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The Addiction

I'm curious to hear how people became chileheads. Was it a natural attraction or did it take time to enjoy the burn? I actually liked spicy food my whole life but took it to the extreme about 5 years ago. If this thread has been covered already, i apologize. ;)
 
Great topic.  I have always loved spicy food, but I am going to say it was gardening that really motivated my obsession.  We do grow a lot of common produce, but my love is growing new, different and unusual things. 
 
After visiting my sister in Texas as a teenager I gained a fond love for authentic Mexican style cooking. For years I kept my spices fairly tame, but were fairly hot for my family. Then several years ago I picked up a random habanero plant at a retail store of some kind thinking I was a badass. Grew them out and they turned out to be Caribbean Red habs. I used them in a chili I made up on the spot and it absolutely killed. I have been hooked ever since.
 
The bug bit for me after a few years growing low level jalapeños and cayennes, I bought a bunch of dried mexican (pablano etc) peppers to start making more authentic mexican dishes. I ordered some habanero powder at the same time.   That year, I then bought a habanero plant and a red bhut at a local nursery.  The world opened up to both heat and flavour and the bug bit hard from there. The first red bhut is being overwintered, and I intend to keep taking seeds from it to keep it going into the future, as I have a lot to thank this plant for my ever expanding addition to my growing addiction.  
 
I have about 20 bonsai and a 1400m2 block filled with garden so it was an easy transition to growing indoors for the next season as I already grow ficus bonsai inside over winter under lights.  It also played to my penchant for collecting as many varieties as I can.  
 
That first bite od a jalapeño way back at some mexican friends of mines house . had it with tortillas , always one in one hand and tortilla in the other !      :onfire:
 
I always liked spicy but started on all the varieties last year. I was building the garden and not sure what triggered it but I was searching for wild brazil which led me to this forum. Ordeed a bunch of different seeds off ajijoe. Planted a few varieties. Wasn't until last fall that the collection really started to take off.
 
I also always enjoyed spicy food, but hanging out with Indian friends really spiked my love for all things hot.

Ted Barrus' You Tube videos have motivated me to start growing this year. I never knew chilies could be so vibrant and complex.

My friends think I'm an idiot, and my wife is reconsidering our marital arrangement but I find it oddly relaxing.
 
I was reading about the health benefits of cayenne pepper one time right after I had taken my blood pressure, which was around 180 over 110 at the time. I went to the kitchen and mixed 1/4 teaspoon of off-the-shelf cayenne pepper into a glass of tomato juice and it almost laid me out. After I could finally breathe again I checked my pressure and discovered it was down to 115 over 75 (at least for a while).
 
After that experience and with the other reported benefits I decided to see if I could handle doing it every day. I discovered as time went on it took more and more cayenne to do the trick and I got to the point I need to do two or three habaneros worth of heat (and still building) to get enough kick for my body to feel it. 
 
I cannot say I enjoy the burn to my taste buds but that is a necessary component for the over-all affect that I seek. Even though my motivation is medicinal, I now feel totally lost without my morning kick. Typical addict I suppose, I came here looking for better sources to feed my habit. Sooner or later I will, no doubt, need to turn into a real pepper-head even though I am starting off on a less pure approach.
 
When I was young, Tabasco appalled me. I couldn't believe my dad would put it on his eggs. In the summer of '77, I was abducted by aliens. In addition to the anal probe, they stuck something down my throat. Whatever they did, it desensitized both areas to capsaicin. Soon afterwards, I found myself craving Tabasco and was soon out-pouring my dad. During high school, I graduated to Salsa Brava, Pico Pica, and a few Mexican label habanero sauces. I'd also indulge in spicy restaurant food. I remember one of my first girlfriends cooking me Kung Pao chicken with peppers bought at the store. Every year, about this time, I start craving super hot peppers and food. The Perseid Meteor shower during August reminds me of my alien friends. When I see a falling star, I often wonder if they are coming back for me. 
 
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