Some Spice with your Sugar? It’s Such a Popular Vice
For at least 2000 years, people have enjoyed chocolate. The Aztecs, and perhaps earlier pre-Columbian civilizations, enjoyed sipping a drink made with cacao and…hot pepper? Until recently, it would have seemed like modern-day sacrilege to combine our sweet chocolate with spicy flavors. But today, you can find gourmet chili chocolates in many high end grocery stores.
Here is a picture of the product line from Montezuma’s Chocolates, a British company. Would the late Aztec ruler have approved of having his name on chocolate bars? Montezuma never lived to see flavors like dragon ginger, orange geranium, and chili lime.
Spicy chocolate is only the beginning. While other bold combinations have become popular (such as intense sweet and salty flavors in the same food), the marriage of sweet and spicy has really caught on. Just look at who is doing it or planning new products that embrace these combinations (more on that in a moment).
Sure, the candy market has included some longstanding spicy sensations. Red Hots, Hot Tamales, and Atomic Fireballs are some stalwarts. These have been niche items for those who like taking cinnamon flavor to its spicy extreme.
Also notable is that sweet-spicy combinations have been popular for a long time in other countries. This post mainly describes tastes and trends in the U.S., which varies from other countries and world regions. Food in the United States was rather bland until immigration and travel brought residents into contact with more diverse flavors.
What we see today is a clear movement toward more spicy and sweet stuff. You can keep your sweet chili Doritos and your spicy Buffalo wings-flavored potato chips. I’m talking about traditional sweet stuff that has gotten hotter.
Pictures are worth a thousand words and what a tale they tell. Our traditional candy values are being ruined by these new-fangled immigrant flavors. Is it too late to build a wall?
Of course, I’m joking about the invasion. I love diverse flavors. And you know something is a trend when I get involved.
Normally, I’m not on the leading edge of trends; trends hit me before I wake up to them. Such was the case with one of my favorite drinks, a fermented kombucha drink from the Revive Company (a California kombucha brewery). Having tried several good kombucha drinks before, I was interested to take my first sip of Revive’s Tropic Wonder seasonal brew. It is made with fermented Earl Grey tea, fresh orange juice, vanilla, and…..what? Cayenne pepper?
Had I noticed cayenne pepper was an ingredient, I may never have purchased a bottle of this elixir, but not doing so would have been a mistake. Love at first sip. The taste was orangey Earl Grey with a smooth vanilla melt and then the snap of natural carbonation kicked up with something hotter. I did not think I would like spicy drinks, but this one (which is regional, seasonal, and difficult to find) gave me an instant education in what my palette has been missing.
And so, if I have finally gotten on board with the sweet and spicy thing, then there must be millions of people ahead of me, and therefore it qualifies as a trend. If you need some more confirmation that spicy sweet drinks are a thing, try some of the new Pepsi Fire. It tastes like Red Hots in a bottle of cola.
Naw, on second thought, I’ll just have a shot of sriracha sauce.
Wait, that’s not sauce, that’s…sriracha beer? Stout meets hot sauce. And another magical drink is born. What will they think of next?
Top image: Aztec Codex. Other images come largely from the beverage and snack makers, except for the Mexican Candy image, which does not appear to be copyrighted. Montezuma's Chocolates is owned by Montezuma's Direct Ltd; Pepsi and Pepsi Fire are registered trademarks of Pepsico; Skittles and Starburst marks are owned by the Wrigley Company; M&Ms are a trademark of the Mars Corporation; Lindt is owned by Lindt & Sprungli AG; Red Hots and Atomic Fireballs are trademarked and made by the Ferrara Candy Company; Hot Tamales are a trademark of the Just Born candy company; the mark for Jelly Belly beans are owned by the company of the same name; Doritos are a brand of Frito-Lay, a wholly owned subsidiary of PepsiCo; Tropic Wonder is brewed by Revive Kombucha; Sriracha is a generic term (don’t tell the Huy Fong rooster company, which must have licensed that image to the brewery), and the beer is brewed by Rogue Ales & Spirits.
