chinense The truth about reapers

kodiakbear

Banned
So, I've never had a reaper. I've eaten morugas, and those fuckers are fucking hot. But, it's my belief that you can't measure physiological response based on average SHU. There's other stuff going on with these pods. 
 
So, that being said, and, also considering that reapers, on average, aren't much higher SHU than morugas, how harsh would reaper-eaters compare the former to the latter? Also, how would you characterize the taste? To me, a moruga has a very balanced super-hot taste, but I've heard that reapers have a sweeter element. Is this the case?
 
Any input would be very appreciated.
 
Very respectively,
The Baphomet
 
You can measure physiological response with SHU. A red savina is indeed hotter than a basic hab, isn't it? Think of it like that. That being said, both moruga and reaper pods have a MASSIVE difference between the low end and high end, so it depends on what you get. From the dried one I had, reapers are a bit sweeter, but it's kinda hard to tell from dry one.
 
There are six types of capsaicinoids and every pepper kind has a unique mix of it. That is how you get the burn profile.
Add these together and you got the SHU number, but it does not indicate the ratio of the capsaicinoids.
 
I like the flavor, and often wish there was a "cooler" version.
 
Sliced a couple of them up when the variety was first available, and had them on crackers with cheese and meats.
 
Sweat, cry, drool, tingle-----and just couldn't stop till the last bit was gone.
 
Due to the "after effects" as they rapidly made their happy way through the intestines, I don't do that anymore. :mouthonfire:
Moruga's don't seem to do the same, and I have no impulse to gobble them with abandon.
 
I think different people react differently to the various capsaicinoids.
There's your difference between scientifically measured heat and how different people react differently to the perceived heat.
That explains why jalapeños can be perceived as nearly as hot as habs by certain people.
 
I am looking forward to answering this question in  a few months.. I am growing morugas and reapers for the first time this year.  :dance: :dance:  :dance:
 
Past a certain point the nerves in your mouth are firing at 100% so you won't discern the difference in SHU... but what's left for your digestive tract to deal with determines if you're having fun still or had enough already.
 
IMO the difference isn't as much between the two peppers as it is how often you eat either of them.  Your digestive tract will also get used to it because it will be a perpetual state where there's always some capsaicin floating around in there.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSLtoKc9qCw

Personally, I have eaten Reapers from 5 or 6 different growers. They are excellent peppers with really good flavor as described above. I like TSMB a lot, too, and heat-wise I find them very similar. 
 
One difference is that Reapers crucify my stomach eaten raw. If I dry roast the Reapers, the heat is the same, but the stomach-destroying issue goes away. Not sure why, but it is very consistent. Dry roasted, the flavour is even better. 
 
Bhut_Trolokia said:
Nigel, do you eat superhots on an empty stomach or do you eat some stuff beforehand, to soften the blow?
Nice review by the way.
I drink a concoction with protein, banana and olive oil in it. I`ve eaten too many superhots on an empty stomach to ever want to do it again. I probably ate 50+ supers on camera last year and you just cannot do that without something to help with the stomach cramps. A few people gave up eating them for video reviews last year, purely because of the toll it takes on the stomach. 
 
There`s a thread about Stomach Cramps on THP with my recipe in it. 
 
I had some "Fear the Reaper" sauce last night. The first ingredient is reaper peppers, so I assume it is representative. The heat profile was like nothing I have ever experienced. For the first 5-6 seconds there was no heat at all...none, just a really intense pepper fruit flavor. Then there was a gentle build up of heat in the middle to back of the mouth that got to a decent level pretty quickly and faded very slowly over the next 3-4 minutes. That was all from a dab about the size of a dime on a chip. 5 minutes after that I started feeling little twinges in my gut. I really like the flavor, and I had several more dabs, along with about half a dozen other superhot sauces we were taste testing. That little gut twinge has me scared that if I ate more than a tiny bit of the stuff I would be in for a very bad time. Ghost peppers never give me problems, but scorpion and now reaper are on my danger list.
 
To me, Primos are the hottest pepper I've eaten, moreso than Reapers, but Reapers taste better.  I've also read a little that they are the same pepper, just that the Primo was tampered with by Ed on a genetic level somehow...I don't know how true that is but take a look at "Ed's Jolokia" and you'll get the jist of what I'm saying.  I've also heard the Reaper was some sort of Naga cross, so who knows?  The HP22B plant itself looks much different from a 7 pot plant though, they have a different leaf and canopy profile, my Reapers have black stems, looks pretty rad.
 
Butch T's give me insane back pains for some reason, I've yet to eat a Moruga but I'm growing them this year and I'll find out what the fuss is about.
 
ikeepfish said:
To me, Primos are the hottest pepper I've eaten, moreso than Reapers, but Reapers taste better.  I've also read a little that they are the same pepper, just that the Primo was tampered with by Ed on a genetic level somehow...I don't know how true that is but take a look at "Ed's Jolokia" and you'll get the jist of what I'm saying.  I've also heard the Reaper was some sort of Naga cross, so who knows?  The HP22B plant itself looks much different from a 7 pot plant though, they have a different leaf and canopy profile, my Reapers have black stems, looks pretty rad.
 
Butch T's give me insane back pains for some reason, I've yet to eat a Moruga but I'm growing them this year and I'll find out what the fuss is about.
Different peppers IMHO. Different flavour, very different burn profiles. I do not believe that Ed Currie did anything with the Primo to re-brand it as a Reaper. 
 
Personally, I find Primos to be hotter too. 
 
Nigel said:
Different peppers IMHO. Different flavour, very different burn profiles. I do not believe that Ed Currie did anything with the Primo to re-brand it as a Reaper. 
 
Personally, I find Primos to be hotter too. 
 
 
I haven't eaten a Primo or a Reaper but am growing two of each and although they have similar needs as they both seem to want more calcium and magnesium than most they have many subtle differences between the two. It's not hard to see once you start them from seed and grow them out. Can't wait for fresh pods. I have eaten Morugas and Brainstrain pods fresh and they are my favorite super hot at the moment. I have never had anything Reaper but the Primo powder from Judy is absolutely amazing and going by that the Primo is going to be a little hotter. I don't eat hot peppers on an empty stomach anymore either. Cap cramps is not something you will take lightly after eating a whole Brainstrain on an empty stomach..
 
You're all crazy.  :P
 
And so am I! :rofl:
 
I am growing both the Moruga and Reapers this year so I guess I'll throw in my two cents later on down the road.
 
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