Komodo Dragon - How does this happen?

AJ Drew

AJ Drew

A couple years ago, maybe 2015, a pepper came out of the UK called the Komodo Dragon.  It was one of the untested hottest peppers in the world.  Thing is, it did not look like a super hot in any of the photos.  No wrinkles.  No blisters.  Per CPI, the thing that makes a super hot is that the placenta grows on the walls of the pepper.  More wrinkles means more internal surface area for that placenta to grow.  I was curious and got some seeds in.  Grew like a habanero, tasted like a habanero, heat like a habanero.  I just kind of blew it off figuring the seed source was a scam.  Now it is a couple seasons later and I am reading the same reviews from lots of folk.
 
Wondering why and how something like that happens.  I can understand people talking about the next hottest when something is in the 2m shu range, but a habanero?

Has anyone else grown the Komodo Dragon and had different results?
 
 
 
As far as the hottest claims, I think it was actually more along the line of hottest ‘commercially’ available being grown and sold fresh to the public in stores (at that time at least – they now sell reapers in the same Tesco stores). There are certainly hotter peppers from the UK being grown that aren’t sold in stores though like the Lucy, Katie, Borg 9 and Bubblegum.
 
(For anyone who might be unfamiliar or to just bring it back to memory - https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/aug/11/uk-hottest-ever-chilli-pepper-komodo-dragon )
 
I’d definitely be interested in any first-hand reports as well as I have some seeds I’ve yet to grow out. The seeds were sent to me from the UK just a week or so (drying time) after they were made available for sale in the public markets. I guess I didn’t end up growing them out because my initial enthusiasm soon dwindled after more and more people started reporting they were either bhut level heat or were just a hab level heat. (Those seem to be the main comparisons – some people seem to get a Naga/bhut level and some a more habanero level. I know quite a few growers in the UK were upset due to the initial heat claims and they coming to the conclusion after trying them that it’s basically ‘just another Naga’ but renamed by playing the 'name game' to cash in on it.) Since I live in an apartment and can’t just grow tons of varieties, I shelved them and kept putting them off till ‘next grow’. I have read that they have excellent flavor though! I should just go ahead and grow them out next season to see what the deal is.
 
Thank you.  I am not so sure about the 1.4 million claim that article made, but if it is over Ghost. I'll buy the word play about hottest commercially grown chili in the UK.  Still, I recall it as more of a hot habanero, sort of like a Red Sav on steroids.  If you like stuffed peppers, do grow it and give it a try.  As I recall, they were fairly thick walled so good for stuffing.
 
I tried these last year. I was not impressed with either the heat or the flavor. The heat seemed to be somewhere in between a habanero and a superhot. It seemed like less than bhut heat to me for sure. The flavor was somewhat sweet and fairly floral, together with a slight chinense taste. The flavor seemed closer to a naga than a habanero to me. The pods looked more like habs though. IMO, the Red Savina has better flavor, and the red Bhut has more heat, so I probably won't include the Komodo Dragon in my future grows.
 
As to how all the buzz about the pepper got started, maybe the thing is unstable and earlier generations were generally hotter. Or maybe it was always nothing more than just hype. If the goal was to generate enough interest to start selling the pepper in stores in the UK, then the hype seems to have worked. Maybe we should start being suspicious of any amazing new peppers coming from the UK with "Dragon" in their names?  :)  :seeya:
 
 
I am growing it this season, got seeds from SpiceFreak - hopefully he sees this thread and adds his 2cents, seeing as he's a UK fella.
 
I though the same thing looks-wise, that's what interests me. Disappointing if it isn't as super hot as is made out... But, hey, if its a chilli, its good, right? (T's&C's Apply)
 
Newspapers back around its release claimed that Tesco's Komodo Dragon was the hottest chilli in the UK, peaking at just over 1.4 million SHU, making it hotter than the prior hottest, the Carolina Reaper, which averaged just over 1.4 million SHU. Then, about a year later, Tesco started selling a new, hotter pepper. The hottest in the world. The Carolina Reaper. This pepper was at least 200K hotter than the Komodo Dragon at an average of over 1.6 million.
Hella dodgy reporting!

But, ignoring the crap that Tesco put out, it didn't seem very Hab like to me.

I got given one of the last fresh Komodo Dragon packs on sale and actually quite liked the pepper. It hit long and slow, like a super, but had only a low Hab level peak. Its taste was reminiscent of rose petals. It wasn't anything to write home about but, as a fan of rose harissa, I'd cook with it. Maybe even make white chocolate truffles with it.

If you're still interested, AJ, I'd be happy to send you some of the seeds I saved.
 
spicefreak said:
If you're still interested, AJ, I'd be happy to send you some of the seeds I saved.
Click to expand...
 

Would love to if you will turn it into a trade.  It was new when I got seeds for it, so maybe I got scammed.  You can look threw my catalog (in my signature) or trust me to send some odd ball things I am working on. 

At this point in the discussion, what I think is likely is I am remembering it tasting hab like because I used it for stuffing a lot.  I think someone said it had a 7 Pot flavor.  Maybe the flavor is mainly in the center that I cut out.  Thing is have always held that most of the actual flavor of a pepper is in the wall, not the placenta / seeds.  Might have to rethink.

On Tesco: Is that a huge grocery store in the UK?  We have huge chains, but their press releases are kind of boring.  Wife says Tesco social media is a hoot. 
 
Generally speaking, the flesh of a pod holds the flavour but I have noticed a few exceptions, including some Reaper/Bonnet hybrids I'm growing, where the placenta's own floral or bitter notes affect the main taste of the pod. It's possible.

Whatever the case, though, I agree with whoever suggested it tasted kind of 7-Pot like and I'll PM you what I'd like to trade for later. It most certainly isn't even Ghost heat, though. I may have been better at eating fresh peppers back then but I was never munch a super and carry on with my day good.
 
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