Forget what Blue Oyster Cult said. This is a reaper you can fear. The Paqui Carolina Reaper potato chips – made from the hottest pepper on the planet – are so unbearably spicy that they only come one per package. Naturally, the internet is obsessed.
Paqui’s hellish chip announces its evil intentions up front. It comes in a red, coffin-shaped box. The scythe-wielding figure of death is depicted on the front along with the warning “Inside: one deadly chip.” On the reverse is a challenge: “Do you dare to go to hell and back?”
Open the foreboding box and you’ll find a lone, standard-size chip and more chilling words. “Think you can handle the heat?” “There’s no turning back once you enter Homemade Hell.” “The reaper is waiting. Any last words?”
As welcome mats go, this one leaves something to be desired. And yet, despite the obvious impending misery, Carolina Reaper peppers are in the midst of meme-ification, with countless brave/delusional souls taking the #CarolinaReaperChallenge and sharing their gut-destroying experiences on social media. Paqui’s Carolina Reaper chip couldn’t come at a better time.
The company is encouraging fans to try the fiendish chips and post their reactions with the hashtags #OneChipChallenge and #sweeps (or by tagging @PaquiTortillas). Those who do score free bags of the brand’s more conventionally flavored snacks, along with the chance to win a year’s supply of chips and a GoPro Hero4 Silver.
Jeff Day, Paqui’s Brand Manager, told Mashable about the origins of Satan’s own chip. “We’re always looking to push the limits to find fun ways for our fans and consumers to engage with us,” he said. “When we decided that we wanted to make the world’s hottest chip, we first said, well, we need to find the world’s hottest pepper.”
“Push the limits?” Yes. “Fun?” Debatable.
“The reason that we’re selling this as one chip is because quite honestly, that’s all that you need. That’s all that anyone needs,” he continued. “It’s the hottest chip you’ll ever have, I can guarantee you that. After you eat that one chip, trust me, you’re not looking to dig back into the bag and have a second one.”
We’re all for a little spice, which can have useful health benefits, but this? Our tongues might be taking a pass.
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