Top 10 Hottest Peppers In The World [2022 Update] - PepperHead

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Hottest Pepper

The world’s hottest pepper is constantly changing, evolving almost.

It seems every year a new pepper is either created or discovered so check back often to see new record breaking peppers!

PepperHead® has the most up-to-date list of the World’s Hottest Peppers.

Here at PepperHead® we have been growing these “super hots” for over 20 years and have grown and eaten every pepper on this list.

We are dedicated to providing you spicy lovers with the ability to grow all of these insanely spicy peppers in your own backyards.

Without further ado, here is our Top 10 Hottest Pepper List.

Share this Hottest Pepper List14.3KShares Top 10 Hottest Peppers In The World [2025 Update]

SHU = Scoville Heat Unit (A measure of Spiciness) Pepper Scoville Scale displayed as Peak SHU Values

SHU is a way of quantifying how spicy a pepper is by measuring the concentration of capsaicinoids. Capsaicin is the chemical responsible for the spicy sensation within a pepper.

1. Pepper X 2,693,000 SHU

Pepper X is now the World’s hottest Pepper with an average of 2.69 Million Scoville Units and peaks over 3 Million SHU. Not much is known about this pepper since seeds have not been publicly released. So unfortunately you cannot taste or grow Pepper X yourself.

2. Carolina Reaper 2,200,000 SHU

The previous world champion, Carolina Reaper has been beat! by itself… The Carolina Reaper is once again officially the Worlds Hottest Pepper.

Originally ranked as world’s hottest in 2013, the Reaper was tested again in 2018 with an even higher SHU. (71,000 SHU higher to be exact) This gives the reaper a renewed title as World’s Hottest!

It was bred for heat and that it is, with an average SHU of 1,641,000 SHU and peaks at 2.2 Million SHU!

Let’s put the scoville rating into perspective for you:

The Carolina Reaper pepper is 200x hotter than a Jalapeno #WorldsHottestPepper

Just looking at the pictures above, you know its one mean pepper. The Carolina Reaper has a unique stinger tail that is unlike any other pepper and every pod is different!

It gets this insane heat from being a cross between a Ghost Pepper and a Red Habanero. Oddly enough this pepper doesn’t just have heat, but excellent fruity flavor to boot. Well, that is before it melts your face off.

More Carolina Reaper Info Carolina Reaper Pepper

Seeds

Carolina Reaper

$9.95 Add to cart Carolina Reaper Powder 1 oz

Powders

Carolina Reaper Powder

$23.95 Add to cart Carolina Reaper Pods

Whole Peppers

Whole Carolina Reaper Peppers

$9.95 Add to cart NEW PepperHead Top 5 Pepper Powder Sampler

Powders

World’s Hottest Pepper Powder Sampler Kit

$60.00 Original price was: $60.00.$39.95Current price is: $39.95. Add to cart

Watch these Chicks eat The Carolina Reaper

10 Even more Hilarious Videos of The Carolina Reaper Challenge

Test your heat tolerance with the PepperHead Challenge! Eat a whole Carolina Reaper Pepper on camera and receive a FREE T-Shirt!

You can now buy the reaper as powder, live plants or seeds so you can grow your own plant and try for yourself.

3. Trinidad Moruga Scorpion 2,009,231 SHU

Trinidad Moruga Scorpion Pepper

Straight from the depths of hell the Trinidad Scorpion Moruga Blend, AKA Moruga Scorpion, is a rare sought after pepper that was only just recently discovered.

Native to the lands of Moruga in Trinidad and Tobago. Once you take a bite of this formidable pepper the heat never stops building.

This pepper may be lacking the Reaper’s stinger, but don’t let that fool you. The Moruga Scorpion is every bit as hot as The Carolina Reaper.

More Moruga Scorpion Info

Seeds

Trinidad Moruga Scorpion

$7.95 Add to cart

Powders

Moruga Scorpion Powder

$18.95 Add to cart

Watch Rhett & Link from Good Mythical Morning Eat the Moruga Scorpion

4. 7 Pot Douglah 1,853,936 SHU

7 Pot Douglah Pepper

Well renown in the pepper community as one of the hottest peppers with the best flavor.

The 7 Pot Douglah is the hottest pepper you can find that isn’t red.

The hottest “superhot” peppers are traditionally red, but the Douglah defies the odds by being brown AND scortching hot.

You can’t go wrong with fresh, dried, or powdered Douglah on any food.

Also known as 7 Pod Douglah, Chocolate 7 Pod or the 7 Pot Brown.

