The setup.
This is one of those things where, once it's done, you ask yourself, "Why did I do that?" It's also one of those things where everyone else asks you, "Why would anyone do that?"
I like the spicy food challenges, so that's why I did it. It gives me bragging rights - if I had anyone to brag to who cared about such things. But at this point I did it because I bought the chips already and figured I better knock this out before the 2021 edition comes out.
So. If you're not familiar with the One Chip Challenge (OCC), it's exactly that. You eat one chip and hold off as long as you can without drinking or eating anything. They suggest waiting an hour, but I have things to do so I set a goal of 3 minutes.
The chip comes in a coffin-shaped box covered with warnings. Inside the box there is the chip in its own bag, some rules & expectations for the challenge itself, and a foldout that has a congratulatory message on one side and some more info about other Paqui chips on the other. It also includes a coupon good for a free bag of Paqui chips, any size/flavor, up to $5.99 (the retail cost of the OCC).
The chip itself is a good-sized rounded wedge. It's a blue corn tortilla chip, and the powder coating is made of charcoal powder. This produces a very black chip with a terrible, awful, horrible taste in addition to the heat itself. The heat comes from Carolina Reaper betters and Sichuan peppercorns. I've found that despite the box and packaging, the OCCs tend to be broken upon opening and this one was no exception.
The tasting.
It's a crunchy chip, nice & thick. The charcoal powder has an off-putting smell and comes off pretty easily on the fingers, especially if you're an idiot like me and don't wear gloves. The heat hit pretty quickly, though not instantaneously. About 5 seconds in the heat was about as hot as it was going to get taste-wise. The pepper flavor quickly faded in favor of the Sichuan peppercorn and an odd, very nasty chemical taste. I know the intent is not to go for a rich cumin-y cilantro-y experience, but that was just vile.
About 30 seconds in, my tongue started to physically hurt - almost like I'd bitten it, but much further back, about at the place where a pill might get stuck if you didn't drink enough water to wash it down. That pain lasted for about 5 minutes before fading. I wish the taste had been as prompt to go away - that was another 10 minutes or so.
The aftermath.
There really weren't any unpleasant after effects - maybe because I've significantly upped my hot sauce intake and spice levels of late. The memory of that taste has stuck with me, for sure, but otherwise no issues. I don't know what I'll do with the other 4 I have - maybe crush them up for a topping for chilaquiles or migas or something. They are too expensive to waste, but that taste....
Will I do it again? I think Paqui needs to do something with the flavor. Not sure if it was the charcoal, the Sichuan peppercorns, the combo, or something else, but this was just so terrible that I'm not sure I care to try them again absent some specific improvement.
The video.
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