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heat Faking a world's hottest pepper.

thegreenman

thegreenman

This renewed interest in the World's Hottest Pepper has me wondering...Hypothetically speaking of course, If I were to take a batch of, say Aji Dulce, and add 25 drops of Pure Evil to the peppers during the dehydrating process... Then sent these into a lab for SHU testing... Would the lab results come out with a new world record? I'm not saying anyone else would possibly be doing exactly that[emoji12] to get their new world records....[emoji23] but Xcuse me...

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That's actually a good point though.. only the tiniest amount of capsaicin would need to be added. Like enough to get a chilli up to 2.5mil shu or something. But then you have to have multiple generations and do many plants as well?

I gues you could send a few dried pods to Ed Curry for a 'second opinion' just to make him panick a bit!!
 
Jase4224 said:
That's actually a good point though.. only the tiniest amount of capsaicin would need to be added. Like enough to get a chilli up to 2.5mil shu or something. But then you have to have multiple generations and do many plants as well?

I gues you could send a few dried pods to Ed Curry for a 'second opinion' just to make him panick a bit!!
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All you would really need to do is a single test, and post the results online and get some marketing $$$ behind you, create some buzz in the YouTubeosphere, do a web video series with your "new mystery pepper", and charge $20 for a bottle of generic limited edition Mystery Pepper hot sauce with cap crystals added. Theoretically, of course.

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One of our members works for South West Biolabs.  Nice guy but i forget his name.  As I understand the process, yes that would come up with the desired results and yes you would get paperwork on your sample.  Even if the pepper were fresh, you could inject it with something. 

Back when the Carolina Reaper was building fame, this was an accusation.  Now that the seed stock is out and people can grow it themselves, folk know the thing is real.  But before that pier review of sorts, who knows?

Here is the thing.  Yes, you could probably make good money in the short run.  But I get the feeling your reputation would be tarnished by stunts like this that in the long run you wouldnt profit nearly as much as just being honest.  Lots of people, myself included, are kind of tickled by the whole Hottest Pepper in the World thing but are very happy growing new strains even if they aren't the hottest.

Think on Pepper X.  Lets say it doesn't pan out.  I still think it looks cool.  Really digging on some green and mustard varieties lately.  So ye, I would grow it without the hype and respect the heck out of the person who created it even if it doesnt turn out to be the next hottest.  Honesty pays off.
 
AJ Drew said:
One of our members works for South West Biolabs.  Nice guy but i forget his name.  As I understand the process, yes that would come up with the desired results and yes you would get paperwork on your sample.  Even if the pepper were fresh, you could inject it with something. 

Back when the Carolina Reaper was building fame, this was an accusation.  Now that the seed stock is out and people can grow it themselves, folk know the thing is real.  But before that pier review of sorts, who knows?

Here is the thing.  Yes, you could probably make good money in the short run.  But I get the feeling your reputation would be tarnished by stunts like this that in the long run you wouldnt profit nearly as much as just being honest.  Lots of people, myself included, are kind of tickled by the whole Hottest Pepper in the World thing but are very happy growing new strains even if they aren't the hottest.

Think on Pepper X.  Lets say it doesn't pan out.  I still think it looks cool.  Really digging on some green and mustard varieties lately.  So ye, I would grow it without the hype and respect the heck out of the person who created it even if it doesnt turn out to be the next hottest.  Honesty pays off.
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AJ your article on the Reaper is one of my go to's on the pepper hype phenomenon.

What I don't understand is if Guinness allows the applicants to pick and process their own samples, or if the Guinness officials oversee that aspect. IMO Guinness should handle everything from sample selection to completed testing to ensure samples are genuine.

Off topic: I recently saw a pepper variety that I think you would like to grow. It is called a "Chupper" some type of Reaper cross with a Chupetinho. Looked interesting.

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All you have to do is pay a small lab to fake results to give to Guinness, and pay to expedite the paperwork with Guinness, and you are all set. For the amount of seeds a person can sell, its a cheap investment. Nobody has ever tested a reaper at 2.2 million, and nobody seems to care to do something about it.
 
thegreenman said:
AJ your article on the Reaper is one of my go to's on the pepper hype phenomenon.

 
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Funny because I have not updated it with the claim in one of the latest video. I am sure the video said it was part hab, but I forget the other parent.  Maybe ghost pepper.  Thing is, I never intended to rip on the pepper or its creator.  I just wanted to know what the thing was.  That took me down a very strange rabbit hole.

I think I am starting to see how things work & starting to think some of these folk are genius level marketers.  Pepper X is the best example so far.  Instead of having just that first year with a new pepper before other folk start growing and selling the seeds,  you get who knows how much time selling products containing Pepper X.