More Douglah Info

Seeds

7 Pot Douglah

$7.95 Add to cart

Powders

Douglah Powder

$18.95 Add to cart

5. 7 Pot Primo 1,469,000 SHU

The 7 Pot Primo is very distinctive with its long skinny “tail”.

This pepper was created by horticulturist Troy Primeaux.

Some peppers cultivators have tried to replicate the Primo look by breeding their own peppers to have a long stinger.

When you just look at this pepper, you know it’s going to be INSANELY hot. It coincidentally looks strikingly similar to The Carolina Reaper…

More Primo Info

Seeds

7 Pot Primo

$8.95 Add to cart

6. Trinidad Scorpion “Butch T” 1,463,700 SHU

Trinidad Scorpion Butch T

The Trinidad Scorpion Butch T is a previous Guinness World Record Holder (2011) from Australia.

No doubt it’s insanely hot, but other peppers have been proven to be hotter.

It’s aptly named due to the scorpion stinger found at the tip of the pepper and also the creator, Butch Taylor.

The burn from this pepper is unlike any other.

The Trinidad Scorpion Butch T pepper burns like you swallowed a 1,000 suns.

More Butch T Info

Seeds

Trinidad Scorpion Butch T

$7.95 Add to cart

7. Naga Viper 1,349,000 SHU

Naga Viper is an extremely rare pepper cultivated in the UK. Hybrid of many different peppers and years of cross pollination created this variety of “Super HOT” pepper.

It was never fully stabilized before being released so pod variation is expected.

More Naga Viper Info

Seeds

Naga Viper

$7.95 Add to cart

8. Ghost Pepper (Bhut Jolokia) 1,041,427 SHU

The Ghost Pepper is the most famous “Super Hot” due to the amount of press it has received in the past.

It exploded in popularity on YouTube and other social sites where pepperheads ate whole Ghost Peppers as part of a challenge.

This is the first pepper to scientifically test over 1 million scovilles.

Many mistakenly believe the Ghost Pepper is still the World’s Hottest pepper, this list shows it is far from it.

This isn’t 2007. If you have friends that still think the Ghost Pepper is the hottest pepper, share this page with them.

However, don’t be fooled by how low this is on the list as it can still bring a grown man to his knees.

More Ghost Pepper Info

Seeds

Ghost Pepper (Bhut Jolokia)

$7.95 Add to cart

Powders

Ghost Pepper Powder

$17.95 Add to cart

Kid swallows ghost pepper, instantly regrets it.

9. 7 Pot Barrackpore ~1,000,000 SHU

7 Pot Barrackpore

The 7 Pot Barrackpore is one of the hottest of the 7 Pot peppers.

This one is from the Town of Chaguanas in Trinidad and Tobago.

Many of these “super hots” come from this region.

More Barrackpore Info

10. Red Savina Habanero 500,000 SHU

Red Savina Habanero

Back in the early years of super hots, the Red Savina Habanero was KING!

It held the title of the World’s Hottest Pepper from 1994 to 2006. 12 Years!

The Red Savina has since been dethroned and many peppers have passed it in heat, but still to this day it is one of my favorite peppers to grow because it has the perfect balance of heat and flavor..

The Red Savina just barely makes the Top 10, but does so in fashion with its great flavor and extreme heat.

More Red Savina Info

Seeds

Red Savina Habanero

$4.95 Add to cart

Are you a PepperHead®?

Try growing these Superhot peppers! PepperHead® seeds grow real peppers with real published SHU ratings.

Order all Top 10 Hottest Pepper Seeds and save 30% over purchasing individually!

We are so excited about our brand new product, the PepperHead Powder Sampler Kit! Its the perfect gift for spicy lovers.

NEW

Powders

World’s Hottest Pepper Powder Sampler Kit

$60.00 Original price was: $60.00.$39.95Current price is: $39.95. Add to cart

Honorable Mentions

Lets talk about some upcoming hybrid peppers that show promise. These two hot peppers will be added to the list once their validity has been confirmed.

Dragon’s Breath 2,483,584 SHU

There have been recent reports of a Dragon’s Breath pepper claiming to be hotter than the Carolina Reaper.

Preliminary testing of the Dragon’s Breath pepper pegs it at 2,483,584 SHU which would blow the Carolina Reaper out of the water.

