Moruga – Chocolate, Rice and Scorpion Peppers

I recently saw a post on facebook announcing that the red Moruga Hill Rice is being marketed internationally.  I immediately felt drawn to write about my trip to the extraordinary district of Moruga in South Trinidad, in May 2018, for the opening of the National Cocoa and Chocolate Museum and Heritage Complex.

Michele Celestine, chair of The San Fernando Heritage Trust, arranged for members of the Rotary Club of Maraval to attend this unique event.  We arrived in a maxi taxi, complete with a tour guide who informed us of interesting geographical and historical tid-bits along the way.  I was particularly fascinated to learn about the Merikins who were freed American (compare with the word Merikin) slaves who settled in the area after the 1812 war between America and Britain.

The formal part of the opening, inside an old cocoa house, featured entertaining talks on the history of the place by the Merikin Prince of Moruga, Eric Lewis, founder of the museum, and the 99 year old Chief of The First Native Peoples of the Moruga Region, Paul Navarro.  Afterwards, we witnessed the opening of the restored cocoa house and museum.

This was followed by planting of cocoa trees on the surrounding mud volcano on which the museum stands.  We gaped at spouting mud on the hill-side as well as sulphur bubbling from a nearby spring.

Then there was lunch!  That is when I discovered the best tasting rice in the world – Moruga Hill Rice.  I only eat brown rice so this was right up my alley (though this rice is red). They served it cooked in shredded coconut and I loved it so much that I bought a couple of bags to take home.  I’ve been looking for it ever since, though they assured me that this rice could be found in certain outlets in the Port of Spain area.

Of course we got samples of their delicious chocolate made from the local Moruga cocoa.  This is Trinitario cocoa, from which the finest chocolates in the world are made.  We were also encouraged to take part in a real-live dancing of the cocoa.  The men spread the washed cocoa beans on a platform, a drummer kept beat, and shoe-less dancers enjoyed themselves while polishing the beans.  This was followed by a show of Carnival traditional characters to round off a most entertaining day.

Moruga is probably best known for its famous (or infamous) Scorpion peppers, one of the hottest breeds in the world, with a mean heat of more than 1.2 million Scoville Heat Units (SHUs).  individual plants can produce peppers with a heat of more than 2 million SHUs!  A few years ago, my gardener planted some peppers in the garden.  After reading a newspaper article on Moruga Scorpion Peppers, I realised that was what I had growing in a flower bed.  I tested an immature green pepper by cutting it open and placing it briefly on my tongue (not even biting it).  The next minute I was scrambling in the freezer for frozen bread to take away the pain.  I can’t believe people actually eat these peppers!  I certainly couldn’t find any takers for my produce and they were eventually replaced with ‘normal’ pepper bushes.

This was a very special and unique experience, and the local residents were very hospitable.  It really is worth taking a trip ‘deep south’ to visit the amazing region of Moruga, and learn about the fascinating history of the place and the extraordinary food it produces .