I have to add one more comment here because I see so much talk about how Bosland did all his chile testing in such a fair manner by taking average samples. Paul is a Horticulturalist and a damn good one. First of all he knew the prior Red Savina record was doctored. Because nobody since that record had ever gotten a Red Savina to test over even 300,000. So since there was no true baseline to go by Paul grew Orange Habs, Red Savina and Bhuts for comparison under same conditions. Paul knew the Bhut was hotter but had to show the true heat of a few others in order to give the Bhut test more credibility. Now we have a baseline and there is no need to repeat that. If Frank Garcia had done that kind of testing before than Paul only would have had to just test the Bhut Jolokia.
Now some of you think Paul took an average of Bhut samples. Paul was looking for the hottest Bhut samples. And it took a few seasons to nail that down. Why???Because the Bhut Jolokia averages between 300,000-700,000 on average. Ask any major Hot sauce maker that tests their mash, powder and dried pods. The Bhut Jolokia rarely goes over 700,000. But if fed right and stressed right it can get close to 1,000,000 or just go over it. Paul made a composite sample and tested in at just over 1,001,000. He then sent the other two parts out to two other labs. One came in at just over 800,000 and the other at over 900,000. The over 1,000,00 test was submitted to Guinness and accepted. Remember previous record was 577,000. So any one of the three tests could be used.
Now if we look at all of this we see a 10-20% differential in the testing results. Which is a pretty high margin and does not show consistency in the composite sample. Or all three labs have really different equipment and not the best methods of calibrating that equipment. We know Paul wanted things done right but he cannot control another lab.
So now lets look at our Testing of the Scorpion. First we did not just test the Scorpion. We tested Moruga Scorpion and Smaller types (3 seed sources), Douglah, 7 Pot Jonah, Brain, Cardi, Naga Morich, Chocolate Bhut, Yellow Bhut and 7 Pot Yellow. For curiosity we did variations of Devil's Tongue and Fatalii. All were grown in hot, dry southwest climate in pots and ground.
All samples were tested single pods and composite samples. All had multiple tests.
Now we had some 7 Pots and Douglah bounce over 1,000,000 but not consistently. But the Scorpions we tested consistently came over 1,000,000. The only times they fell under 1,000,000 was when we picked too close to a heavy watering or rain. Or when the ripened pod was degrading and getting rotten. Unlike the Bhut we don't have to grow these over time to find superhot pods. Bosland found out that Bhut Pods on lower part of plant were hottest. Well it did not matter where we picked on a Scorpion plant!!! We got them over 1,000,000 top or bottom!! If any of you want to talk to Marlin about Capsaicin extraction and testing I will be glad to put him in touch with you. Paul Bosland is probably the leading Pepper Horticulturist in America besides those Hybrid geeks at Monsanto. Marlin is the leading guy on Capsaicin science in America. So I think we did things right. And one more thing. The difference between our Scorpion tests and the lab in Texas we used for Third Party validation was not 10-20% difference. It was only about 4 percent. So I think we are pretty accurate about the Scorpion. We are now getting paperwork ready for Guinness. We think we might get it. But you never know because Politics and who you know can sometimes override science.
positive input to the discussion
WWIII. Battle of the big famous pepper guns. Wild West style.
