User:Fupacabra/sandbox

This article refers to the Botje bug which is indigenous to South Africa and South America. This bug was first discovered in Cuban tobacco fields by plantation owners who had noticed their tobacco had taken on a spicy taste and smell. Back then they were known as 'spice mites'. Not much is known about the Botje bug, but it is said to be an herbivore, mainly eating tobacco plants and mustard plants. The Botje bug's trademark 'tell' is that its fecal matter has a spicy scent and for the brave a spicy taste as well. One particular man by the name of Fred Boetje began using them to create the signature taste of Boetje's Mustard. This is how they got their name, however it was spelled differently for copyright reasons and Fred Boetje's desire to not be associated with them as he worried this knowledge would devastate his business. Fred began using the bugs in his Dutch-style mustard in 1889 when he was making mustard in his garage in Rock Island, Illinois. Fred had become neighbors with a group of Cuban immigrants who it is assumed had unknowingly carried the bugs into the US with them on their dried tobacco plants. Fred noticed that soon after the neighbors had arrived, to his pleasant surprise the flavor of his mustard changed. During conversation with his neighbor he learned of the bugs who were most likely the cause. Fred learned to breed and continue using the bugs on his mustard plants giving it his signature flavor.