The Hottest Pepper Blog

March 30, 2010

Bhut Jolokia Smoke Grenades–OUCH!!! Go Indian Army!!!

Filed under: Ask Jamie,Information — Tags: , , — admin @ 3:03 am

chili bhut pepper 300x200 Bhut Jolokia Smoke Grenades OUCH!!! Go Indian Army!!!Aloha Gang,

Well, by now I am sure a lot of you have heard about the Indian army getting approval to use the Bhut Jolokia pepper as the main ingredient in smoke grenades.  They will be used as an anti-terrorist defense that will hurt but not kill.  I am sure that it will be used to disperse crowds,  force perts out of holed up locations, etc.  I can tell you from first hand experience that it will work.  Go get ‘em Indian Army–Bhut Jolokia rules!

During our harvest season, we sometimes harvest 1,000 peppers in a day.  Each and every Bhut Jolokia pepper has the seeds taken out by hand.  We wear 4 layers of vinyl gloves, a respirator, and long sleeve shirts.  Further, there is a beach towel covering our laps.  Those peppers are juicy and somehow, that hot,hot capsaicin squirts out everywhere when slicing the peppers open.  The 4 layers of gloves lasts only about an hour before they have to be changed. What I am saying is that they are very dangerous and can give you an unbelievable amount of pain and suffering.  During the harvest season, my friends don’t stop by, my girlfriend won’t get near me, and frankly, it’s a lonely, lonely time of year.  I am toxic, and I leave a trail of Bhut Jolokia pain and suffering everywhereI go.  It’s on every part of my body eventually, and I mean every part. Sometime at night and I writhing in pain as I try to go to sleep.  Yes, the peppers have somehow gotten into my bed, and believe me that’s not funny.  I wake up tired the next morning with dark circles under my eyes, wondering how in the world I got into this mess.  I keep hearing the Oliver Hardy quote- “Well, here’s another nice mess you’ve gotten me into.”  But the problem is, I have gotten into it all by myself!

So, it’s the Bhut Jolokia pepper and the Indian army joining forces to keep the bad guys in check.  So, throw those Bhut Jolokia smoke grenades and more power to the Bhut!

Keep those questions coming,  and keep planting those Bhuts!  And, if any of you out there make a Bhut Jolokia hand grenade, please send me a sample!

Jamie

March 28, 2010

Soak the Bhut Seeds Please

Filed under: Ask Jamie,Bhut jolokia garden,How to,Information — admin @ 12:50 am

Aloha Everyone,

Mahalo for all of your questions.  And best of luck with your newly germinating, or planted Bhut Jolokia pepper plants.   Very good to hear that just about everyone is having great luck.

Hey, you two who did not soak the Bhut seeds overnight before germinating. You know who you are! You gotta listen to the old man. These seeds are a bit strange as far as germination goes.  It helps tremendously to soak the seeds in water the night before.  You will get faster germination and a higher percentage of success.

Out of all of the orders we have received, we have had only 2 instances of sub par germination.  And that’s a tiny percentage of our sales.  So, good for you.  You are listening.  Now soak those seeds!

March 25, 2010

Quality

Filed under: Ask Jamie,Bhut jolokia garden,Information — admin @ 12:09 am

Aloha Everyone,

Today I would like to discuss the quality of our products here at The Waimea Bay Chili Pepper Company.  Here in Hawaii we have the luxury to be located in the Pacific Ocean 2,200 miles away from the closest continent.  We have clean air, and clean water,  and our soils are rich and loamy.  Our climate is perfect,  not too hot nor too humid, and we can wear shorts and a T shirt 365 days a year (if we wear the T shirt).  Here on the North Shore of Oahu our temperatures range from about 72-85 in the winter and about 80-92 in the summer months.  Of course, it does dip down into the 60′s every once in a while in the winter, and hits 95 once in a great while in the summer.  But all in all, we have perfect weather, and clean, clear water.

At the Waimea Bay Chili Pepper Company, we are 100% organic.  No chemicals of any kind. PERIOD.  All of our peppers are pampered, and our peppers are picked at the peak of their ripeness.  Our Bhut Jolokia peppers average at just under 900, 000 SHU (tested by HPLC)  and I personally put our peppers against any and all comers for heat and taste, and size.  Our Bhut Jolokia pepper plants produce more than 300 peppers each and are more than 6 feet high.

