This past Wednesday, at work, someone brought in a series of black boxes with skulls and cross bones on it. Each box contained one chip, and right away I knew it was something involving the one chip challenge.
For those who don’t know, the one chip challenge involves eating a black chip made out of the Carolina Reaper, known as the hottest pepper in the world. And you have to go as long as you can without drinking anything after eating the chip.
All the other cooks had eaten a chip, so I figured I’ll eat one as well. I did like spicy food, so I was up for it. Now, I should preface this by saying I had heard of the challenge before, and I knew it was super hot. However, I was unprepared for how spicy it actually was.
When you first eat it, there’s a blandness to the chip. Your first immediate thought is “This isn’t so bad. Is this what all the hubbub is about?” However, as soon as you swallow it, you immediately feel like “I’ve made a huge mistake.”
I ate half the chip, so I didn’t eat the whole thing. However, after I swallowed it, I felt my throat started swelling up. It was like someone set my throat on fire and then doused it with a volcano. I was hiccuping, which I rarely do after eating something, I was burping, tears we’re coming out of my eyes, that chip fucked me up.
I only lasted 25 seconds before I had to drink something. We didn’t have any milk, so I had to drink some water. I must have drunk 8 cups of water. It took approximately 20 minutes before the fireness in my throat started to fade away. I had never experienced hottness like that before in my life.
Despite how much pain I was in, though, I would definitely do it again. Sure, in the moment you wish you were doing something else, but there’s something so magical about eating the chip. It’s an experience I will never forget. The person who bought the boxes said to me it costs around 7 or 8 dollars per box, and I told him even though you’re paying $8 for one chip, it’s worth it, because the experience is something that will stick with you for eternity.
My only complaint is the blandness of the chip when first bite into it. When you first eat the chip, it has zero flavor to it. That kinda gives it away that something is up. I think it would be better if the chip tasted sweet when you first eat it. That way, it will trick the people eating it into eating the whole thing.
But despite the one nitpick, I’m glad I actually took part in the challenge. And now, I can officially say I ate the hottest pepper in the world.