw jalapeno for me. Almost no flavor aside from the poddy or lettuce taste. Heat was pretty peppy. Gave me a nice slow building overall mouth burn. Very little on the tongue, more roof of the mouth. It actually lingered nicely for 15 minutes or so. I really can’t see a use for these other than looking awesome and to get some conversation going about chiles when people see it.
Congo Trinidad – Smooth nice looking Medium size red pods. When I cut it open I got a hint of fruity aroma. Small placenta with and medium amount of seed attached. The inside of the one I had was really really oily all the interior surfaces were shiny. It looked impressive. I would say medium–thin skin had nice juicy crunch. Flavor was similar to a Red Habanero I have had. Mildly fruity with the signature Habanero flavor but smoother than an Orange Hab. Heat was similar to an Orange Habanero which was surprising considering how they inside looked. I liked it quite a bit, but I will still keep looking to see if I can find a better Red Hab variety. I am thinking Antilles Caribbean or even Caribbean Reds but if those turn out to be similar I would be happy just growing this one. I used the extras I had of these to make some great salsa, much better than when I make it with orange habs.
Mustard Habanero – Really cool looking deep yellow mustard colored pods. Very wavy and undulating this particular pod was pretty small. I have heard however, that these can get very big. Skin seemed a little thinner than the Congo Trinidad and the inside was not nearly as shiny or oily but had more placenta with very few seeds. Flavor was typical habanero. I did not find it at all fruity like the Congo. Still I thought it was smoother and better tasting than a normal orange habanero. Heat was the similar to an orange habanero. These would make some cool looking poppers or give a salsa a nice color.
Foodorama Scotch Bonnet – Cool looking pod. Flat and smushed looking yellow pod. Wondering if this is one of those Scotch Bonnets that is not a true C. Chinese variety. When I cut it open I did not get any aroma. Smelling it revealed a poddy, sweet grassy smell. Medium thick skin. Very little placenta and a good medium amount of seeds. Flavor was a sweet grassy/poddy flavor. Not bad not great. I kept nibbling on it though so it had something about it that was intriguing . Heat was very nice, more burn than an orange habanero. That may be due to this being my first scotch bonnet. I am really looking forward to trying another variety of Scotch bonnet. I have heard so many good things about them and their flavor. This one as of now, was just average flavor. I was really expecting this one to be better based on comments I have read about this variety, so I would definitely give this one a second chance.
