PUEBLO, Colo. — Things got a little heated in Pueblo Sunday, September 20th when Musso Farms held their first annual Don't Fear the Reaper Chile Eating Contest. Ten brave folks found out who could handle the hottest chile on earth and who could not.
Competitor Danielle Holmes said, "I feel slightly like I just ate the heart of Satan."
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After the first round started with the Pueblo Dynamite Chile which they had to eat in one minute and have nothing to drink for another minute.
"The first one was kind of like a spicy jalapeño it's just larger," said Holmes.
"After the first one I knew that this was something I could do." First place winner, Samuel Archuleta added, "It wasn't nothing I couldn't handle and I was like let's just keep going."
That was just a warm up, round two meant it was time to face the Musso Reaper Chile
"Side effects of eating a Reaper is drooling, vomiting, walking around deliriously." Carl Musso, owner of Musso Farms added, "If you can't handle the heat don't do it."
Holmes said, "It was probably a minute maybe before it started flaring up a little bit and then I realized, oh I see why it's the reaper now."
But just how hot is the hottest chile on earth?
"The Reaper is a two million Scoville heat unit on the Scoville scale as compared to like a jalapeño which is about maybe 7,000 so what they ate today is extremely, extremely hot," said Musson.
It wasn't too hot to handle for Archuleta. He went back for not seconds, not thirds, but fourths.
"For me, I just taste more of the flavors. Things aren't so hot to me as they are flavorful. The Reaper tasted to me more like a sweet bell pepper kind of a taste," said Archuleta.
He had some fiery competition. They had to go an extra round so the judges could tell who had the hardest time fighting the flames.
Musso said, "I think these people have cast iron stomachs and it just did not phase them at all."
EMTs were on standby just in case someone got a little too much spice in their life.
First place won a silver and gold Musso Farms bracelet plus $100, second place got $75 and third got $50. All competitors left with two bushels of roasted chiles.