Carolina Reaper hp22b

Carolina Reaper is a new hybrid chilli pepper originating from the Capsicum Chinense family grown by a farmer in South Carolina, who mixed two of the hottest species of chilli peppers, Naga Morich Pakistani and Habanero Red. 

If you want to begin your adventure of farming this fearsome chili pepper, you can buy the seeds at the following link: chilli seeds. You will also find many other varieties!

Directory:

1. History
2. Guinness World Records
3. Colour, shape and size
4. News: Carolina Reaper yellow
5. Seeding
6. Growth
7. Flowering
8. Harvesting
9. Our products
10. How to handle it
11. Diary
12. Tasting video 

History:

Ed Currie, a well-known farmer and spicy lover wanted to create a new species of chili pepper. He took his two favorite varieties and made them pollinate achieving this new species, the Carolina Reaper, aka HP22B (Higher Power, Pot No. 22, Plant B). Back then he did not realize what he managed to create, until 2011. In fact, by pure chance a reporter from a national radio station accidentally ate a piece of it and was shocked by its extreme spiciness, defining the feeling almost like a real physical pain, with a clear aromatic aftertaste. Since the reporter was unable to quantify the degree of spiciness, he talked about it on the radio news.

Guinness World Records:

Thanks to people's curiosity and the word of mouth, the chilli was analysed in the laboratories of the Winthrop University. According to the results, it reaches an average of 2,000,000 SHU on the Scoville scale and on the 14th of November 2013 it officially became the most spicy chilli pepper in the world thus, entering GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS, overcoming the well-known Trinidad Moruga Scorpion with its 1,500,000 SHU. 

• CHILI NAME: Carolina Reaper (HP22B)

• SPICY: Extreme (HOT)

• ORIGIN: America

• PLANT HEIGHT: 50-70 cm

• FRUITS: Irregular, 6-7 cm long, deep red colour.

• VARIETY: Capsicum Chinense

Colour, shape and size:

The Carolina Reaper pepper is deep-red coloured, its shape reminds that of a scorpion's tail, reaching a length that varies from 6 to 8 cm and it takes up to 90 days to fully ripe.

It leaves a burning feeling in the mouth as well as a fruity, almost sweet taste, reminding cinnamon and chocolate. The concentration of capsaicin is so high that if it touches the skin it could cause pain which can last up to 20 minutes, yet without any damage.

Nonetheless, in his country of origin people like it very much and farm it. In Italy it is becoming more and more popular and it is estimated that in 2017 it will become much appreciated by the best chefs and one of the most farmed by spicy lovers.

News: Carolina Reaper Yellow

One of the greatest news of 2016 has been a new variety of the Carolina Reaper, which is yellow. This variety has the same farming process and spiciness as the original, in fact it reaches exactly 2,000,000 on the Scoville scale. It also looks very good so to be used for decorating meals and sauces. Pay attention, if you do not like spicy food, do not taste it.

The following products are available on our store:

• Carolina Reaper Yellow Seeds

• Carolina Reaper Fresh Yellow

• Dried Carolina Reaper Yellow

Seeding:

First of all you need to buy Carolina Reaper seeds, by following the link below. For outdoor farming, we recommend to start with the paper towel germination method in March, whereas for an indoor farming there is no recommended period of the year since you can control temperature and light.

The germination phase is very delicate, remember that without warm temperatures the seeds do not sprout. With proper weather conditions, the first radicles can come out in a month time. If the temperature is around 25 C degrees on average, the first seeds begin to germinate after about ten days. Watch out for mold, if you notice that some seeds become moldy or become black-haired around the seed, remove them immediately.

Do not get confused with the filaments of the root that may seem moldy, they are jusy extensions of the roots. They easily disappear by watering them.

If you are about to begin farming chilli, we advise you to follow the following guide which has been designed to increase the chances of growth and minimize the problems: how to grow chilli.

