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sinensis: Pepper Reviews (2018)

sinensis

sinensis

gdi, i got like half done with this post and then accidentally navigated away and lost it all. here we go again!

i'm growing some plants, and i also treated myself to a couple of SFRBs from members here. this gave me the luxury of comparing 20 varieties today.
i'm making notes of my impressions to decide what to grow next year, and i thought maybe noobs would find them helpful, too. keep in mind though that everyone's taste is different, and of course there's some plant-to-plant flavor variation.

C. chinense

carolina reaper
  • heat: 4+/5
  • grow next year? yea, but only because i have a big plant i wanna overwinter. otherwise it might not have made the cut.
  • overall rating: 2/5
  • pretty hot with decent fruity flavor. pretty pods. gnarly and bumpy, and the stingers are fun. just not as exciting to me compared to others in this list. i wish i could try primo pepper side by side and compare.
7 pot yellow brain strain
  • heat: 5/5
  • grow next year? 100%
  • overall rating: 5/5
  • a favorite! the hottest pepper on this list, but the taste is super good. a little bitter but quite fruity and citrusy. best superhot on here. also, the pods are cool looking. bumpy. elongated bonnet-like shape.
trinidad moruga scorpion
  • heat: 5/5
  • grow next year? probably not
  • overall rating: 2/5
  • probably second hottest pepper on this list. fairly bitter, not very distinctive aroma. totally beautiful and distinctive appearance (very bumpy, boxy, lobulated pods).
yellow trinidad moruga scorpion
  • heat: 3/5
  • grow next year? probably not
  • overall rating: 2/5
  • compared to the red scorp: firmer, thicker walled, juicier, sweeter, less bitter. still not that distinctive though.
yellow fatalii
  • heat: 4+/5
  • grow next year? probably yea
  • overall rating: 4/5
  • pleasing texture. nice flavor. kinda citrusy. elegant color and shape. pretty dang hot
bhut jolokia (ghost pepper)
  • heat: 4/5
  • grow next year? yes, overwintering one of mine
  • overall rating: 5/5
  • one of my overall favorites. bhuts seem to have a distinctive flavor profile that i like, and these red ones i have are also very fruity (love it). one of the biggest fruit explosions of all i've tried.
yellow bhut jolokia (ghost pepper)
  • heat: 3/5
  • grow next year? possibly. would use as a component of ghost pepper sauce to cut the heat of the reds a little but not dilute the bhut flavor profile too much.
  • overall rating: 2/5
  • substantially less hot than the red ghost. sweet. seems to have that bhut character but is also lacking some of the exciting fruity blast the reds had.
bahamian goat
  • heat: 3/5
  • grow next year? 100%
  • overall rating: 5/5
  • a winner for sure. great fruity and floral flavor. distinctive.
CGN21500
  • heat: 2/5
  • grow next year? i saved some seeds and will probably try to
  • overall rating: 3/5
  • beautiful pepper with peach-purple color gradient. pretty good flavor. i didn't take notes when i ate it, but it might have been a little tart? fruity? i remember being impressed anyway.
MOA scotch bonnet
  • heat: 3/5
  • grow next year? maybe, but i liked the papa dreadie a little more
  • overall rating: 4/5
  • good texture, juicy, slightly citrusy, all around a good pepper and not stupid hot. maybe my second fav SB.
WHP scotch bonnet
  • heat: 3/5
  • grow next year? maybe, but i liked papa dreadie a little more
  • overall rating: 4/5
  • pretty similar flavor to MOA, but if i had to choose between them, maybe i'd give the nod to MOA. as far as appearance goes, i've heard WHP has more consistent pheno?
papa dreadie scotch bonnet
  • heat: 3/5
  • grow next year? yes
  • overall rating: 4/5
  • maybe my favorite SB. similar to MOA and WHP, but i think that it's my favorite of the three. very fresh flavor, maybe a little sweeter, maybe a hint of bell pepper (in a good way).
saraga scotch bonnet
  • heat: 2/5
  • grow next year? pretty tasty. probably distinctive enough from the other SBs in terms of flavor and heat level (milder) that i'd consider growing it too
  • overall rating: 4/5
  • the most bell-pepper-like of the SBs in terms of flavor. pleasant, sweet. also the mildest.
foodarama scotch bonnet (red)
  • heat: 2+/5
  • grow next year? maybe not
  • overall rating: 3/5
  • maybe my least favorite SB. has a bit of an annuum aroma to it, kind of like a sweet bell pepper. a little less citrusy? somehow less fun to eat than the others. also more thin-walled.
chocolate scotch bonnet
  • heat: 3+/5
  • grow next year? yes
  • overall rating: 5/5
  • one of my overall favs. the hottest of the SBs, but the flavor profile is where it really shines. great chinense flavor. decent fruitiness. thinner-walled than the classic SBs. tbh it doesn't remind me that much of the other SBs, but maybe a little. it's its own pepper. it kind of reminds me of the reaper flavor, but this is tastier. also beautiful color and shape.
C. baccatum

