hello my
favorite are Aji and Habaneros and yes i love the peach hab, im actually very good friend with the fellow who invented it his name is James Weaver of Kutztown Pa
i love Habaneros because of the obvious awesome flavor and i grow alot of them,my favorite of all the Babs has got to be the Jamaican hot chocolate

i love Aji species also

such as "Aji omni-color" its a beautiful,prolific plant these pepper although hot 175.000 s.h.u. they have a flavor that you just have to taste one to understand the "Aji lemon drop" has similar properties but tastes different "Aji Amarillo", my absolute favorite of the three has a citrus appeal and flavor that you have to eat one to understand im growing all three and there very prolific and very hardy plants

all peppers mentioned are so useful for different dishes and hot sauces as well at the present time i have 65 confirmed species of hot pepper and most are producing and some are going crazy im picking almost everyday

hope that this was a good start to this thread and thanks your friend joe

To be completely honest this is the first year growing anything other than Jalapeños as far as peppers go.

My pepper experience has been pretty generic based on what the supermarket sells us (plain orange habs, jalapeno, cayenne) :(

This year was the first time I've ever had a ripe Jalapeno! It's was great....and unripe Tepins are pretty good!

I have Tepin, Jamaican Yellow Scotch Bonnets, Bhut's, Chocolate Habs, Caribbean Red Habs and Jalapeno's...

So give me about a month and I'll have a new favorite :-)

Habaneros, because of the flavor, heat, and colorful variety. I've only tried a few kinds, but I've loved them all. A meal without habs is a sad affair.

I don't know if I have a "favorite" but I will always grow jalapenos every year despite cycling through many other new varieties of peppers. I love habaneros, but I can get my citrusy heat fix from a lot of c. chinese. But nothing really replaces the taste of a jalapeno and their versatility. They freeze well, they pickle well, they're good on the grill, great for baking into cornbread, they're awesome for making poppers, awesome fresh... Not only that, but they have a long shelf life and stay crisp longer than a lot of other hot peppers. They're hot enough to give something a little kick, but mild enough that most guests can also enjoy whatever you make with them. There's a reason why jalapenos are so popular.

The Hungarian wax, hands down! This is my first year growing them. I expected them to be fairly mild. Well I harvested dozens that I thought were unripe (pale yellow) and a bit small, but they turned out to be HOT! A very pleasant surprise. Besides that, the plants are relentless. They just keep sprouting new buds and growing fruit at an amazing rate! Definetly my favorite! I'll be overwintering the 2 strongest producers of the Hungarians.

I'll tell you what, I'm really starting to dig my goat horn peppers for an all-around general pepper (this is replacing my fondness for my cayennes). My favorite pepper for stuffing has got to be cherry peppers (hot variety). If I'm looking for something to just add heat to a dish, it is sure looking like my chiltepins are going to be wearing the crown on that one. So many pods to pick from. . . so many favorites!

So far my favorites have to be Labuyo and Chiltepin.
I like these peppers because they seem to thrive in the heat and sun. I live in Texas and alot of peppers have a hard time growing and blooming in the Texas heat. The labuyo's also have a good kick and great flavor.

Labuyo (philippine pepper)

so very hard to pick an overall winner.. they all have such diverse uses
if I must chose however, there's a particular vietnamese chile (the owner at this restaurant won't tell me the strain) that is so full of flavor and angrily kind heat, that its at the top of my list right now.
I haven't been a fan of the musty citrusyness of the habs lately.. but, I am a fan of roasting larger chiles and chopping them up with some habs to impart some of that heat on the green chile flavor.
Besides that, i think my favorite snack is a bowl of pan fried pardon peppers with some ricotta salata sprinkled on top... have that with a some nice cold beer

I have to agree with EG about the Jals and their versatility. I love them red ripe, but use them green also. They just a have a certain flavor that others don't. I also like Lemon Drop with it's citrusy taste. But then, I have a lot more I need to try before choosing an absolute favorite...

I'm still waiting for my C. pubescens to ripen so I can have my first taste of them...

I love Thai peppers. They are prolific, very ornamental, do well in containers, taste great and are easy for me to overwinter; what's not to love. I find they are one of the most cold tolerant of peppers, and I only give them protection in December/January. During that time, they get cut back and move into a small 4 shelf greenhouse I have on the side of the house in front of the heating system exhaust vent. They move back out sometime in February.

Rocotos are my absolute favorite. This is an ideal climate for them because of our cool summers, and they need no protection in winter here. -I'm not quite sure how old my current plant is, but at least 4 or 5. I have started new ones this season for insurance, but the current plant still looks great and has set 40+ peppers so far.

Rocotos also do really well in containers, and the flowers and fruit are both lovely. I think that they are the best flavored pepper I've ever eaten; smoky, fruity and hot. Every year I try a few different sorts of peppers, but Thai and Rocoto are my go-to guys.

Having recently broadened by experience with unusual peppers, I'll go ahead and chime in:

Lemon drops are amazing when raw. Sliced in sandwiches, they taste wonderful. I bet they'd be awesome pickled too.

