2022 Hottest Peppers In The World

The world's hottest peppers are a group of plants of the genus capsicum chinense. The spiciness of the peppers ranges from barely edible to so strong that it can cause skin and eye discomfort.

Peppers are, without a doubt, spicy. But which peppers have the most heat? The hottest peppers in the world can set your mouth on fire. These peppers are not for the faint of heart, with temperatures reaching over 1,000,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU).

Check out some of the world's hottest peppers if you're looking to spice things up in the kitchen.

⬇️ Table of Contents

• Hottest Peppers In The World
• What Is The Scoville Scale
• Scoville Scale Spice Level Scoring
• 🌶️ Pepper X
• 🌶️ Dragon's Breath
• 🌶️ Komodo Dragon
• 🌶️ Carolina Reaper
• 🌶️ Trinidad Moruga Scorpion
• 🌶️ Trinidad Scorpion Chocolate
• 🌶️ 7 Pot Douglah
• 🌶️ 7 Pot Brown
• 🌶️ Dorset Naga
• 🌶️ Naga Morich
• 🌶️ Trinidad Scorpion "Butch-T"
• 🌶️ Naga Viper
• 🌶️ 7 Pot Brain Strain
• 🌶️ Ghost Pepper
• 🌶️ 7 Pot Jonah Pepper
• 🌶️ Spanish Naga Pepper / Gibralta Naga Pepper
• Recipes To Try
• 📖 Recipe Card

Hottest Peppers In The World

This article will give you everything you need to know about the spiciest, hottest chili peppers available. Also, learn how the Scoville Scale works and what SHU ratings mean for those who enjoy spicy foods!

Answer the question: "What is the hottest pepper in the world?" This question cannot have a firm answer because it is subjective to each individual. But generally speaking, some peppers are thought to be hotter than others.

The Trinidad Scorpion Moruga Blend, which has a Scoville Heat Index of 2,000,000, is frequently referred to as the spiciest pepper in the world (SHU). The Carolina Reaper (1,569,300 SHU), the Ghost Pepper (1,041,000 SHU), and the Habanero pepper are some of the other peppers that are among the hottest (350,000-580,000 SHU). Which pepper is the hottest will ultimately depend on the individual.

What Is The Scoville Scale

The Scoville Scale is a measurement of the heat level of chili peppers. It was developed in 1912 by American chemist Wilbur Scoville to estimate how much spice/heat) an individual pepper possesses, named the Scoville Heat Units (SHU). The scale assigns a rating from zero to infinity, with sweet bell peppers at zero and Carolina Reapers at over 2 million Scoville units!

Scoville Scale Spice Level Scoring

Using the Scoville Organoleptic Test, the pungency (spicy heat) of chili peppers and other spicy foods is measured in Scoville heat units. When using this method of determining spice levels, there is no need to taste the foods. Instead, it uses indicator chemicals that interact with active ingredients in high-performance liquid chromatography to determine the amount of capsaicin present.

Scoville heat units (SHU): The score for spice is based on how much capsaicin is present in each unit, which affects the levels of other compounds like dihydrocapsaicin and ß-cis-capsaicin. The Scoville scale is merely a rough estimate. It determines the overall level of spiciness in a solution or food that contains a combination of capsaicinoids and non-capsaicinoids by measuring the total amount of hot, spicy heat present in both.

🌶️ Pepper X

• Scoville Rating: 3,180,000 Scovilles (SHU)

Ed Currie, the creator of the Carolina Reaper pepper, said that Pepper X is "two times as hot," which makes it one of his favorite chilies. He started developing this new cultivar over ten years ago in an effort to have more heat with less flavor loss when compared with other spicy varieties on display at farmer's markets or grown by home gardeners.

The extreme heat of Pepper X chili deems it unwise to consume the fruit. If the reports are accurate, one bite has the ability to kill the diner.

Hot Ones, a web series produced by First We Feast in which the host and his interview subjects eat increasingly spicy chicken wings. One of their sauces is called 'The Last Dab.' The original sauce for this dish was made with Pepper X as its active ingredient; now, they use pepper extract instead because it has more heat.

🌶️ Dragon's Breath

• Scoville Rating: 2,480,000 Scovilles (SHU)

The newly crowned chili pepper plant, Dragon's Breath, was discovered in the UK. The Dragon's Breath is a type of chili pepper that was bred to have medicinal properties. The therapeutic properties of aesthetic treatment with its essential oil, believed by some people who study plants, the scientific value of Dragon's Breath cannot be overstated. 