It could be a publicity stunt in which the “news” websites ate up, even claiming Dragon’s Breath could kill you. Technically a pencil can kill you too…

$8.95Add to cart

695 thoughts on “Top 10 World’s Hottest Peppers”

Sassan says:
Hi, My name is Sassan, I am looking for the hottest pepper in the world. Per this document the Carolina Reaper is the hottest pepper in the world. What I do with is I pickle the pepper with half good love oile and half good whisky, I mixed in a jar and store it in the refig for couple of weeks and then I have my own made hot sauce. So what I am looking for is a bag of the hottest pepper. Can tell me where I can get the hottest pepper in the world?

Thank you, Sassan
June 22, 2017 at 9:05 pm Reply
Jonas Voll says:
Hey, pepper head! What pepper do you recommend for pest control in my garden? Looking for low maintenance, fast growing, & I live by a wooded place with much wild life!
June 9, 2017 at 10:35 am Reply
- PepperHead says:
  Well growing peppers won’t be a pest control in itself, in fact peppers are plagued by the same pests as any other plants like aphids, white fly, nematodes, mites and more!
  
  And if you are looking to deter mammalian pests, then you’d have to grow the peppers and blend up the fruit and spread over your garden. You could also dehydrate the peppers and grind for easier dusting of your garden.
  
  Superhots are not known for being fast growing. For leisure (and fast) growing, I would suggest your standard orange habaneros.
  June 12, 2017 at 10:08 pm Reply
  - Rodman says:
    Grind your hot peppers up and add to either some left over dish water or water with dish soap and spray the mixture over the garden. deters most insects and mammals, especially after the first bite or two by the mammals. Also for the mammals hang moth balls in and around the garden.
    October 19, 2017 at 10:40 am
- Brandon Richardson says:
  Look at to herbs like peppermint, they have smells and oil bug don’t like
  November 30, 2025 at 7:00 am Reply
wayne chapman says:
dragons breath has the new record for the hottest pepper now..
June 1, 2017 at 12:47 pm Reply
- PepperHead says:
  As of right now, the rating hasn’t been verified or accepted by Guinness World Records, so the Carolina Reaper stands at #1. For now…
  June 7, 2017 at 10:16 am Reply
  - wayne chapman says:
    yeap for now, But I did read the artical and it sounds like the dragons breath wont be public for a while cause of med resherch.
    July 8, 2017 at 1:52 pm
bob john says:
the ghost pepper tastes like cucumbers
May 19, 2017 at 5:58 am Reply
james says:
i ate 5 Carolina reaper peppers and they tasted like carrots (i had them altogether for breakfast)
May 19, 2017 at 5:53 am Reply
- Alison says:
  You are full of shit sir!!!! Literally
  June 9, 2017 at 8:44 am Reply
  - Sam says:
    who are you to tell someone you do not know that there full of shit again especially when you do not know this person and I have witnessed someone eat three yes 3 Carolina Reaper’s and also witnessed a verified Pepper connoisseur verify that in fact what the person was consuming was in fact a Carolina Reaper pepper. So there you go if someone can consume 3 and not suffer any Ill effect’s other than the burn and heat why is it so hard to believe they couldn’t eat 2 more s I do believe there is a point where you pass the threshold of the burn to increase any further (I.E ) it to get no better ??? please don’t respect people you do not know just be the bigger person and say I’m sorry I just find it difficult to believe your claim and would have to see it via live or on Video online to even begin to believe your story and maybe they will honor your request and intact invite you to witness it for yourself or film it and post it online for the world to see
    July 4, 2018 at 11:22 pm
  - PepperHead says:
    Sam, you’re right. Some people just have a natural higher tolerance for spicy. In others it’s a trained tolerance over time. Anyone can increase their tolerance by eating spicy foods consistently. Gradually your mouth can handle more heat. It’s kind of like lifting weights, but for your mouth! Just like in weights, if you stop, your tolerance will decrease.
    
    3 Carolina Reapers is pretty insane!
    July 5, 2018 at 8:53 am
- Nega says:
  Okay, pretty obvious you’re lying.
  January 30, 2018 at 5:56 pm Reply
- A-A-Ron says:
  10% of the population are NOT effected by capsicum like the rest. They are almost immune to its heat effects in that they can handle a great deal of heat. The current world record I believe it’s 22 Reapers in 60 seconds so y’all talking carp to this dude don’t know anything.
  June 22, 2019 at 12:38 am Reply
  - Jeff says:
    So you are saying that 10 percent of people have no feeling in their tounges?
    