Growth:

Do not hurry. Put the plant in the sun and remember: artificial light or sunlight stimulates the plant to grow, make new leaves and fructify. Without this key element, no fruit will grow. You must water frequently but in small quantity, do it in the evening. Avoid stagnant water, since it can cause root rot.

If the leaves become lighter you need to water less. If the soil is poor in nutrients, it is essential to use fertilizer in frequent yet not excessive doses, so that the plant has plenty of time to absorb the nutrients it needs.

Flowering:

The Carolina Reaper hp22b belongs to the Capsicum chinense family. It flowers between May and September, depending on when you started the germination of the seeds, weather and nutrients. Usually, farmers prefer to sprout the seeds in January, under greenhouses with controlled temperatures so it ripes earlier. If you are not an expert, we advise against putting the seeds to germinate in the coldest months. Usually we recommend to do so in March.

Another tip for those who are new to this world, is to put the glass with the seeds that you want to germinate on a modem so that it warms up keeping the temperature constant, thus favoring germination.

N.B. Do not worry if some flowers fall or die, the plant optimizes the resources it has, the more you make the plant feel good, the more chillies will grow. 

Harvesting:

Something experts do watering the plant few times before harvesting chillies. In fact the concentration of water in the fruit decreases, making it hotter. The method is quite simple: reduce by half the times you water it. If you really love the extreme spicy taste you should follow another trick: during the last week, do not water and leave the plant in the sun. Once you notice that the leaves fade due to the lack of water, water them in small quantity. The more the plant dries, the more the fruit will be spicy. Be careful, do not overdo it.

Our products:

If you are interested in all the CarolinaReaper related products, use the following links:

• Carolina Reaper seeds

• Carolina Reaper powder

• Fresh Carolina Reaper

• Dried Carolina Reaper

How to handle it:

Handling this chili pepper is not a joke, be very careful not to rub your eyes and mucous membranes after handling it, wash your hands well after each contact. Before blending it, wear a protection mask for your eyes. Before you start eating it, give it a try with a small piece so to understand your spicy tolerance.   

Diary

Plant:

Once the plant starts growing, it has large, majestic green leaves, as the plant of the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion. When it is large, it does not need great care, it can defend itself. As for growth, soil represents a key factor: it must be rich in nutrients, especially nitrogen. Another very important factor is the sun: farm it in a very sunny place, it will give you large and very spicy fruits.

Fruit:

If you see it up close, it looks a lot like the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion, yet you can clearly distinguish them by the irregular protrusions that are more evident than the Trinidad. Use you finger to feel the difference. The shape is strange and irregular, it looks bad just by watching it; just wait to taste it so to understand what it is made of. You will fear it and learn to respect it.

Taste:

It has the typical taste of the Capsicum chinense family, yet slightly more pungent. I would almost compare it to the Trinidad, but its spiciness will leave you breathless.

Experiences:   

1. I tear a fruit from the plant, I try a small piece of it. I've been waiting for this moment for months. An explosion of "Capsicum Chinense" pervades my mouth, it tastes good. After 10 seconds I feel a strong burning, that keep increasing. The maximum peak comes after 2 minutes and it is strong. Thankfully I only ate a small piece. After about 5 minutes the burning begins to lighten up to then disappear within another 15 minutes.

2. It's 9 PM, three friends of mine are having a barbecue so I decided to bring the Carolina Reaper. I tell them: this is the hottest pepper in the world. They seem to be disinterested and skeptical. As soon as the bread for the bruschetta is toasted, I season it with oil, salt and the Carolina chilli pepper. After the first bite, they immediately feel the intense strong and pungent flavour. After the second and third bite, they get up and start walking to ease the pain, while I am sitting there laughing. The whole thing lasted about ten minutes, they were sweaty and completely stunned. Later on, for the second meal, we use half the amount of the chilli. Despite all, my friends congratulates me for growing this hot pepper. I am stunned by the interest in this absurd fruit!

Tasting video