One of the hottest peppers in the world, this chili has been bred by Mike Smith and his team at Tom Smith’s Plants. They say if you eat one, it will close your airways immediately-burn, mouth/throat out and possible anaphylactic shock from the hot spicy, so be careful!

🌶️ Komodo Dragon

• Scoville Rating: 1,400,000 to 2,200,000 Scovilles (SHU)

Komodo Dragon is a beast of an ingredient, with over one million Scoville heat units and 2.2million on average to compete against some serious peppers in Carolina Reaper territory at 880 times hotter than jalapeños!

Komodo dragon chilies are about 2 inches long and slim. They have skin that twists, turns, and pocks along its length before ending in a point-like tip. Komodos follow the typical chili pepper color maturation pattern starting green at maturity and followed by bright red when fully ripe.

🌶️ Carolina Reaper

• Scoville Rating: 1,400,000 to 2,200,000 Scovilles (SHU)

Carolina Reaper still reigns supreme as one of the world's hottest peppers commercially available on earth today. The spiciness and heat of the Carolina Reaper are derived from capsaicinoids, specifically those that contribute to its Scoville scale ranking as one of the hottest chilis on earth.

The pepper was bred by "Smokin" Ed Currie in a greenhouse near Rock Hill, where he has been growing chili peppers since 1968. It took him over three years' worth of breeding for this accomplishment!

🌶️ Trinidad Moruga Scorpion

• Scoville Rating: 1,200,000 to 2,000,000 Scoville (SHU)

Trinidad Moruga Scorpion (Capsicum chinense), a chili pepper native to the village of Moruga in Trinidad and Tobago, has been identified as one of the spiciest chiles on Earth. It was measured at 1.2 million Scoville heat units (SHU) by New Mexico State University's Chile Pepper Institute in 2012, making it amongst some other listings such as Carolina Reaper with its record-setting designation.

The Trinidad Moruga Scorpion has a unique, fiery taste that builds as you eat it. The yellow cultivar of this chili pepper was created by Wahid Ogeer in the 1980s and named after his home country of Trinidad. Paul Bosland says, "You take one bite; then suddenly your tongue is on fire!"

🌶️ Trinidad Scorpion Chocolate

• Scoville Rating: 1,200,000 to 2,000,000 Scovilles (SHU)

Trinidad Scorpion Chocolate pepper is 100 times hotter than a jalapeno. The short (2-inch), wrinkled chocolate brown, red fruits have hints of sweetness. Its undertones make it perfect for spicy fruit-forward sauces.
We recommend wearing protective gear while handling Trinidad Scorpion Chocolate pepper, just as one would do any other of the chilies on our list. This chili has a less acidic flavor profile overall due to some smokiness and earthy tones.

🌶️ 7 Pot Douglah

• Scoville Rating: 923,889 to 1,853,986 Scovilles (SHU)

7 Pot Douglah is an extremely hot pepper from Trinidad. It has skin that’s notably dark chocolate brown and somewhat pimpled but starts off green before maturing to a rich brown coloration. At 1,853,986 Scovilles, it is one of the world's hottest peppers.

The 7 Pot Douglah Pepper has a heat rating of 232 times hotter than jalapenos and more than five times as spicy as habaneros.

🌶️ 7 Pot Brown

• Scoville Rating: 800,000 to 1,853,396 Scovilles (SHU)

7 Pot Brown pepper comes from Trinidad and is also known as the Chocolate 7 Pot. The reason is it matures to dark chocolate brown in color, with bumpy texture and dimples on its surface that give off fruity flavors followed by nutty notes at the finish.

7 Pot peppers are not for the faint of heart. They're hot, with a potency level over 125 times hotter than jalapeños and a close cousin to Trinidad Moruga Scorpion pepper.

🌶️ Dorset Naga

• Scoville Rating: 544,000 to 1,598,227 Scovilles (SHU)

Dorset Naga is a strain of the Naga Morich. This chili began the modern British obsession. First cultivated by Joy and Michael Michaud at Sea Spring Farm, Dorset, it was named one of the world's hottest peppers.

Some say that the Dorset Naga and Morich pepper are one and the same, but their differences make them unique.

The Dorset Naga, which has thin skin and a pointy tip, can be pretty spicy. The heat starts building up almost immediately after consumption with an out-of-this-world fruity flavor that some people might find too intense for their taste buds - but those who love fiery foods thoroughly enjoy it!