brazilian starfish
  • heat: 1/5
  • grow next year? i saved a few seeds, will probably try
  • overall rating: 3/5
  • sweet, maybe a bit tart? VERY beautiful appearance, fun little pepper. i wonder how productive they are. would be nice in salads. not many seeds.
aji lemon drop
  • heat: 2/5
  • grow next year? 100%
  • aji flavor: 3/3 (relative to the other ajis)
  • aji sweetness: 2/3 (relative to the other ajis)
  • overall rating: 5/5
  • one of my TOP TOP picks. my fav aji for sure. super tasty with really exciting, popping, distinctive flavor. citrusy. refreshing. decent heat (was expecting milder). probably the most flavorful and aromatic aji.
aji pineapple
  • heat: 2/5
  • grow next year? probably
  • aji flavor: 2/3 (relative to the other ajis)
  • aji sweetness: 1/3 (relative to the other ajis)
  • overall rating: 4/5
  • my second fav aji. similar to the others ofc. it was citrusy but didn't taste like pineapple to me, but it did to my mom. the second most flavorful but maybe a little less sweet than the others.
aji amarillo
  • heat: 2+/5
  • grow next year? maybe, but would rather grow lemon drop.
  • aji flavor: 1/3 (relative to the other ajis)
  • aji sweetness: 3/3 (relative to the other ajis)
  • overall rating: 3/5
  • reminds me of the lemon drop except not as good/flavorful. maybe the sweetest tasting aji and also the hottest.
C. annuum

shishito
  • heat: 1/5
  • grow next year? maybe
  • overall rating: 2/5
  • when ripe (red), they're sweet and kind of just taste like a sweet bell pepper or something. i prefer to pick them green and roast them with salt and oil. tasty snack or side dish, but you can do that with a lot of other varieties, too.
CONCLUSION
 
out of these, i'm most excited to grow:
  • 7 pot yellow brain strain
  • yellow fatalii
  • bhut jolokia
  • papa dreadie SB
  • saraga SB
  • chocolate SB
  • bahamian goat
  • aji lemon drop
  • aji pineapple
 
CaneDog said:
Smart way to plan for your next growing season.  I see you grew the red Bhut yourself this year.  Which others of the varieties were Sinensis originals?
Click to expand...
 
reaper, red scorp, yellow scorp, red bhut, shishito
 
Good review. It always amazes me how two people can eat the same pepper and have two completely different experiences. It seems absurd to me that the words Red Bhut, sweet, and fruity would ever be used in the same sentence, but it just keeps coming up so maybe my taste buds are just fried, LOL! I think it's just a Chinense thing with me, and my grow seems to have fewer and fewer Chinense varieties every year. Since you liked the Aji varieties, I would highly recommend Aji fantasy and Bishop's Crown. By far my two favorite peppers.
 
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