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Orange Hab Varieties

I have never been a big fan of Orange Habs. Even though I have eaten thousands of them, the flavor is just something I have never really gotten used to. When I first started trying to build my heat tolerance I would eat 10-15 a day because it was the hottest pepper available to me in my local supermarkets. A few years ago I started picking up one or two Bonnie Orange Hab plants to grow. They had the same bonnet-like shape as the ones from the supermarket, and even though the flavor is definitely better, that signature orange hab flavor is still there. This year I decided to grow some from seed that I found at HD. They were in a mixed package labeled Red/Orange Habanero Mix. Before the first one ripened I really thought it was going to be a Caribbean Red. These peppers appear to be a different variety. Definitely an Orange Hab, but a totally different pheno, flavor, and quite a bit hotter. This is a pepper that I actually enjoy eating, as they are sweeter and the Hab flavor is very mild. So I guess what I am getting at is that there are several varieties of Red Habanero, all with their own labels. Why are these two peppers, that are completely different in every way, simply called "Orange Habanero?" I guess it is possible that the one I grew from seed has just been bred to take on this shape and flavor profile. Anyway, just provoking thought.


The first two pics are the typical shape that I get from my Bonnie plants and from the supermarket. The other one is from the plant I started from seed.
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The top pictures look similar to the new hybrid Spartacus variety as already mentioned. Bottom pic looks much more like a "classic" orange hab to me. To me, the old school orange habs are usually hotter and a bit more citrusy tasting.
 
As for why they are both called simply "Orange Habanero" I would guess that both Bonnie and your local supermarket realize that labeling the first one "Spartacus Hybrid Orange Habanero" would probably just cause confusion and concern, and it might not sell very well. But just "Orange Habanero" is a safe and familiar label for most consumers.
 
 
 
 
The orange habs at Fresh Thyme Market looked just like Spartacus hybrids too....They were wickedly hot compared to the typical shaped orange habs at the bigger grocery stores. The "typical" i grew last year though were brutal for orange habs. IIRC they came from BloomIQ
 
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The ones that I grew from seed are definitely hotter and an all around better tasting pepper imo. I guess all those "Orange Habs" I have eaten over the years were actually Spartacus/hybrid.... Go figure.

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