I like them for different things. Orange in my chili, and choc. for jerk chicken!

I grow it specifically because it is a more subtle flavor and doesn't clobber everything with overpowering fruitiness of orange hab. If orange hab is in something, all I can taste is orange hab. The brown ones are so much more savory. I really like Harold's St. Barts too for its smokey overtones.

How do you get past the heat to the flavor of a brown hab? Eat more! :) Your tolerance will catch up. You didn't start at orange habs, did ya? Or did ya!(?)

I am just the reverse, I can't hardly stand orange, it taste like battery acid in my salsa. I tried the chocolate habs and can't get enough. I'm afraid I am going to hurt myself eating so many of these hot peppers. I like chocolate so well that is going to be my mainstay along with caribean reds next year. Can't wait to try some of the other seeds, like white habs. I guess there are different chocolate varieties like choc scotch bonnets, choc trinidad, etc. I didn't realize that and am eager to try them as well.

I find the oranges taste overpowering as well. Never tried the chocolate but like carribaen reds and red savinas better.

Thanks - this helps a lot. As to the fruitiness, some of may salsas have fruit in them so it compliments (I grow mandarin tangellos, lemons and limes too - so I often use them instead of vinegar)
Now that i think of choco hab as savory that helps a lot, for some reason I thought it was meant to be a bit fruity as well, so i was looking for that. Now that I know better I can probably get out of that rut.
Al

It's like anything else, you gotta play to each pepper's strengths. I agree that Chocolate Habs are a lot hotter and more savory than it's fruity relative, the Orange Hab. So, I use the Chocolates in chili and stews - I use Orange in salsas and on chicken. So, in other words, I like them BOTH lol!

Now, in defense of the Orange Hab. Last summer, I found a recipe over on the Harvest forum. It's called "Habanero Gold Jelly". Now I don't like jelly, and I've never MADE jelly, but I figured 'what the hey'. So, I make this stuff - it was awesome! Everybody I gave it to thought it was awesome. This was August and the County Fair was about to start. I've never, ever entered anything to a County Fair but I figured 'what the hey'. Long story short - first place BLUE RIBBON baby!!!! And all the credit (well, most of it) goes to the lowly Orange Hab.

Now Al, you said you grow mandarin tangellos. This recipe calls for dried apricots. I can see you doing a little substitution, you know what I mean lol?

Anyway, that my two cents (what the hey).

Funny you mention it rdback. I've made several batches of Tangelo Habanero marmalade with the orange ones. The peppers and tangelos ripen at nearly the same time (Dec-Jan). It great marmalade with a kick.

I do need to figure out what to do with my 200+ remaining Chocolate Habs

Al

Send about 50 to me Al!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last year I made some amazing brown hab-plum sauce. Went great with pork and chicken.

I started growing the chocolate hab because I liked habs and wanted to try another variety. I grow far less orange habs now than I did then and the majority are given to my mother.

Flavor wise chocolate, carribean red and fatalii are my go to habs. White habs are good too... and they are all different. I made italian sausage with fatalii and carribean red a few nights ago, and put it on a pizza. It was the greatest pizza I've ever had in my life.

-HabBob