That was going to be my guess...the seeds aren't viable possibly from drying at too high a temperature. I have no experience with Penzey's. There's nothing that special about pepper seeds. If you have that kind of success with everything else, I would think things are fine for pepper seeds. My only suggestion would be to get seeds from a reliable vendor or seed swap. That way you know with a fair amount of certainty that the seeds are viable.

Lars, I was surprised too - but Gina is full of surprises! And I remember the entire day very well. Do open the linked pictures which are just a Google search but there are some astounding views of the Teahouse, it is really beautiful inside and out. There is an amazing story of how Boulder was gifted with this and how it was finally constructed here. It is the only traditional Persian Teahouse in the Western Hemisphere. Boulder and Dushanbe have been sister cities since 1982 and there are fund raising efforts every year. There have been a number of visits between the cities. This is from the home page of the organizations website "We sponsor cultural, educational, medical, and business exchanges between Dushanbe and Boulder. Building an environment of trust and cultural understanding - this is what citizen diplomacy is all about." Of course I would love to see you here. I don't know where your friends are in Utah but Salt Lake City is 500 miles from Boulder, an 8 hour drive or an 90 minute flight for as low as $88. round trip. Annie, I don't remember what we were smelling in the picture, but I do remember smelling all the varieties of cinnamon (before I decided on the Korintje) so it could be cinnamon. The tabletops at the teahouse are all different in the ornamental tile borders and all have chess boards in the centers. Tea and chess could occupy patrons for hours in Asia and the Middle East. Lee

AnnT's jerk recipe is delicious and very easy --- we've started using it all of the time. We use it on pork tenderloin, and use it for kabobs, too. I've never used Penzey's jerk seasoning, so I can't compare it. But, we use Penzey's spices to make Ann's recipe. It's nice to make your own, because you can adjust the flavors as you like them, i.e. Jessy could decrease the nutmeg or other flavors to suit her. I like lots of Jerk flavoring so we usually double the entire recipe so that I have lots of flavor. Here is a link that might be useful: AnnT's jerk style chicken

your welcome, just went 2 weeks ago!! love their pie spice in my oatmeal!! with my order, over $30, received free pepper and basil!! showed them my email. love that!! Enjoy everyone!!!