Paqui is a company known for its spicy takes on tortilla chips, but it’s outdone itself this year with the return of the “One Chip Challenge.” All you have to do to complete the task is eat one chip – but it just so happens that the chip is coated in fiery, formidable levels of spices fueled by the Carolina Reaper, a vile creation of heat and hate which Guinness World Records says is the hottest chili pepper in the world. We at ComicBook.com took the One Chip Challenge at the suggestion of Paqui and realized immediately what a mistake we’d made.
Videos by ComicBook.com
The One Chip Challenge started as a viral sensation a few years ago before resurfacing in 2019 with a chip hotter than ever before. Paqui’s new chips were sold individually (and sold out quickly, but there’s still a chance to get one) and were sent to us by Paqui in an ominous, coffin-shaped box with another wrapper inside it to make sure nothing escapes. Warnings on the back of the box and inside the lid try to dissuade you from eating the chip or at least get you ready for what you’re about to taste. Joined by Chris Killian and Richard Adams II in the video above, we ripped into the Paqui One Chip Challenge and regretted it right away.
Before you even get to the heat, the first challenge is getting the chip down. The seasoning gets all over the place and covers your hands, the inside of your mouth, and everything else it touches. If you’ve ever tried to complete the cinnamon challenge, it’s a comparable but shorter experience.
Once the heat actually kicks in within a few seconds, it’s debilitating. Everyone reacted a bit differently whether that meant reaching for the nearest trashcan or just focusing on not hacking the chip back up, but no matter what your plan is, it goes away when you eat Paqui’s Reaper Chip. Milk, bread, and water do little to alleviate the searing of the Carolina Reaper which led to one of the worst parts of the experience when you realize your solution to the heat didn’t help at all. Chris said it was like eating dry, crunchy fire while Richard said it felt like a mouthful of fire ants. This was all after the fact though since you’re not really able to say much when your mouth is on fire.
The video shows the immediate effects of the chip, but it’s really an all-day experience. You’ll be feeling a chip like this for hours whether that’s through headaches, nausea, or a combination of symptoms. It was a humbling challenge, but if a hotter chip was created, perhaps we’d be persuaded to try it again to see if a hotter version can be made.
Though the chips are sold out now, Paqui’s giving people a chance to try their luck with the One Chip Challenge through a sweepstakes. Grab certain bags of Paqui’s chips and you’ll have a chance to enter codes and maybe win your own chip to try yourself or with others. If you’re not dissuaded by our experience, you can find out more about that sweepstakes here.
