Chilli Gnome took on the chocolate expression of Kiwi Hellfire — and this one delivered one of the most concentrated throat burns he’d ever experienced.

The pod looked vicious before he even cut it open: dark chocolate colouring, twisted shape and a surface shining with oil.

Flavour came first with mildly earthy and fruity notes, with no bitterness and no strong floral character. At first, the mouth heat seemed surprisingly low.

Then the throat burn arrived.

The heat built almost entirely at the back of the tongue and deep in the throat, turning into a slow, creeping burn that became harder and harder to ignore.

Chilli Gnome described it as feeling like someone had “stuck the match on the fuel”, with every breath seeming to make the burn hotter.

At one point he summed up just how unusual the burn was:

“I’ve never had such an intense throat burn, but nothing anywhere else.”

The tongue and lips were barely registering compared with the throat, which felt like the chilli was still sitting there burning long after it had been swallowed.

Eventually the endorphin rush arrived, bringing tingling through the fingers and face, but the throat continued to dominate the experience.

As the burn finally began to shift forward, more flavour came back — earthy, fruity and slightly smoky — three characteristics he said he particularly enjoys.

Flavour: 8/10
Heat: 9/10

His verdict was clear: another seriously hot Rata Farm pod.