I thought that chilli pepper is part of Sichuan culture back in the Three Kingdoms era but I'm surprised on how recent chilli pepper in their cuisine!
It doesn't taste or feel anything like a battery, but it is quite unique!
It has a peppy citrus flavour, but also kind of numbs your whole mouth - it might sound odd, but it's really nice when combined with other ingredients.
You should be able to get peppercorns or oil from your nearest Asian store if you want to try it for yourself.
A few places I've been to lately use it in cocktails, very interesting flavour.
There's also a Brazilian herb/flower with similar properties that is becoming popular in gastronomy.
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2013.168...
They are not really spicy, but they create this nice buzz and have very nice smell, for spiciness they need to be combined with chilli peppers (see the most famous Chinese dish - gongbao jiding (incorrectly called kungpao chicken) - chicken dices with chilli, huajiao, spring onion and nuts).
[1] https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2013.168...