Bhuts make amazing sauce. The flavor of those is unparalled thus far. I use the sauce for everything from wings to sandwiches to adding an extra kick to things like spaghetti sauce.

Hot Cherries are also pretty good, especially in things like Chile pots where you want their thick flesh to break the uniform texture of the meat.

Fefferonas are my all-time favorite. It's a Macedonian hot pepper, similar in taste to Pepperoncinis, but thai-shaped almost. They make the most amazing snack pickled peppers I've ever tasted.

I have like 25 orange habanero pods sitting in my fridge, and a good 45 or so left on my plants and im currently contemplating what I will do with them. Since I now have enough powder to last me for a few months, I'm considering either sauce once more, or maybe jelly.

Good input guys! Thanks! Keep em coming ;)

Call me boring but you can't beat the heat and flavor of the tabasco pepper. I love that smoky flavor, and a fresh tabasco pepper taste NOTHING like the sauce. The heat is excellent, again way hotter then the store bought sauce.

I also enjoy Aji Puta Madre, and Rain forsest is great milder pepper to eat right off the plant.
I am growing over 20 different types of AJI plants this year, and some of thier flavors are so unique. But all in all I would still have to say the tabasco still wins.

Sam

"Puta Madre"? Am I interpreting that correctly? ;)

I agree, Sam, the Tabasco is a way different experience when eaten fresh from the plant.

As far as my favorite hot pepper....well, I don't think I've found it yet. At the moment,
I'm a bit enamored of the Chocolate Habañero, but that might be a temporary infatuation.

I use/eat more Thai chiles than any other pepper, so that's probably my favorite pepper.
Of course, that covers a wide variety of flavors and pod-types....

The Hungarian has a special place in my heart, but I don't really consider it a hot pepper.

Josh

I personally like the Jalapeno to make poppers,...the Lemon drop and the White Habanero to dry and make seasoning.

Aji Puta Madre; C. frutescens That is how Peppermania has it labeled.

As described by source "Aji de la puta de su madre. Very Hot Pepper. Pico de Pajaro". A very hot and prolific
C. frutescens. Slighty smaller than the Tabasco sometimes showing a more blunt apex, similar heat and flavor.
Puta Madre is something like MF when biting a very hot pepper, call it "slang".

Sam

I have to say that my favorite so far this year is the fish pepper (thanks Rick). Pretty plant, great heat, and lots of seeds for next year. And a great flavor too.

So far from a growing perspective, and being only in my first year at that, i must say Habanero is my favorite cause just one or two of them in any dish adds nice heat and flavor.

Im growing
3 types of Bell(little or no production of peppers)
Pepperoncini (great pickled or marinated)
Habanero (Main harvest yet to come)
Jalapenos (great all around pepper)
Cayenne (packs a punch, good flavor)
Serrano (waiting for harvest)
Hungarian Wax (great all around pepper)
Carribean Red (still waiting)

Right now I would say the Fatalii, it just has an absolutely amazing flavor and a sizzle that just keeps on sizzling. Very hot but still practical.

Rocotos, because of their unique look, growth habit, the meatiness of the fruit (Great for making salsas, ceviches, and relish/chutneys)and the unique way the sensation of heat spreads across your taste buds/mouth in that deliciously delayed manner.

datil would have to be my choice... such a distinct flavor...

i also like "cleo's dragon" for its sweetness followed by habanero style heat and "andy" cayenne for the way it takes smoke so well...

I'm an amateur at hot peppers, but having tried Mexibell last year I absolutely fell in love. So much flavor, so beautiful in the garden and on the plate, and even more prolific and rampant in growth than the jalapenos.

I love the mustard habanero. It gives awesome flavor and heat to chili ad homemade hot sauce.

Homemade Hot Banana Pepper Hybrid made by my ex father-in-law. Tastiest mildly spicy pepper I have ever eaten!

My favorite is the one thats on the cutting board or on the grill. Right now its still Orange Habanero, cause they the only ones left from 2010 season. They still good after being being frozen :)

Jim

My #1 is Sili Labuyo. For the same reasons as reyna1. They love tons of sun but can withstand cold nights pretty well. Plants are very productive. Peppers have a good heat and great flavor. Use them fresh, or air dry them for future use. I have 6 plants in the garden this year because I want to make a hot sauce out of them. Compare that to my next favorite, the Jalapeno, which I'm only growing 3 plants. Most of the other plants in the garden are habs or scotch bonnets, but only 1 plant per variety.

My favor Pepper is Habanero, Mexican Habanero from Yucatan Mexico and the only company to have that is CHIPOTLAN HOT SAUCE base in Queens New York, They have the best hot suaces in the world check this guys on Face Book, just one word pasumadrefacebook. thanks

My favorite that would be like saying this child is my favorite. Now I have to choose! Ok Devils tongue has to be my all time favorite the taste the heat i just love em! Now a close second would be Cleos dragon mainly cause they are still maturing after all other plants are done and harvested! Hey Bob Marley's favorite cant go wrong. I greww 14 varieties this year! In containers good thing i am retired! Got really tough mid summer here in Houston it gets hot from time to time! This week was my second harvest for the season and now they are blooming again!