I have tested many of our competitors products and I am not impressed.  I don’t bad mouth anyone, but I would like to know if anyone out there is actually getting a good product that is grown in the USA.  So if you are, please email me and let me know where you are buying it, and I will order from that company to see what I think.  And I don’t even want to talk about product from India.  Enough said about that not to mention the chemicals they are using to grow the peppers.  Remember, a lot of foreign countries are still using pesticides, and fertilizers that have long been banned in the USA.

Our peppers are the best plain and simple.  They are hotter than any other peppers out there and they are grown with care and aloha. We are now working on a cistern that will hold our fresh, clean rain water.  This rain water will then run through a charcoal filter and will be gravity fed into our gardens.  Our peppers and other vegi’s in the garden will benefit from this as there will then be absolutely nothing unnatural in our water.  The plants will grow faster, stronger and produce more fruit.   I am so excited to see this come to fruition.  And this cistern will also supply our drinking water. We are also getting bids now on solar heating so we can get off of the grid.  We have had a solar water supply for 10 years and we are very excited to have new solar panels that will produce electricity.

Once again,  quality is our number one priority.  Our products are 100% guaranteed.  Please read the testimonials on this site and please watch our videos.  I am here to help in any way I can- growing tips, pest problems, etc.   I welcome any comments, questions or suggestions.

Mahalo nui loa,

Jamie

March 22, 2010

Can I Freeze Peppers?

Filed under: Ask Jamie — Tags: , , — admin @ 10:39 pm

freezer 150x150 Can I Freeze Peppers?

You ask them, Jamie answers them! Here’s another edition of Ask Jamie, with a wonderful question on freezing peppers.

Question
Hi, I heard about these peppers and have read through your website (and a few others).  When is the time of year to be able to buy whole peppers from you ?   My recipe for chilli is a bit warm (Jalapenos and Habaneros, I really prefer the Habeneros because I like the fruity taste of them (and also of course the heat). I would like to have a very hot version of my chilli using Habeneros and the Ghost pepper. Obviously I dont know how much to use and still be edible, I’ll have to use a little, and add small amounts until I get it where I want it.

A couple of questions:
1) When would I be able to buy whole peppers from you ?
2) Does freezing the pepper until used have an effect on flavor ? (I imagine yes, but not sure how much).
3) Since you are the experts on these peppers, any handy tips on how/how much to use ? (I am aware of the need to be careful – made that mistake with Habeneros once).
Thanks, and I’ll place my order after receiving your feedback (might get some powder for now since you are out of the actual peppers according to your site).
~JC Harris

Answer
Aloha JC,

Thanks for your inquiry.  Just like the Habanero pepper, the Bhut Jolokia has a wonderful flavor. It also has an intense back heat.  I cannot tell you how much to use as this is very, very subjective.  You just have to experiment.
As far as the freezing goes, we pick our pepper when they are bright red, and very ripe.  Not one pepper ripens in transit, or is picked before it’s time.  They are then de-seeded by hand which is a huge pain in the butt.  The peppers are then either, sun dried, or dehydrated.  Then they are vacuum packed and frozen.  You can re-hydrate them if you wish, and many of my customers do this.
I would purchase the pepper flakes and experiment with them.  You are not going to be able to use the fresh peppers much anyway because they have to be diced so fine or you could hurt someone who eats a chunk. Not a nice thing to do.
We will have fresh peppers again around June 1st.
Mahalo and Aloha,
Jamie

thehottestpepper.com

December 22, 2009

Why are my peppers so expensive?

Filed under: Ask Jamie,Information — admin @ 6:36 pm

Aloha Everyone,

Thank you for all of your support over the past year.  We have had a successful 2009 and look forward to 2010.

Many of you have asked me why my peppers are so expensive.  The reasons are many-

1) We are a totally organic company and the man hours per plant equal about 3 hours per week just to keep them going.

2) We use organic Neem oil to spray our Bhut’s every 10 days or as needed to keep the white fly in check and Neem oil is very expensive.

3) We have 3 types of fruit flies in Hawaii and this requires us to rinse our Bhuts off every 3 days to rid the plants of their larvae.

4) Bhut take at least 4 months to produce peppers and we fertilize every 10-14 days with organic horse manure, kelp, fish emulsion, etc.

5) The ripe Bhuts are hand-picked at their bright red stage.  Since the peppers ripen at different times, this requires us to harvest just about everyday.

6) The Bhuts are then washed and air dried. Next we take the seeds out of the peppers by hand which takes about 60-90 seconds per pepper. This requires 4 layers of vinyl gloves, a respirator, goggles, long sleeve shirts  and a lot of patience.

