i am sure if you too exactly 1 fresh pod worth of dried flake and tossed it in your mouth the sensation would be damn near identical i have this powder that has who knows how many different pods in it, i use 1/8 tsp on a whole breakfast burrito and its hotter than most people can eat.In my experience, while they retain all of the capsaicin, with the exception of any lost during cutting them up for drying, or while grinding them up, they are more manageable than fresh. Here's why: there is no water to violently throw the capsaicin around your mouth, so it is more even coating across your mouth, and doesn't have "hot spots" from the water flinging the oil droplets everywhere inside your mouth.