🌶️ Naga Morich

• Scoville Rating: 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 Scovilles (SHU)

Naga Morich is a small-medium shrub with large leaves, and it has five-petaled flowers. The fruit of this chili plant differs from the Bhut Jolokia. In comparison, it's slightly smaller while having a more pimply texture than other varieties due to being grown at higher elevations where there's less sunlight available for photosynthesis. Thus, growing faster but not producing as many fruits over time makes harvesting difficult without destroying part or all its crop yield potential.

🌶️ Trinidad Scorpion "Butch-T"

• Scoville Rating: 800,000 to 1,463,700 Scovilles (SHU)

Trinidad Scorpion "Butch-T" was briefly listed as the hottest pepper in the world in 2011. According to Guinness World Records, it was eventually surpassed by Moruga Scorpions and then again with Carolina Reaper. But still, this fantastic chili will satisfy those craving massive heat.

The Scorpion Pepper is indigenous to the Caribbean island nation of Trinidad and Tobago, which was named after Neil Smith from The Hippy Seed Company. He initially received these seeds through Butch Taylor (the owner of Zydeco Farms in Woodville/Crosby, Mississippi), who sourced them out.

🌶️ Naga Viper

• Scoville Rating: 900,000 to 1,382,118 (SHU)

Naga Viper was created in England by chili farmer Gerald Fowler of The Chilli Pepper Company UK. Naga Viper is the creation of a three-way hybrid produced from the world's hottest peppers - Bhut Jolokia (ghost pepper), Naga Morich, and Trinidad Scorpions, which are all on record as registering 1 million Scoville heat units or higher!

🌶️ 7 Pot Brain Strain

• Scoville Rating: 1,000,000 to 1,350,000 Scovilles (SHU)

7 Pot Brain Strain was developed in North Carolina by David Cappiello. He created it after breeding a pepper that originated from Trinidad and Tobago, which gave its name to this strain because this particular pepper immediately brings to mind an image of the human brain. It also resembles melting lava and reflects just how hot it can be when tasting these fiery fruits! The shape is very similar to that which you'll find on Moruga Scorpiones though they do not have a pronounced tail as many other scorpion peppers do.

This sweet yet spicy chili can exceed 1 million Scoville units depending upon where they're grown but still has enough kick without being overwhelming, thanks to its great flavor.

🌶️ Ghost Pepper

• Scoville Rating: 800,000 to 1,041,427 Scovilles (SHU)

Ghost Pepper is a hybrid of chili pepper endemic to Northeast Asia. They have been measured at over one million Scoville units, though they typically score in the upper hundreds of thousands or lower millions on modern tests.

Ghost peppers are closely related to the Naga Viper variety from India, which is ranked about 400,000 SHU and named after its resemblance to a snake’s hood when fully ripe. The ghost pepper was formerly considered the hottest chili pepper in the world until recently, surpassed by several others, such as Dragon's Breath pepper and Carolina Reaper pepper.

Raw or unprocessed food can cause intense discomfort; however, this same effect becomes surface only when appropriately cooked. 

Other names for ghost pepper include bhut jolokia pepper and Bhutanese pepper.

🌶️ 7 Pot Jonah Pepper

• Scoville Rating: 800,000 to 1,200,000 (SHU)

7 Pot Jonah is a pepper 7 times hotter than the standard Habanero. The Chaguanas region of Trinidad is where you'll find the 7 Pot Jonah pepper. It's chili with up to 1.2 million Scoville heat units and can make your stew as hot as it sounds - seven pots worth! Making this specialty food item perfect for those who want some spice in their lives.

The 7 Pot Jonah peppers themselves look like typical chilies except for their size; they grow to about five inches long by two inches wide.

🌶️ Spanish Naga Pepper / Gibralta Naga Pepper

• Scoville Rating: 1,086,844 to 1,200,000 (SHU)

Spanish Naga Pepper / Gibralta Naga Pepper Spain. Chilli Pepper Pete was involved with setting up this project to grow them just across from Gibraltar- although there are other places where they're found too!

The hottest chili pepper in India. It beat out other contenders to take first place by many reports of it reaching up over 1 million SHU, with some even claiming1,220,000 Scoville heat units!

These chilis grow about 3 inches long and are round on top before narrowing towards an end that's tapered off into small points.

Recipes To Try

• Texas Jalapeno Poppers
• Crispy Lasagna
• How Hot Are Jalapeno Peppers?
• Texas Red Chili
• What Are Chipotles?

📖 Recipe Card