    Capsaicin* is absorbed through a receptor (TRVP1)that is responsible for feelings of abrasion and burning on your taste buds, throat, and stomach lining.
    October 24, 2019 at 10:01 am
- Joseph says:
  I actually believe you,. You had probably built up your tolerance to The Carolina Reaper Stran. I never ate 5 altogether. But I would buy and slowly dry in my oven at 155 for 10 to 12 hrs. Once completely dried out I would grind into powder. Then season my food with it. Pretty soon the intensity weakened. Next time I bought them I ate 1 whole and it was very bearable. Then having a regular serrano felt hotter than the Carolina reaper. Funny thing it reminded me of weed. Growing up when the good weed would come to season around November. And go away around March. Then go back to smoking regular Mexican Red Hair. The fucking Mexican Red Hair would get me higher than the Indica or Purple Hawaiian. Grant it the really good bud would always taste better. So anyone calling bullshit on you doesn’t realize you build tolerances to individual strands of peppers.
  December 17, 2025 at 7:11 pm Reply
wayne chapman says:
so i hear the reaper is not the hottest anymore????
May 18, 2017 at 10:11 am Reply
Andrew says:
Reaper has great flavour unlike some chillies that are all about heat for example bhut jolokia are quite warm but to me there is only heat and very little flavour
May 18, 2017 at 2:09 am Reply
- Philip says:
  Who needs flavor when you have HEAT?? I add the flavor or add the pepper to the foods I eat for the heat not for the flavor. LOL
  May 20, 2017 at 1:31 pm Reply
  - Danny says:
    I love spicey peppers but if they are all heat and no flavor I am not interested you need taste to go with the spice
    November 12, 2017 at 9:02 pm
- Andrew Young says:
  Completely agree. Heat for the sake of heat is lame. Love the heat, but if the flavor isn’t there, you can keep it.
  July 14, 2017 at 5:57 pm Reply
Christeen says:
i cant believe WOLFIE RAPS ATE THE CAROLINA REAPER D:
May 12, 2017 at 6:28 pm Reply
Shut Shu says:
Check out this story. Man hadn’t prepared himself for the ghost pepper! Hole in throat? Yikes! I’ll pass on the top 10 peppers, thanks.
May 4, 2017 at 12:58 am Reply
Robert Braybrook says:
Which grows best within Indonesia?

