Tharin's Story
Tharin's Story
Tharin got sober in 2005 in Atlanta. Tharin’s first sponsor, Larry introduced him to a Datil Pepper. Tharin and Larry spent many days talking about sobriety and the 12 steps while tending to the Datil plants they grew together. Tharin and Larry were lucky enough to become close with Ray, a Datil grower in St. Augustine. Ray had a unique Datil pepper that was 3 times larger than others, aptly named the jumbo Datil.
In 2014 ,after Ray’s death, Tharin moved to Texas to take a job at a addiction recovery center. He brought with him the last of a long lineage of jumbo Datil seeds, a final gift from Ray and a jelly recipe that he and Larry had been working on for years.
Tharin found that the hot and humid climate Texas had to offer created an environment that was perfect for growing Datils. Not only did his plants grow, they flourished and proved to be some of the largest Datil plants on record topping out at over 8 feet tall. Each year since 2014, Tharin has helped to bring some of the largest and most flavorful Datils from our garden to your table.
Peter's Story
Peter's Story
Peter got sober in June of 2008 in New York. During early sobriety Peter went to school to achieve a masters in social work and began working in the addiction treatment field. In 2014 he took a job in Texas at an addiction treatment center where he met Tharin.
Peter and Tharin became fast friends. Tharin introduced Peter to the Datil Pepper Jelly and asked him for help growing some plants. Tharin explained that he had brought the seeds with him during his move and that they were the last of the Jumbo seeds.
Tharin and Peter started with a small raised bed garden. They worked the garden daily and discussed how to improve the harvest, the jelly itself and how they could give back to the addiction recovery community. Soon they had grown some of the largest Datil plants known to exist, while also producing more peppers than they knew what to do with.
Tharin had thought of making jelly for himself and his friends, while Peter saw an opportunity to bring this amazing jelly he and Tharin had perfected to the masses and a way to help raise funds for struggling addicts. Shortly after their first harvest the first test batch of Uncle Tharin’s Datil Jelly was created. Since 2014 Peter and Tharin have strived to improve not only their Datil Jelly but also the Jumbo Datil plant itself.
Cody's Story
Cody's Story
Cody got sober in June of 2015 in North Texas. Cody quickly moved in to the recovery industry in hopes to help provide affordable and ethical treatment.
Cody met Peter working a treatment center in central Texas. They would then reunite a few years later.
Cody’s contribution to the making of Uncle Tharin’s Datil Jelly began shortly there after. He helped to blend the many hours Tharin and Peter had contributed to making a perfect jelly with the art of the 21st century.
Cody is a strong believer in helping people find effective treatment for drug and alcohol addiction. Uncle Tharin’s Datil Jelly helps to fulfill this belief.
Ps. Cody is also our accountant and he yells at us whenever we want to spend money. But we love him anyways.
Peter and Tharin
Jay's Story
Jay's Story
Jay got sober in 2012 in Kerrville, Texas. In 2014 Jay took a job with a treatment center in South Padre Island where he actually lived with Uncle Tharin and worked with Peter. One evening, Jaywalked into their home and discovered Tharin in the middle of what appeared to be a chemistry experiment. “It was like a scene from Breaking Bad. This dude is wearing rubber gloves, an apron, and rocking goggles like you’d see in a science lab.” Luckily, Tharin was not making drugs but was actually cooking up one of the first batches of the now famous Datil Jelly.
Jay works in treatment operations and loves seeing struggling addicts and alcoholics get their lives back on track. Working with families and their struggling loved ones is something he is extremely passionate about.
Jay currently resides in Houston where he constantly seeks to spread the good word of Datil.
Jay has been integrally involved in cooking massive amounts of jelly every year and helping to perfect the recipe. A self proclaimed hype man, Jay is constantly testing the jelly and glaze in different recipes and food pairings. What he has discovered is that everything is made better with a little jelly.
Eric's Story
Eric's Story
Eric Button is our CMO here at Fire Circle Farms. He found & realized a path of sustained freedom from addiction on July 21st 2005. Along this path he realized a real passion for spreading the word of hope while demonstrating freedom from addiction through action. Eric has worked in the field of substance use disorder treatment along with serving on 2 non-profit boards since 2007.
Eric was introduced to the Datil Pepper story in 2018 & could not wait to be a part of creating the many products with the passionate artisan pepper growers Tharin, Peter, Cody & Jay.
He believes the Datil is something that can not only excite people with its great flavor but also serve as a means to help others receive the FREEDOM from addiction that each of us enjoys daily.
Being an avid aircraft pilot he looks forward to personally delivering our Glaze & Jelly from his Piper Cherokee & even sharing his joy along the way. He’s excited for 2024 as we will be offering our hot sweetness at community fairs, farmers markets, & Austin's own Junior League Christmas Fair.