Spooky Space Dust

So, we’ve had their medium green one and we’ve had their hot yellow top, this week it’s time for The Chilli Alchemist’s superhot red popping candy, right?

Wrong.

Before I bring you their red Melliculus Reaper, there’s another middle heat. Their original Melliculus, which I now call Melliculus Black.

Like the others, it uses a glossy black label with hidden alchemical symbols on it but, unlike the others, there’s no name for this flavour between the word “Melliculus” and the description “Hot popping candy”.

Nor does the lid fit into the green, yellow, red heat indicator colour scheme.

As mentioned above, the lid is black which, when combined with the extra black space on the label, gives this product a slightly sinister vibe. A feel furthered by the orange to yellow gradient on the bold “Melliculus” branding, an inverse of the Tropicus’ that strongly hints at the fire within.

The last time I had this flavour, its contents were just as worrying. A dark, reddish brown from the sheer amount of chilli therein and a strong smell of dried ghost pepper the moment I removed the tape around the cap.

This version, however, looks a little more plain:

And similarly, it’s not nearly as strong smelling as before. What smell it does have though, is still the deep, slightly fruity, slightly citrusy scent of dried ghost. Unmistakeable.

But it’s not just the ghost in there. The Chilli Alchemist have used a secret blend of numerous chillies that all rate somewhere around the million mark. All they’ve told me, however, is that one of them is a yellow 7-pod or 7-pot and another is, indeed, the bhut jolokia or ghost pepper.

Both are evident in its taste, with the fruitier yellow pepper proving a good counterbalance to the red ghost’s darker flavour, while pairing nicely with its hints of citrus.

There’s not anywhere near as much of a lemon taste here as in the <aji version> though. In fact, there’s not as much of a taste full stop. The chilli is there, both in flavour and in heat, but the flavour is a good deal less full on this time, making the cocoa butter a touch more prominent.

The heat, on the other hand, is a huge step up from the versions I reviewed earlier. You probably aught to keep any mouthfuls of this on the small side because it’s on the lower end of a whopping

4.5/10

Heat

making it reasonably close the heat of a first ingredient ghost pepper sauce. Take too much and you’ll be coughing, spluttering and feeling it all the way up to your ears, with a tip of the tongue burn lingering long after the main event.

The Aji may have called itself hot but this is a good deal hotter.

In sensible doses, though, it soon becomes apparent that the ghost pepper heat takes just as long to build up as to calm down. A gradual affair that is somewhat at odds to the quick snap of the candy itself.

This is a serious chilli lover’s heat, or one for challenges. It isn’t really for the unsuspecting public. As a chilli lover myself, however, I would personally give this one a miss.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a pretty good product and, were this the only sweet The Chilli Alchemist made, I would probably be all for it. As is, though, it is neither their best flavour nor their most extreme heat so, unless it’s just the right level for you, there are better options out there. Go pick up one of their great flavours instead of settling for “pretty good”.

And if you do decide to go for this candy, please bear in mind that its explosive nature has something of an effect on the way the chilli hits you. The entire Melliculus range has an above average impact on the nose and throat for its heat level, meaning that coughing, spluttering and a runny nose may well ensue unexpectedly.

This black version is a tad less heavy on the nasal passageway though, meaning you may not end up streaming at least.