by Rich Blood | Oct 15, 2025 | Blog, Botany, Pepper History, Pepper Myths And Misinformation, Superhot Peppers
Imagine a pepper so hot it could make warriors cry. In Trinidad, called Kairi or “Land of the Hummingbird” by its indigenous peoples, this chili sparked every superhot—from Scorpions to Bhut Jolokias to Reapers. But its true name, ají, was the first casualty in a long...
by Rich Blood | Feb 16, 2021 | Blog, Botany, Pepper Myths And Misinformation, Taxonomy, Traveling the World in Search of Peppers
In taxonomy, some mysteries refuse to die. Capsicum arachnoideum was one of them. A name whispered in old papers, a supposed wild Bolivian species with small purple flowers, hairy leaves, and long spider-leg calyx appendages. For decades, it hovered somewhere between...
by Rich Blood | Feb 27, 2020 | Blog, Pepper Myths And Misinformation, Spicy, Traveling the World in Search of Peppers
Ají Charapita peppers, red and yellow, served with lime wedges at a restaurant in Iquitos, Peru—hardly the stuff of $25,000-a-kilo luxury. In 2014, I roamed Peru’s Belén Market in Iquitos, grabbing handfuls of Ají Charapita—pea-sized chilis bursting with citrusy...
by Rich Blood | Dec 11, 2019 | Blog, Botany, Ecology, Traveling the World in Search of Peppers
In the remote landscapes of Bolivia, I have rediscovered an endangered pepper species. The elusive Capsicum eshbaughii, named after renowned botanist Dr. William Eshbaugh. This species offers a glimpse into the biodiversity of the region. Efforts to preserve its...
