Spicy is not a trend, it is a new reality in North American food & some beverage applications. It can make individuals feel jittery or energized & in some cases it can generates pleasant head rushes or euphoric feelings. The heat or spiciness from peppers comes from capsaicin. It is not a taste & the burning feeling comes from the body’s pain response system. The more spice one consumes, the more one is desensitized to the general effect. These are some of the reasons why sensations from hot peppers have increasingly become popular of the course of the last 5 years. The infusion of global cuisines & corresponding ingredients into North American dishes is also responsible for augmenting people’s exposure to new varieties of peppers.

There is an estimated 50,000 pepper varieties that exist, each having different sizes, shapes, sweetness, colours, spiciness & taste. The flavour profiles are sometimes similar when part of the same cultivar, but in other cases, they can be varied. Peppers can simply be hot & bland or they can have a mixture of pungent, acidic, fruity, smoky, green, prune & licorice notes. Of course, there are a variety of other flavour nuances that exist with the variety of other peppers from across the world. One of the most unique tasting flavour profiles come from the novo pepper. It is partly “N” shaped, has partly blue leaves & has a complex flavour profile. This consists of a blend of characteristic green pepper notes, extreme heat, with nuances of mango, smoke, conifer & a subtle cooling effect.