Hottest pepper in the world

What's the hottest pepper in the world? Have you ever thought about this when the summer brings a vast range of chili peppers with multiple colors and sizes? To your surprise, every pepper type has its own unique taste, flavor, and heat.

Some of them are mild and sweet, like bell peppers. Some of them are moderately hot, like serrano and jalapeno peppers. That's great for cooking and flavoring up recipes. Trust me, a few of them are flaming hot and could potentially harm us with their spiciness.

But the real complication is, that most of the chili peppers look alike, however, they significantly differ in their heat level. For instance, habanero pepper(350,000 SHU) looks similar to super hot ghost peppers(1 million SHU). Here, though they have identical shapes, the heat varies to a huge extent, right?

Hence, always have a general rule of thumb to proceed with caution when handling unknown types of peppers. 

This post is an effort to make you aware of the hottest pepper in the world.

The list of top hottest peppers in the world keeps changing because of newly discovered hot chili peppers. 

This is the updated top 12 list for 2022 hottest pepper in the world. 

Apollo Pepper

If you are looking for the hottest chili pepper that can make you sweat and is packed with unique flavors, this Apollo pepper has everything in it. 

This Apollo pepper is precisely what you need to spice up your life-but proceed with caution. Because this is an extremely hot chili pepper, it can instantly trigger a burning sensation to the entire mouth and throat and potentially, it may be harder to breathe for a while. 

This is an extremely hot chili pepper variety, introduced in 2021. And belongs to the capsicum Chinense family developed by the Pucker butt pepper company by combining extreme chili pepper varieties like pepper X and Carolina reaper. 

The fun fact is that Pepper X and Carolina Reaper are from the same company.

The creator mentions is Pepper has more than 3 million SHU on the Scoville scale. Hence, expected to be hotter than the Pepper X. This pepper is waiting for the world's approval to Crown it as the world’s hottest chili pepper.

Pepper X 

The creator of the world’s hottest chili pepper ‘Carolina Reaper’(holds Guinness world records of 2017 for its highest heat level) developed this chili pepper.

Its creator Ed Currie, described its heat level as 3,180,000 SHU in Scoville scale. 

He compares that this hottest chili pepper is two times the Carolina Reaper’s heat profile. And a hundred times hotter than the jalapeños.

As of May 2022, these Pepper X chili peppers are still unavailable as whole fresh peppers in the open consumer market. However, it is available as Pepper X hot sauce that are highly popular among spice lovers.

Dragon's Breath

This is a hybrid chili pepper between varieties-Boot jolaka and Trinidad scorpion pepper(These chili peppers have extreme heat and fiery flavors).

Dragon breath chili pepper is a product of the United Kingdom. And named after its intense heat that symbolizes the mythological dragon's fire breath.

It is measured as 2,480,000 SHU on the Scoville scale. And it is 800 times hotter than jalapeño pepper. 

Using them for culinary purposes in a standard kitchen is not advisable as it may lead to fatal incidents. However, use this chili pepper in a controlled version of Dragon's Breath hot sauce. You may find it online on Amazon.

Chocolate 7-pot

Chocolate 7-pot is another scorching chili pepper. It is reported as nearly 1,800,000 SHU on the Scoville scale, making it quite spicy. And it's 500 times hotter than jalapeño and two times hotter than the habanero peppers.

It looks similar to habanero peppers and has a chocolate brown color. And used to make hot sauce and stew recipes.

How does it get the name '7 pot'? Because a single pepper can provide the spice element for seven pots of stew. 

These peppers are cultivated in many parts of the world. And used for both culinary and medicinal purposes.

These have a fruity flavor and are packed with intense heat.

Carolina Reaper

This Carolina reaper belongs to the capsicum Chinense family. It was created by Ed Curry, a well-renowned breeder from North Carolina. And holds the title as the ‘world’s hottest chili pepper’ from the Guinness Book of records in 2017.

And still(as of May 2022) possesses this title. 

