I’ve been interested in this one for a while; this is the first vid and review I’ve yet to see (in English)! Conflicting info on this pepper for sure – I read it referred to as the Coban, Cobanero, and Mayan Love Pepper (seems mostly all are interchangeable or equally synonymous). I’ve ran into the same confusion as to it being either a C. annuum or baccatum. Most pods are said to grow upright/sunrise, but I’ve also read about them growing pendant. The pods look quite similar to the ‘Thai Hot’ variety from Bonnie Plants (same exact color ripening as you describe – bright ‘Granny Smith’ apple green, then a very dark olive/army green almost black, and then bright red! These have a larger/wider base to them though, and the plants, as seen from your vid, are MUCH larger!) TONS of seeds indeed… those things are stuffed; almost as much as the seed quantity in the ‘Rosemary’ peppers I know you grow (they’re ridiculously seedy, Lol!).
I actually contacted someone about this very pepper just a few weeks ago, crazy as that may be – I’m happy to share some of what he wrote to me. I also realized recently that there are quite a few Guatemalan/Honduran/Salvadoran restaurants not too far from me as well (not just Mexican as I thought). I initially (in the excitement of the moment) thought about asking one or all of them about fresh or dried pepper to see if I could get some directly imported from the source… that’s still a possibility, but I haven’t gone any further with that ATM. I essentially did the same by asking in the message I sent to the person I contacted who has direct contacts in Guatemala; here's some of the response:
“Your right, there is very little information online regarding the Cobánero pepper and the information you do find tends to be conflicting… The Cobánero pepper I use is the one known as “Mayan Love Pepper”, it grows upright with bright-red peppers (kind of heart shaped). Depending on the growers you speak with, they will tell you that it’s a C. baccatum as well as an annuum…
So what I have done is chosen a few farmers that grow the Mayan Love Pepper that has the natural Smokey flavor and I just do business with them as I know they have the right pepper.
I purchase the Cobánero peppers directly from the farmers in the highlands of Guatemala, due to the quantity I purchase from them; they ship it to me already sun dried and fire roasted so as far as using the seeds for growing, they would not work for that.
Many of these farmers don’t have any electricity, running water, phone, etc… so with me being back in the US now, it is almost impossible to communicate with them. If I happen to run across some good seeds on my trips to Guatemala I will bring back some and let you know."
Who know, perhaps something will come of it, but I'm not holding my breath. I've had hopes raised, and then been let down by far too many people never getting back to you in the end or simply following through with what they said they'd do. Thanks for the review; I'm betting their really going to put out some nice pods... those plants are already huge!!
