Chilli Gnome finally got his hands on a Kiwi Hellfire — and this one put him through a serious battle.

Before even eating it, the warning signs were obvious. The pod was twisted, contorted and absolutely loaded with oil. The knife came away coated, the placenta was soaked, and the aroma alone was strong enough to burn his nose.

Then he ate it.

The flavour came through straight away — fruity, slightly sweet and lightly floral — but the heat followed quickly. His tongue was on fire, the burn pushed into the back of the throat and chest, and before long it had reached the stomach as well.

Even with his chilli tolerance running high after several nights of superhot reviews, this pod still hit hard.

Through the pain, one thing impressed him most: the flavour kept hanging around.

He described it as a genuinely great-tasting pod, with fruitiness still coming through even while the tongue burn, throat heat, tears and heavy salivation continued to build.

Then the endorphin rush arrived.

Tingling spread through his face and fingers, he was squirming in the chair, struggling to compose himself, and openly wondering how much trouble he was going to be in later.

By the end, he rated the flavour a 9/10 and the heat at 9+, saying it had almost pushed him to a 10.

His final verdict was simple:

“That was not easy.”

And perhaps the biggest compliment of all:

“That cross is a keeper.”