7) The peppers are sent to market 3 different ways:

1. Fresh which requires one day overnight air to the West Coast only.

2. Semi-dried. Dehydrated for approximately 4 hours. The peppers will take a 2 day “overnight” flight to the remaining parts of the USA.

3. Dried flakes. Dehydrated for 8-12 hours then ground into flakes.

All of this labor is done by hand.  Our Bhut Jolokia peppers are the best in the world, period.  I will put the taste, the heat, and the size of our peppers against any other grower in the world.  Our peppers average 7 grams (1/4 ounce) per pepper when fresh. Our “heat” testing via High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) averages just under 900,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU).  The peppers that most other companies sell are no where near as hot and many times don’t even test at 500,000 SHU.  The reason for this is our rich organic soil which I have personally been amending for 14 years and our warm, tropical climate here in Hawaii.

Here is some useful information on the peppers.

1) Average weight fresh= 7 grams, 4 per ounce, 65 per pound

2) Average weight semi dried= 2.5 grams, 12 per ounce, 130 per pound

3) Average weight dried= 1 gram, 28 per ounce, 454 per pound

So, when you order an ounce of flakes, this takes 28 peppers and a lot of labor to get to this point.  I hope this makes sense to all of you and explains why our peppers are the most expensive.  They are the best, and if you want the best, you have to pay the price.  BTW, we are the only company that supplies fresh organic Bhut Jolokia peppers 12 months a year. Most of our peppers go to 4 and 5 star restaurants, private chefs, and to Organic Food suppliers.  We have had a good year and can now supply our peppers via online sales.

Once again, mahalo for your support and happy holidays!

Jamie

October 27, 2009

Another Edition of Ask Jamie

Filed under: Ask Jamie — Tags: , , — admin @ 5:47 pm

Since the site has been up, there’s been a lot of great questions and feedback coming in. Keep it up!
So here is another edition of Ask Jamie, where we take your questions and share the info.

Question:
Pehea ‘oe, I live in the Chicagoland area. I am an avid pepper and vegetable grower. The season is short here but I have been successful in my endeavors. Tell me, if it is not a big secret, what is your favorite soil mixes for peppers and veggies. I have tried several with fish emulsion, worm casings, organic mulch etc. I look forward to hearing from you. Good growing. Malama pono, Aloha.

~Bruce Webber

Answer:
Aloha Bruce,

Mahalo for your inquiry. Sounds like you are doing the right things. Peppers like loam with organic compost. I use fish emulsion and kelp as well as my soil from my compost pile. They are heavy feeders so I fertilize every 30 days. I deep water my peppers every 2-3 days here in Hawaii. The depth of water penetration should be at least 12-16 inches. This encourages root growth as they go deep for the water and you will get a stronger, healthier pepper plant. Peppers do not like to be deprived of water, they do not like distress, and it is not OK to allow your pepper plants to wilt.

As far as your other vegetables go, most like the same type of soil with a pH just slightly acid of neutral–so the 6.5-7.0 range. You can purchase an inexpensive testing kit at Home Depot or Lowes or your local nursery.

I hope this helps.

Jamie
The Waimea Bay Chili Pepper Co.

August 3, 2009

Ask Jamie – Size and Use for the Bhut Jolokia Plant

Filed under: Ask Jamie — admin @ 9:25 am

Hi Jamie
How tall and wide are your Bhut Jolokia plants at adulthood? I am interested in using them to build a living fence around my house and garden in Zambia to keep elephants out.

Thanks,
Will Colston.


Aloha Will,

If you have a very rich and well drained soil, your Bhuts will get about 5 feet high. They need to have good air flow so I don’t think you could use them as a hedge. I think it would be best to plant something else like which is very hardy like bougainvillea and then plant the Bhut Jolokia plants outside of this. I also think that you will have to pick the peppers when they are ripe and smear the capsaicin around the perimeter to keep the elephants out.

Good luck and let me know if you have any more questions.
Jamie

bougainvillea Ask Jamie Size and Use for the Bhut Jolokia Plant

July 29, 2009

Knowing What You Buy, Ask Jamie

Filed under: Ask Jamie,How to — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 10:12 am

Here’s another addition to our “Ask Jamie” series of questions from you. Keep them coming!