Having lived in Cancun for over a decade of my life I have become quite familiar with spice. I personally do not due well with it as I encountered several experiences at restaurants thinking that the small bulbous green vegetables sitting in a dish on every table were easily consumable. Habanero peppers I learned are vtery potent.
As you walk into local stores just as your pics show there are tons & TONS of candies with spice that the kids love. I was particularly intrigued with the siriacha you put in the beer. In Mexico they have a drink called a "Michelada" (pronounced) Mee-che-la-da...a spicy beer.
Recipe as follows:
Some people put clamato juice in it as well but this changes the drink entirely.
Anyway enjoyed the article especially the history lesson.
Haha. Great post....err, great comment. :) Love the beer idea; I'll have to try that.
I won't go far.. just go Korean ;)
really spicy ..
or Thai -
thank you for your support papa pong!
This makes me want to try some spicy chocolate!
Do you have a 3D printer? I'll send you some on the blockchain. Oh, wait, we don't have that feature yet.
Lol!
This was a great read. Has me open to trying some of these new flavors I didn't know about. I never thought I'd be intrigued by spicy chocolate, but you sold me on it! Keep posting please!
Man I am such a baby when it comes to spice. I often tell people, "I have the palate of a baby".
When we go to a place that gives you an option how much spice you would like, my answer is "None. I would like none spice. Please. Pretend you are making this for an infant. Then take out even more spice".
I live a sad flavorless existence.
Of course I can't mention spice and not include this reference...
Plain flavors can allow you to appreciate the ingredients more also. Nothing wrong with that.
Yeah! That is what I'm going to tell my wife next time she makes fun of me at a restaraunt.
Boy i've also seen this trend. My thoughts on this are, you can have my share. If i were to get any of the above it would be on accident. I like tasting my food without catching my face on fire. I like cinnamon and some hot stuff but it doesn't like me. I guess it's not for everybody. I'm glad you shared this so i know what to steer clear of (laughing). Great topic and great post, thanks for sharing @donkeypong.
In general, I agree with you. If they can add the spicy snap in a restrained way and it really adds to other flavors, I'm interested, but I'm not interested in being blown up.
I've known about the original Aztec mix before, but I've only recently gotten the chance to sample it. To be honest, it's not that bad haha! With recent studies connecting sugar to diseases like cancer, I think it's an advantage that the flavors are being diversified. We're so used to the sweet sweet taste that we can't imagine eating without it. But, perhaps future generations wouldn't even know its taste if trends like these become the norm. Great examples, by the way. I didn't know about Pepsi Fire until now!
i haven't seen the aztec mix,where would i get them.
I haven't tasted the "Aztec Mix" brand, however I did taste a local brand here that has similar flavors. I live in the Philippines, by the way.
thats a long way to come for a bar of chocolate,i live in scotland uk.
I found this for you. I hope it helps http://www.cocochocolate.co.uk/product/haggis-spice/
are you kidding , even if your not i don't like haggis
I didn't mean to link that exact one, I meant this in general http://www.cocochocolate.co.uk/ They sell exotic flavors. I don't even know what haggis is haha!
yes i thought not,good one
Never have I ever seen or tasted a spicy chocolate. My whole life was a lie :O
That Pepsi Fire though :O
It's interesting how these flavor combinations can all of a sudden become popular, as if it hadn't been thought of until now or our taste buds have changed. I personally love cayenne, not only for it's flavor but for its health benefits. http://www.cayennepepper.info/health-benefits-of-cayenne-pepper.html It's wonderful in homemade chocolate: with coconut oil, cacao, sea salt and honey.
Sriracha stout? Good grief, thats something I would hesitate to try and I am chilli daft! I had an internal giggle as going through the pictures and thought for a seconds the tag line on the Skittles pack was Sweat Heat instead of sweet heat!
I love chocolate and hearing about all these "new to me" products! Will have to get acquainted with them! Nice post.