Giusto Gusto

For anyone who’s either new to the site or has been hiding under a sadly seasoned rock for 3 years, Vesta is a dry hot-sauce like product my family sells locally in North Carolina to new and experienced heat enthusiasts. It’s versatility and quality are unmatched by any other spicy product out there, second only to fresh chiles themselves.

We source the majority of our chiles from Bailey Farm in Oxford, NC but my pop’s been playing the part of Vesta Botanist since the products inception, using a few tilled rows on the neighbors farm to fulfill his chile experiments. Last year resembled full-on war, battling bugs, cross breeding, and a relentless drought yielding a small score of prized Ghost Chiles.

2012, however, has been an overwhelming success thanks to the abundant rain in the area and improved planting practices. No more stealthily encroaching weeds, no hap-hazard bees fornicating with everything in sight like ECU freshman on $1 beer night, just a plethora of hells kitchen’s hottest chiles:

An Italian import, perfect for crushed chile flakes.

A rare Peruvian import packing the largest pound-for-pound punch at 1/4″ big.

Another fierce little dude, just ask for Thai Hot at your local Thai restaurant for a taste.

We think this is a cross between a Devil’s Tongue and a Scotch Bonnet, but who knows. Crazy hot and delicious.

Same little buggers from last year, neither very hot nor flavorful. Thanks for nothing you yellow-bellied bastards.

Another Peruvian favorite, typically used to make a rich, spicy Aioli. Not too hot, but really fruity.

2011′s MVP, the Bhut Jolokia or Ghost Chile. Until very recently this was the hottest chile on the planet at a whopping 1 Million Scoville Units (a habanero is 250K).

Childs play in comparison to the Ghost, but another awesome chile for drying and making Olio Santo.

The work-horse in our Very Hot Vesta, the Scotch Bonnet is usually a little hotter than your store bought Habanero.

Hands down the best Hybrid we’ve ever grown, we’re pretty sure this is a mix of Ghost Chile and Chocolate Habanero. Between the hellish heat of the Ghost and the explosive flavor and aroma of the chocolate, we’re pretty stoked about these guys.

The most flavorful chile on the farm, the Chocolate Habanero has and will probably always be my pop’s favorite chile.

Weighing in at a staggering 2, count it 2, Million Scoville Units, it’s 2012′s hottest chile on the planet: The Moruga Scorpion. This devilish little f*cker was hand crafted by some insane chile enthusiasts and we were lucky enough to score a handful of seeds to propagate (successfully I might add). Not to be trifled with…

The success of the farm this year is only dampened by the fact that it’s mid September, due to start cooling, but the chile plants are only beginning to ripen. This means a majority of the budding chiles-to-be will never see the light of day, nor the inside of someones stomach. Tragic, but all and all it’s been the greatest farming experience in Vesta Farms history. Big Ups to Benny T, the godfather and inventor of our beloved family product, for his uncanny green thumb and borderline-obsessive chile infatuation. Stay up to date on all the latest Vesta events and news by following Vesta on facebook and twitter: @vestatoppings