Well, I am finally part of the brother(and sister)hood of Naga eaters!
Since I spread the word earlier this week, a small crowd of people at gathered in the staff room at work today (it was around 20 of us) to watch some of us eat some of the pods that I have been growing at work this season.
On offer:
-One Orange Habanero pod
-One Naga X (Since I have no idea why the pod initially grew upright) pod.
I went through a bit of pomp and circumstance about it, since I was trying to psyche out a co-worker who really wanted to try the Naga. I actually wasn't planning on doing the Naga today, since I was a bit worried about giving slivers of them to co-workers and suddenly incapacitating half the staff.
Worried about this I brought with me a litre of Whole Milk and a Litre of Yop!(Yoghurt drink), just in case.
I put in my gloves, cut up the Orange Habanero into slices and gave one slice each to the four 'trialists' (myself included). It was quite good. No one ran for dear life. I didn't even need to go for any liquid refreshment.
Orange Hab taste was good. Citrus-like and very fresh and crisp. The heat was good. Not terrible. It also didn't start to burn initially, but a good five-ten seconds after chewing.
The rest of the 'testers' were ok with them as well. Drank some Yop and a spot of milk, but nothing serious.
After that, several more people 'in the audience' asked for slivers, and I gave out about four more. It was fun.
The co-worker I was trying to psyche out looked at me and said:
'Is that all you've got?'
Then it got interesting...
I cut a chunk about 3/4inch thick of the Naga, which I'd dubbed 'The Devil's Haemorroids' when I politely introduced it to the crowd (these pods are around 2 1/2inches long), and passed it along to 'J'.
I also took a very small sliver, as did one of the ladies, 'R', (an Israeli lady), and two other guys, 'C', and 'JA'.
'R' did not react at all...
(It must be that women have the pain of childbirth, which is not comparable to anything else in life, therefore chillies are just a momentary inconvenience).
'C' was noticeably uncomfortable, but ate his bit, though then proceeded to raid the milk and yoghurt.
'JA' was really uncomfortable, and ran for the waterfountain. We intercepted him and told him to drink some milk instead. And he's from the land of the Naga, so when I said 'Ghost Chilli', his face lit up as if to say 'You brought that here?!'
Me? I had the sliver in my mouth for about a minute and a half, chewing, but not daring to swallow...
...and I didn't
I have to admit, it was just far too much for me. My mouth and throat felt as though I'd been given turpentine and someone had lit it as I drank... All the while I was thinking to myself 'Hmmm...AAAAAAAAARGH!!!! I can really taste some peachy undertones in this AAAAAAAAAYIIIIIEEEEE!!!!! pepper. It is much sweeter than YYYYYYYAAAAAAAARRRRGGHHHH!!!! the Orange Hab. If it wasn't for the SWEET CHRISTMAS I CAN'T FEEL MY EYES!!! heat, I'd say this was quite the fragrant pod.' I have to admit, though, it was a really good tasting piece of hellfire!
'J' on the other hand....
Well, I'll let the video do the talking about that one. I accidentally told 'C' the wrong way to film it, so instead of one cohesive video, there are 12 fragments, so I'll be going home tonight to hopefully piece them together into one incoherent piece of fun.
Almost everyone at the gathering wasn't a chilehead (I guess I'm the only one that qualifies by virtue of being the grower), but there were quite a few people who would definitely give it a try next time, and I've been asked by people 'When are you having the next one of these?'
Next up: White Habaneros and Chocolate Habaneros...
Update: everyone is now reporting 'burning tummies'. I have told them all 'it hurts on the way in...and it hurts on the way out.'
Since I spread the word earlier this week, a small crowd of people at gathered in the staff room at work today (it was around 20 of us) to watch some of us eat some of the pods that I have been growing at work this season.
On offer:
-One Orange Habanero pod
-One Naga X (Since I have no idea why the pod initially grew upright) pod.
I went through a bit of pomp and circumstance about it, since I was trying to psyche out a co-worker who really wanted to try the Naga. I actually wasn't planning on doing the Naga today, since I was a bit worried about giving slivers of them to co-workers and suddenly incapacitating half the staff.
Worried about this I brought with me a litre of Whole Milk and a Litre of Yop!(Yoghurt drink), just in case.
I put in my gloves, cut up the Orange Habanero into slices and gave one slice each to the four 'trialists' (myself included). It was quite good. No one ran for dear life. I didn't even need to go for any liquid refreshment.
Orange Hab taste was good. Citrus-like and very fresh and crisp. The heat was good. Not terrible. It also didn't start to burn initially, but a good five-ten seconds after chewing.
The rest of the 'testers' were ok with them as well. Drank some Yop and a spot of milk, but nothing serious.
After that, several more people 'in the audience' asked for slivers, and I gave out about four more. It was fun.
The co-worker I was trying to psyche out looked at me and said:
'Is that all you've got?'
Then it got interesting...
I cut a chunk about 3/4inch thick of the Naga, which I'd dubbed 'The Devil's Haemorroids' when I politely introduced it to the crowd (these pods are around 2 1/2inches long), and passed it along to 'J'.
I also took a very small sliver, as did one of the ladies, 'R', (an Israeli lady), and two other guys, 'C', and 'JA'.
'R' did not react at all...
(It must be that women have the pain of childbirth, which is not comparable to anything else in life, therefore chillies are just a momentary inconvenience). 'C' was noticeably uncomfortable, but ate his bit, though then proceeded to raid the milk and yoghurt.
'JA' was really uncomfortable, and ran for the waterfountain. We intercepted him and told him to drink some milk instead. And he's from the land of the Naga, so when I said 'Ghost Chilli', his face lit up as if to say 'You brought that here?!'
Me? I had the sliver in my mouth for about a minute and a half, chewing, but not daring to swallow...
...and I didn't
I have to admit, it was just far too much for me. My mouth and throat felt as though I'd been given turpentine and someone had lit it as I drank... All the while I was thinking to myself 'Hmmm...AAAAAAAAARGH!!!! I can really taste some peachy undertones in this AAAAAAAAAYIIIIIEEEEE!!!!! pepper. It is much sweeter than YYYYYYYAAAAAAAARRRRGGHHHH!!!! the Orange Hab. If it wasn't for the SWEET CHRISTMAS I CAN'T FEEL MY EYES!!! heat, I'd say this was quite the fragrant pod.' I have to admit, though, it was a really good tasting piece of hellfire!'J' on the other hand....
Well, I'll let the video do the talking about that one. I accidentally told 'C' the wrong way to film it, so instead of one cohesive video, there are 12 fragments, so I'll be going home tonight to hopefully piece them together into one incoherent piece of fun.
Almost everyone at the gathering wasn't a chilehead (I guess I'm the only one that qualifies by virtue of being the grower), but there were quite a few people who would definitely give it a try next time, and I've been asked by people 'When are you having the next one of these?'
Next up: White Habaneros and Chocolate Habaneros...
Update: everyone is now reporting 'burning tummies'. I have told them all 'it hurts on the way in...and it hurts on the way out.'
