Are you lucky enough to be part of a hot sauce loving office? I am at AdmitHub. It's an awesome company to work for in Boston that also happens to subscribe to the Craft Hot Sauce Box. As I’ve eaten with colleagues over the years I’ve learned that it’s not as cut and dry as a being a hot sauce lover or not. In fact, there are many different flavors of hot sauce users!

Allow me to explain the different types of hot sauce personas in offices all over the world.

The Aristotle – They taste the sauce (usually straight off their hand or a spoon) look up to the sky or ceiling, close their eyes, let the flavor and heat evolve, and then start explaining subtle notes, slight tones, deep burns and evolving flavors and sensations. They believe sauce was to be tasted as a sauce alone before going onto food.

The thoroughbred chilihead – You won’t find this person putting hot sauce on their meal that isn’t loaded with habaneros, ghost peppers or extract hot sauce. Who can blame em? They’re looking for the mid-day capsaicin high and rush, but they also enjoy those unique flavors that only super-hot hot sauces can provide.

The spiller – Not all sauces have a thick consistency and not all sauces have drip restrictors on them, so that means you have to be aware of the consistency before you turn the bottle towards your food. Well, this person hasn’t learned their lesson after pouring a third of the bottle onto their single meal.  After doing so they shake their head thinking not again and dig in for an extra hot meal.

The dotter – on the other side of the spectrum from the spiller lays the dotter. You can count on this person to try all different hot sauces and they can’t go a meal without it, but it only takes them a dot. They will strategically use it on different bites, making sure not to overpower the flavor of the food, but give it that extra kick and flavor. The spiller and dotter are a match made in heaven because they even out the pace of going through and trying new bottles of hot sauce.

The possessive bottle holder – The possessive bottle holder is also “Team Hot Sauce” and not “Team Cold Sauce” because they keep their bottle at their desk instead of the communal fridge. They even sometimes discretely go to their desk to sauce up and then go back to the cafeteria. They obviously value their craft hot sauces, but come on man, you can share a little!

The super-passionate craft hot sauce evangelist – “Let’s sauce up!” “It’s spoonful Saturday!” “What’s on the sauce menu today!?” exclaims the super passionate craft hot sauce evangelist! This person stirs the sauce pot, encouraging newcomers to get lit up on new sauces and to really taste that flavor that’s packed into that bottle. 

The OD’er – This person didn’t know what hit them, before it’s too late. They love great good and flavor and trying new hot sauces, but they don’t completely understand that not all sauces are the same heat level, even when their co-worker literally tells them to be careful. They end up suddenly consuming an impressive amount of a really hot hot sauce. All people at the table stop to look at their reaction, the OD’er start sweating and/or swearing and says never again and searches for milk or puts them mouth under the faucet while being in pain and then a high for the next 30 minutes. Although they said never again, it happens every 4-6 weeks.

The mixologist 

Start ups love saying 1+1 = 3 and so does the mixologist. Let’s get a little of this and a little of that and poof, a new evolved never tasted before combination of sauce. The mixologist might be looked at as one of the craziest hot sauce personas in the office, but they’re in the inception of hot sauce flavor.

The hot sauce hater – There’s always one! They think hot sauce ruins meals. The Aristotle will do a deep evaluation of flavor preference of the hot sauce hater and recommend a mild sauce, and the hot sauce hater won’t even try it! The super passionate hot sauce evangelist will also dedicate their working hours to debate the hot sauce hater that they are incorrect in their hatred of hot sauce. But here's how you convert the hot sauce hater!

The hot sauce crafter -  These days with more and more craft hot sauce companies and sauce makers coming out of the woodworks, there’s likely a small batch hot sauce maker in the office. They bring in their newest concoctions and setting up taste tests for co-workers to give their thoughts. Guilty as charged! – Brian

Hot sauce brings an office together whether it’s laughing at the OD’er, debating the hot sauce hater, and putting on your Aristotle hat evaluating new craft hot sauces.