Chocolate Ghost Jami Pepper Review
I’m a big fan of the Ghost Pepper (Bhut Jolokia) in general and I do like myself a few of the chocolate chiles that abound these days. So, when I caught wind of this variant last year, the hunt to find seeds was on. The Chocolate Ghost Jami is a cross of the Peach Ghost Jami (a Bhut Jolokia variant) and an unknown pepper. To be honest, one look at the blistered gnarly pods that my plants produced this year, and I could care less about its lineage – these things just look amazing.
The pod shape/profile may look like your standard Ghost Pepper, but everything else about it – from the reddish brown coloring, to the insanely blistered skin – is something all together different. My plants weren’t as prolific as I would have liked, but I was able to get a couple dozen ripe fruit from them both. The interior of the pods is downright frightening. Like most chocolate peppers, these have that green tinge to the inner walls and placenta. The amount of capsaicin oils oozing from those thin walls is beyond the likes I have seen on any other pepper I grew this year – or perhaps, even last year.
The aroma isn’t as floral as I had expected, but presents an earthy and rich character. Smelling this pod makes me want to cry. It smells insanely hot. The flavor presents more floral than the nose, but it fades fairly swiftly. Fruity up front with grassy and earthy undertones. There’s a slight berry trait that lingers briefly before the heat arrives.
And that heat is diabolical. There are a couple of seconds of delay before the building surge of flame starts. The burn begins under the tongue and escalates at an alarming rate, spreading across the tongue as it continues reaching for that peak. The Chocolate Ghost Jami is a scorcher, but it’s still incredibly smooth and not nearly as violently aggressive as some chocolate peppers. A solid whiskey chest arrives as is a small hot coal sitting in my stomach where the sample eventually came to rest.
I really enjoyed growing and eating the Chocolate Ghost Jami this year. It’s a great looking pepper with decent flavor and smooth, incendiary heat. I’ve added it to sauces and powders this Fall and am hoping I don’t run out of my supply too early.