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Goat's Weed rocks!!!

I was cleaning some pods from this beaut last night for Richard aka ikeepfish and on a whim decided to try some.  Wow! What a tasty chile! 
 
I don't usually eat ripe annuum raw - I either roast them or dry them.  I have generally found that ripe they have a sourness to them - almost as though they are starting to ferment.  Also they don't have much going for them as regards flavour - sometimes you get lucky and they not sour but then they just a bit sweet and capsicum tasting - nothing to write home about.  So I generally use them as a vessel for carrying stuffing and then roast them. 
 
Dried I find they develop all manner of amazing flavours: earthy, raisins, tobacco, fig, caramel, acrid almost like saffron etc.  This is generally how I use them.  Or green.  I find many of the hotter annuum such as the Thai's have an amazing perfume-like high note to them when green and I really enjoy this - almost ethereal and then BANG the green capsicum flavour rushes in with that full smack of dry heat.
 
So imagine my surprise when I chomped a chunk of ripe Goat's Weed and it had that flavour profile!  It was sweet, fruity and had those ethereal high notes to it followed by a serious upfront burn and then a building back-burn!  Not the usual annuum high capsaicin burn - the irritatant dry scratchy burn that ignites your tongue and lips - but sides of the tongue, palate and back of the throat burn!  I even got my wife to try to see if I had it wrong and nope she experienced the same burn.  This means it has high dihydrocapasaicin!  I have only experienced this with chinense.
 
I am so looking forward to making Thai-style dipping sauces with this one.  Yeah, Thai-style baby - love you long time!
 
I originally acquired it (from Peppermania) because of its ornamental properties - it didn't have the best write-up as regards flavour!  It is now a definite favourite and one well worth growing - a very striking plant with its grey fuzzy foliage and white fuzzy stems and black erect fruits ripening to bright red.  And that taste!
 
Rghm1u20 - you will not be disappointed!
 
Jamison - that burn is special!  A new fave!
 
I have a Goats Weed plant I have overwintered.  I will have seeds again this year, keep me in mind for them and I'll help out. 
 
Goat's Weed are one of my favourites too ... look at my avatar :) ... they grow tall, produce a lot of fruit and tolerate high summer temperatures well .. tough son's of.... nature.... well .. anyway .... hot and most interesting among annums i have grown. They'll deffinetely stay on my grow list for a long time...  have a few seeds left and I will have a lot of seeds available by october if all goes well ... if you want a few just PM me and I'll see what can be done
 
does anyone know if diablo and goats weed are the same thing? i grow diablo and from pictures and description it appears to be the same to me.
 
sorry for the hijack rob.
 
hogleg said:
does anyone know if diablo and goats weed are the same thing? i grow diablo and from pictures and description it appears to be the same to me.
 
sorry for the hijack rob.
I would have to say they arent even closely related.  A Goats weed pepper resembles a Thai chili somewhat and so much so that some people mistake them for Black Thai chili, etc.  They are thin walled with a lot of seeds, pods start green and turn to black for a majority of there time then eventually turn a deep red color fully ripened. 
 
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cheers
 
 buzzman your desciption and picture appear to be exactly what i have. fuzzy, green to black to red upright thin skin very hot for annuum. i think the latino community in my area (where i aquired it) applied the generic name diablo to goats weed.
 
hogleg said:
 buzzman your desciption and picture appear to be exactly what i have. fuzzy, green to black to red upright thin skin very hot for annuum. i think the latino community in my area (where i aquired it) applied the generic name diablo to goats weed.
 
Yep, sure sounds the same then.  It wouldnt be the first time someone renames a chili in another region when not knowing the correct name.  I have even heard this chili referred to as a Black Hawaiian Chili. 
 
I overwintered mine so I am expecting massive output this summer and I should have a good bank of seeds. 
 
It is a striking plant.  I am even considering planting some in containers for the patio.
 
As Tsurrie said - definitely one of the more interesting annuums.  And probably the slowest to start flowering.  Mine grew up to 1m tall and only then started branching.  It has the look of a wild plant, not an over-selected commercial variety. And it gets bushy!  Probably wider than tall.
 
It is going to be a permanent fixture on my growlist from now on.
 
Easily the tallest in my current grow, and the only ones that didn't mind the bad dirt that nearly killed off every other sprout.
Got seeds from Judy in one of the "buy 1 get a million free" sales. :onfire:
Almost as an afterthought, as I got so many free packs I was running out of choices I didn't have already.
 
All have had to be topped (several times on a few) to keep them from taking over the grow space.
 
Glad to hear they are worthy.
 
I'm may have to try those Goat's again next year.
I grew them last year, and yeah, fresh, - plenty hot but, nothing to write home about.
Plus, my plants weren't all that fuzzy, almost bald in fact.
The peppers would turn black and eventually red, but rarely could they get any to stand-up.
Maybe my seeds were too old or somethin' :tear:   :confused:  :shh:  
 
tsurrie said:
Goat's Weed are one of my favourites too ... look at my avatar :) ... they grow tall, produce a lot of fruit and tolerate high summer temperatures well .. tough son's of.... nature.... well .. anyway .... hot and most interesting among annums i have grown. They'll deffinetely stay on my grow list for a long time...  have a few seeds left and I will have a lot of seeds available by october if all goes well ... if you want a few just PM me and I'll see what can be done
 
Got the seeds, thanks to tsurrie! With the help of God, will have goat's weed next year!
 
I'm a fan. Had a plant that lasted three years that finally died this winter. Very robust plants, good heat on the pods and prolific. Plus it is a pretty plant. My assassin bugs seem to like the hairy foliage.
 
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