I moved recently and tried a Thai place down the street. The guy asked if I wanted mild, medium, or spicy, and I said spicy. He said :No, I think mild." I didn’t know what to say and he added “…but you can have it however you want.” I decided to try medium.
He came by after and asked how the spiciness was, and I said it was just a little spicier than I like it (I ate it without issue), and he said “I told you!”















Yeah, it doesn’t have to be that way, but it so often is. I like the Herndez brand mexican salsa you get at the grocery store (US), but the flavor of the medium is so much better than the flavor of the hot. It’s like with the hot ones, the only care about getting the heat.
I’ve had very hot sauces that had really good flavor, it just seems more rare.