I was dining out once and ordered a spicy pizza. Had this tiny red chili pepper in the center, maybe the size of the tip of my pinky. I thought nothing of it and popped it whole in my mouth.
I was sweating and crying for 10 minutes, 10/10 would do it again.
Op’s description is legit mouth watering, and now I want a slow-cooked spicy stew with roasted whole chilies.
To be a true "trick or treat," it should be a 50-50 mix of habaneros and mini orange bell peppers. Which is the trick vs treat depends on if you're a spicy liker or not
I bought a bag of these when I was 14 years old. I knew what they were. I ate them one at a time and got high off the endorphins. I still like spicy food, but habaneros are sadly my limit.
The thing is that there is different ways the capsaicin affects the olfactory senses. I've had hot that straight burns. I've had hot that takes it's sweet time to ramp up to inferno, and then there's what you're talking about.
While I've never had the carolina reaper pepper, I've had almonds lightly seasoned with them and that was intriguing. Subtle at first, but the heat builds and before you know it you've had too much...my guts complain shortly afterwards. Habaneros burn hot, but fade fast. The reaper appears to build slowly, but then lasts...but i can't speak to that until I try the actual pepper...which I am on the fence about. Probably won't, but am tempted solely for the bragging rights, lol.
Love the endorphins, but my intestines complain. And yes, sometimes you can't taste anything anymore cuz of the heat. It's a balancing act unless you're competitive/insane.
Fun fact: it's a common misconception that the seeds are the spiciest part. That's actually the second hottest after the placenta (the white part that connects the seeds to the pepper).