Question:
Hey Jamie,
Last year I grew them, and the pepper started green then started to yellow and then bright red . . . HOT but this year they started green and ended up all bright yellow. They are the same size and shape so I’m leaving some on the plant to see what happens. They are still totally hot. My question is; what could be responsible for the color change – weather, water or fertilizer. I’ve also seen listing’s for the Naga Morich which looks similar. Is it possible that when I ordered my plants (Bhut) they could have been substituted. I did not order from you but next year I plan to. Do you have an online listing of all plants or a catalog I can get.

Thank You for Your Help,
W. Reed

Answer:
Sounds like you got the old “switcharoo” to me. You have to think about what is happening. The normal color change of a Bhut Jolokia is from green, to orange, then when totally ripe a beautiful deep red. A ripe hot pepper that is yellow is not a Bhut Jolokia. It is pretty easy to identify the Bhut Jolokia, please check out the photos in our photo gallery on thehottestpepper.com/gallery.html

colorchangesm Knowing What You Buy, Ask Jamie

For your knowledge a few words about yellow plants. When a plant turns yellow it is usually from the inability of the plant to get rid of water in the soil (could also be from an iron, or nitrogen deficiency, or a high pH). This is usually caused from a clay based soil that holds the water. If this is the case then you need to add compost to your soil. But I don’t think this is the problem because your peppers are bearing fruit. A clay soil will make it difficult for the plant to extract the nutrients it needs to produce the fruit and mostly likely if this was the case you would have a lot of peppers dropping onto the ground. I suspect that you went sent another type of pepper.

I have been in business since 1986 and I have learned that there are a lot of unsavory characters out there. You are only as good as your word, and all the money in the world won’t repair a damaged reputation because of dishonesty. When you need the real thing, send me an email and we will get them out to you ASAP.

Jamie

June 17, 2009

Testimonials and Ask Jamie Questions Answered

Filed under: Ask Jamie,Testimonials — admin @ 11:15 am

jamie hot pepper Testimonials and Ask Jamie Questions Answered

I frequently get tonnes of questions about gardening, how to, tips and solutions to common gardening problems.  I always welcome these questions and interacting with each of you because I actually love hearing about your gardening experiences and results.  The fact that I’ve been gardening organically and eating directly from my garden for quite some time, the experience has given me a lot to share about and I want to promote healthy living, organic planting and just being well.  Here are a few of the great testimonials from people who have planted my organic ghost pepper seeds, and questions answered.

–

Q: We are trying to find out the Scoville heat units for Hungarian hot wax peppers, wondering if you could send me info or direct me to a web site about this pepper  and is ny a good growing climate for these plants?

A: Hi Tammy,

The Hungarian hot pepper is a hybrid so I do not grow it.  I do however know know a little about it.  It has a sweet and a hot flavor which many people like.  It can be pickled, canned, steamed, fried, eaten raw, added to sauces, salsa, etc.  It rates between 5,000 and 15,000 Scoville heat units depending on the seed and growing conditions.

Your area should be able to grow this pepper with no problem.  Just make sure that you have a good organic loamy soil and feed your pepper plants on a regular basis when they start to flower.

You can “google” it and find retail availability.

Cheers,

Jamie


Q: Hi Jamie,

I am entering a hot sauce contest in Austin, Texas at the end of August.  Do you have any “Bhut Jolokia” pepper you can sell to me?

Thanks,

Dave


A: Aloha Dave,

Whoa, I am entering that contest as well and since I think my peppers are the biggest, baddest, hottest peppers in the world I would be adding a little competition to the mix.  Oh, what the heck.  My first crops are just now setting fruit and I will have plenty to send you in August. Get back to me just before the contest so the peppers I send you are fresh and HOTTTTT  !!!!!

Jamie

Testimonials

Hello Jamie;
I just wanted to let you know that as of now out of the 10 seeds (started on May 24th indoors) 6 have already sprouted 3 have nice healthy first leaves, the others are just starting.  I am so excited!!!

Thanks,
Russell

Hi Jamie,

Thank you so much for your advise on starting my Bhut Jolokia seeds.  All 10 sprouted and are now 3″ tall!  I will have them into my garden by the end of June and will put the protective covers on them as you suggest.

Cecilia


Aloha Jamie,

Thanks very much for sending my seeds out the same day I ordered them.  They are just not starting to show their “hook” and I am so excited!  I can’t wait until they are ready to harvest.  I make a hot sauce that is fantastic but these will heat it up quite a bit.  I have been using habanero peppers and cannot wait to taste my”Ghost” peppers!

Ed

Hello Jamie,

Just wanted to thanks for your advice.  I will take longer this time with the acclimation process.  We just had some very hot weather and it caught me off guard.

Robert. L.

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