Taku "Tak" Kondo's elderly neighbors in rural Hyogo Prefecture were a little confused when he first began growing habanero peppers in his fields. "It's all rice and black soybeans around here," he says as we walk through rows of habanero plants.
Though it is the end of the harvest, several bushels still hang heavy with ripe peppers. Kondo bends down to pick a handful, the peppers' vibrant orange hue advertising their readiness to be turned into hot sauce.
In 2002, a fateful encounter with the pepper on the Okinawa island of Ishigaki first sparked Kondo's interest in habaneros. "I had always liked a bit of spice growing up but I had never come across a pepper with such a fruity aroma," he says as he gently splits open a ripe habanero with his hands.