I'm sure that there is a genetic factor, for some people handling hot peppers better than others. Back when we lived in Mexico, I once visited a new missionary family. To be hospitable I went out and got them some good tacos (with hot sauce and chiles on the side). That way they could add what they wanted. Anyway, their four year old got hold of the chiles and ate them like candy! Now he's over 18, and that trait has stuck with him. My wife, on the other hand, never tasted a hot pepper until she was about 19. We were in college and I invited her to a Mexican restaurant. There was a bowl of pickled cherry peppers on the table and she naively asked, "What are those?" Not thinking she would actually believe me, I replied, "they're pickled tomatoes. Try one." She only touched one to the tip of her tongue... and turned fire engine red, draining both our glasses of ice water. Yet, after living in Mexico for some years my wife used to "out chile" us all.
The Habanero is my absolute favorite for flavor. But I cut way back on the heat, after several bouts with typhoid (not on account of hot food) and gastritis. After a couple years of bland diet, I discovered that a little chile produced the same effects as what a lot used to. So, I decided simply not to crank things back up to where they used to be.
When we first moved to Mexico we lived in a high rainforest area where the rocoto pepper is commonly grown. I heard about an American tourist who was probably drinking, and took a dare to chomp down a rocoto, seeds and all. He did it, thus winning the dare. But a few minutes later his throat swelled shut and he died. So, as they say in Mexico, "Excess in nothing: moderation in all things..."
George
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