See here it is, here it is, look at it, think on it... You can't have it na na bo bo.
 
cycadjungle said:
All you have to do is pay a small lab to fake results to give to Guinness, and pay to expedite the paperwork with Guinness, and you are all set. For the amount of seeds a person can sell, its a cheap investment. Nobody has ever tested a reaper at 2.2 million, and nobody seems to care to do something about it.
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And herein lies the problem. Guinness sells their books and gets their $$$ whether it is legitimate or not.

Also not just seeds, but sauces, candies, tshirts, powders, spices, chips, etc...

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Anything above a ghost pepper and I can't tell the heat difference anyway, although a reaper is the only one that's ever put me in the fetal position clutching my stomach.
 
I ate a whole reaper recently and it was terrible. was it the hottest pepper in the world? who knows. I do believe there are hotter peppers out there but one would need to pay the money to have it tested and hire lawyers to fight all the political crap that goes along with it. It's not as simple as just having a pepper tested or even a batch of peppers tested. There's a lot of money to be made on "the worlds hottest pepper" and you bet your a$$ people will pay big money to maintain or acquire the title.
 
On reapers tasting horrible: If you cut them open, cut out the seeds and placenta, rinse with cold water, and then use them in cooking ( especially jams ) they have a really amazing flavor.  Kind of tingles the back of the neck.  The trick is getting the heat to flavor ratio down a bit.  Most of the heat is in the placenta.  Most of the flavor is in the walls.  Seriously, give it a try.
 
Is having the hottest pepper in the world really all that profitable?  I don't know.  I am sure with the right marketing it could be, but so could anything.  Now the hottest pepper in the world with Plant Variety Protection, yes that could make money.  But without that, one year after the seeds are released and everyone is growing and selling it.
 
Is having the hottest pepper in the world really all that profitable? I don't know. I am sure with the right marketing it could be, but so could anything. Now the hottest pepper in the world with Plant Variety Protection, yes that could make money. But without that, one year after the seeds are released and everyone is growing and selling it."

You are right about others growing it. However, when I look through the pepper forums, I see every month someone asking where to buy reaper seeds. Still, after 3-4 years since the original distribution, people always tell the person to go to the source if you want reliable genetics. They are still selling piles of seeds, and selling commercial sized orders of small plants to nurseries and garden stores.
 
cycadjungle said:
You are right about others growing it. However, when I look through the pepper forums, I see every month someone asking where to buy reaper seeds. Still, after 3-4 years since the original distribution, people always tell the person to go to the source if you want reliable genetics. They are still selling piles of seeds, and selling commercial sized orders of small plants to nurseries and garden stores.
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Maybe I dont have perspective on how large the market is.  But even if that market is huge, think about the cost of developing such a thing.  I think Mr. Currie said Pepper X took 10 years.  Seems like playing the lottery.  Still can not imagine it is worth it.  I am very content getting a fair return on a fair amount of labor.
 
 
First, I don't believe a word that comes out of that camp. Remember, in this thread, we aren't talking about legit people. Look how unstable the reaper material was for most people. I could make something that genetically poor in a season or two. If there IS a real pepper, the Dragon's Breath is poised for big sales at once. How old is Troy's Creeper? If he sold seeds at the end of this season, he would sell out. People are buying all kinds of seeds from very new crosses. They even realize that they are going to be unstable, and still spend the money.
The overall market is huge and potentially bigger than any of us can imagine. We just want a little piece of it to be happy. Just think about the US and not the overall world market. On average about 1 in 10 people like some sort of hot food and are at least potential customers for sauce. That's about 30 million customers. How many people who like hot food would be interested in growing at least a few plants? 1 out of 100 maybe? That's 300,000. How many of those people would want to ast least try the hottest pepper? 1 out of 10 would still be 30,000 customers who would want at least 1 pack. Then think how many people would but more than 1 pack. How many packs would someone who wants to grow for a single sasuce maker buy? How many bigger growers would want a commercial amount of seeds? There are quite a few people who would want st least 1000 seeds. Remember, the first year, everyone who wants to be the first to have a product are going to jump all over every seed they can get a hold of. I've seen the same thing for 30 years with rare cycads. I saw someone bring in 15,000 Zamia seeds from Panama and sell them for $8 each to a market of maybe a couple of 100 customers, and sell out in a week. And that was when the internet was brand new. The next year, the same species went for $3 each, but they still sold just as many. We are talking about a market that is over 100 times larger. There are all kinds of new kids getting into hot peppers, and they always want the hottest pepper. The Australians really get into hot peppers too. With the internet, there is an instant world market out there, and it is fueled with pepper forums, food forums and bloggers, and being interviewed by people writing articles of all kinds. All you have to do is mention you have the next hottest pepper, and these people come out of the woodwork to tell the world. It's like they do your marketing and advertising for you.
 
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