This pepper is a crossbreed between the Saint Vincent and Nagao viper pepper from Pakistan. 

It’s smaller, measuring about 1 inch wider and 1 to 1.5 inches in lengthwise. And has a wrinkled skin with clustered seeds. 

It has a long, sharp, pointed tail. This chili pepper is named after its resemblance to the weapon reaper. 

It has a fruity flavor and a scorching heat. And reported to have 2.2 million SHU on the Scoville scale.

Trinidad Scorpion Butch T- Butch

Trinidad scorpion Birch T pepper belongs to the capsicum Chinense family. It has a glossy, wrinkled skin, about 1.5-2 inches lengthwise and 1 inch towards its shoulder.

On top of this, it has a special feature-a sting like tail. Since its tail looks similar to a scorpion’s-it inherited its name.

On top of it, Guinness World Records declared this hot chili pepper as the world’s hottest chili pepper in the year 2011. And measuring 1.5 million SHU on the Scoville scale.

This pepper is widely used in making hot sauces and other specialty dishes. Always proceed with caution and take necessary precautions when handling this pepper.

Komodo Dragon

These hot chili peppers are originally from the island of Komodo in Indonesia. This chili pepper is packed with a fiery heat. And with an average heat level of 1.4 million Scoville units. 

To make a comparison, Komodo chili pepper’s heat is about 200 times hotter than a jalapeño pepper and about 50 times hotter than a habanero pepper. 

Komodo dragon chili peppers are authentically used to make hot sauces. 

Naga Viper

The Naga Viper is another hot chili pepper variety created in the United Kingdom. Its average Scoville scale unit is measuring at 1.3 million units. 

In 2011, it was officially declared as the world's hottest pepper by the Guinness World Records. 

The Naga Viper is a hybrid of three popular hot chili peppers: the Bhut Jolokia, the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion, and the Red Ghost Chili. 

The matured Naga viper has a long, curved shape body with a bright red color. 

Dorset Naga

Another famous hot chili pepper is the Dorset Naga, first introduced in the United Kingdom. It was created by Joy and Michael Michaud, who crossbred the ghost pepper with the Bhut Jolokia. 

This pepper had a Scoville Scale rating of 1,201,000 units, making it one of the hottest peppers in the world. It is often used in hot sauces and curries, and its unique flavor has made it a favorite among chefs and home cooks.

Trinidad Moruga scorpion

The Trinidad Moruga scorpion is originally from Trinidad and Tobago. This chili pepper measures up to 1,200,000 Scoville heat units on the Scoville scale (a measure of chili pepper heat). 

In 2012, the Guinness World Records named the Trinidad Moruga scorpion the world's hottest chili pepper. 

Ghost pepper - Landrace India 1,001,000 2007

Ghost pepper is one of the top 10 hottest peppers in the world. And certified as the hottest chili pepper in 2007 by Guinness world records. It's about 400 times hotter than the standard jalapeno pepper.

These hot and fiery ghost peppers rate more than 1,00,000 heat units on the Scoville scale, whereas the green bell pepper rate is 0 heat units. And jalapeno pepper ranges between 3000-7000 Scoville heat units.

Naga Morich

The Naga Morich is native to India and Bangladesh, with a Scoville rating of 1 million units. It is used in making traditional dishes of both countries. The popular recipes are hot sauces, spice blends, and especially in making curries. 

The peppers are usually harvested when fully ripe, at which point they are red or orange. The Naga Morich has a distinct sweet and spicy flavor, with hints of tropical fruit. 

Although it is primarily grown in India and Bangladesh, the Naga Morich is also grown in other tropical climate regions.

Red Savina

The Red Savina is a famous chili pepper in Mexico and Tex-Mex cuisines. They are moderately hot peppers belonging to the Capsiam annum family. 

And have a spicy heat profile that is similar to habanero peppers. These are also versatile and taste excellent when added to spice up any dishes like salsa, hot sauces, or enchiladas.