> similar to – but stronger than – the Chinese spice Most Sichuan peppers sold in the West have been sitting around for years and have barely any numbing effec

> similar to – but stronger than – the Chinese spice Most Sichuan peppers sold in the West have been sitting around for years and have barely any numbing effect. There are also two different common varieties: the one almost always seen in the West is Zanthoxylum bungeanum, the red Sichuan pepper (红花椒), but in China they also use a lot of Zanthoxylum armatum aka green Sichuan peppers (麻椒 or 青花椒). The green ones are much more strongly numbing and can even be eaten fresh (藤椒), with an effect not unlike putting Pop Rocks into your food! I've also always felt that "numbing" is a wholly inadequate translation for 麻, which in Chinese is also used for anesthesia, the hemp plant, etc. It doesn't just numb your taste buds, but alters them: for me even plain water tastes thick and salty afterwards.