Thank you
April 29, 2017 at 10:35 pm Reply
- Bob says:
  Probably all of them with Indonesia being very fertile land. If you throw a orange seed or jackfruit seed in your garden you’ll see a tree appear
  May 5, 2017 at 7:09 am Reply
  - Robert says:
    Difficult to grow in the western part of Indonesia due to the high rainfall and humidity. I have habaneros jolokias and Carolina reapers growing but it took forever to get some strong plants.
    June 10, 2017 at 7:06 am
Dennis says:
A young lady and I was challenged to eat The Caroline Reaper We eat three A piece this was like having a fire in you mouth it burn my tonsils and throat I was sick the next 8 hrs thank goodness for milk and ice cream
April 27, 2017 at 11:41 pm Reply
Yoanna says:
If we are talking about non-hybrid peppers, Ghost Pepper (Bhut Jolokia) are still the hottest, most of the peppers are genetically modified (hybrid) to make it even more hotter. Keep up the good work guys 😉
April 26, 2017 at 1:28 am Reply
- Rich says:
  Hybridising is selectively breeding an intentional cross pollination using pollen from one variety to the stigma of another. It has nothing to do with Genetic modification.
  July 30, 2018 at 1:53 am Reply
Crystal Tapatio says:
Them boys hot
April 23, 2017 at 6:18 pm Reply
Snowflake says:
I was wondering how high would the birds eye chilli be on a top 100 list because I got a bush tucker trial kit and my mouth was burning and I couldn’t speak for about 30 minutes
April 16, 2017 at 4:50 pm Reply
terry says:
I grow the reapers this is my 4th year use the new seeds from the ones i grew last year they get hotter every year nothing to mess with if you can’t handle the burn
April 8, 2017 at 3:34 pm Reply
John says:
Not spicy
March 31, 2017 at 9:37 am Reply
Braulio says:
I tried the Carolina reaper it is so hot but then it wasn’t maybe ill try it again
March 20, 2017 at 10:44 pm Reply
kota says:
the carolina reaper is so hot but the burn after it felt good
March 13, 2017 at 8:46 am Reply
- Reece says:
  Burns are good but not that much burn
  March 19, 2017 at 6:09 pm Reply
Wayne says:
When will there be more Carolina Reaper plants ready??
March 10, 2017 at 12:06 pm Reply
- mk says:
  i am in iowa, ames iowa area, a store called Theisens sells reaper plants each year about 8inches tall, reapers, butch t’s and ghost have purchased and grown all 3 for thee years now. dry and grind them up for DEATH POWDER have about 3 lbs of it.
  September 27, 2017 at 3:19 pm Reply
  - Kevin says:
    That’s awesome. I do the same up here in Toronto 😛 I got sick of ordering terrible tasting or weak suicide wings, so I just bring my poder with me. Pineapple curry death wings for the win. lol
    November 5, 2017 at 2:33 pm
  - David Daniel Milton says:
    Kevin if you are willing to drive to Ottawa there is a store on the lower level of the bayshore mall that sells really well made mashes and sauces with reapers, I actually have a reaper sauce that has Serrano, reaper, cayenne, ghost, and ancho chilies in it. it has a bit of cumin in it, super great on tacos and mesoamerican foods. they have a pretty decent taste bar too, and a fridge with as much milk as you can handle. I take my 3 year old in there and she downs jalapeno and habanero pepper sauces like a champ, love my kids ability to handle hot stuff!
    December 16, 2017 at 11:07 am
  - Sandy says:
    Would like to know the process of making pepper powder. Also from Iowa, NW Orange City area. Thank you.
    February 12, 2018 at 7:30 pm
Lawnik says:
I ate the smallest crumb I could break off of a dried Carolina Reaper. It crippled my whole mouth for roughly an hour! What an experience, 10/10 would eat molten lava again! Maybe… if I have a spare hour, alone, with nobody to talk to.
March 6, 2017 at 8:59 pm Reply
- curly says:
  Well my bosses daughter ate a ghost pepper like a champ and told her dad she wanted to eat the hottest, I told her if she can eat one I’ll eat two well there growing now I can’t wait
  July 8, 2017 at 1:10 am Reply
Chevy says:
You should also put the non hot peppers to
February 21, 2017 at 3:56 pm Reply
- Hai says:
  It’s called veggie.
  August 18, 2017 at 6:48 pm Reply
  - Bre says:
    Peppers are not vegetables, they are fruits.
    November 16, 2017 at 11:18 pm
Fyn says:
I have tried the Carolina reaper and it was really hot at first then later on wasn’t
February 10, 2017 at 12:43 pm Reply
- Edward says:
  At first you had a pulse and then after you swallowed, you didn’t have a pulse anymore, that is the reason why it was no longer hot.
  March 5, 2017 at 6:56 am Reply
  - marlon branded says:
    hahaha…
    April 26, 2017 at 2:12 am
- Aiden says:
  I couldn’t breathe after I ate it.
  April 28, 2017 at 11:06 am Reply
  - Andrew Young says:
    Same reaction I had. My lungs just wouldn’t cooperate!
    July 14, 2017 at 5:54 pm
- David Daniel Milton says:
  reapers aren’t bad, but then again try a mash, the added vinegar will kill you as it breaks down any oils on your tongue.
  December 16, 2017 at 10:54 am Reply
- Joe Schmoe says:
  That’s all peppers….eventually…it’s not hot anymore…eventually.
  May 1, 2018 at 5:56 pm Reply
  - Paula Thompson says:
    Thanks for the website! I have another solution for the abundance of peppers. I dehydrate them then grind them for all kinds of things. Chili powder, salsa, anything that needs a little (or a lot) more zing. If someone in the house does not like the heat it makes it a lot easier to cook for the whole family.
    January 14, 2020 at 4:44 pm
pop says:
hot hot hot
January 30, 2017 at 8:20 pm Reply
Cole Montelongo says:
Looking for a stable line of genetics, preferably a landrace, with great smoky flavor. Heard the Brown Moruga or Chocolate Bhut Jolokia may be what I need. Which is a more uniform, time tested crop?
January 22, 2017 at 12:22 am Reply
- PepperHead says:
  Cole, the Chocolate Bhut Jolokia is definitely more stable, but I believe the Brown Moruga is superior in flavor and heat.
  
  I don’t know of any peppers that have a smokey flavor off the top of my head, but you can easily add that flavor by the method of cooking. Quickly grilling them or even smoking these peppers will give you the flavor you desire. Grilled or smoked peppers are amazing by the way.
  February 9, 2017 at 6:05 pm Reply
  - Philip Whisler says:
    I’ve eaten a lot of hits but for heat/flavor the Brown Moruga (IMO) is the absolute best! Very prolific grower too. Dries well when cut in half. Does not completely wreck ones innards.
    September 14, 2017 at 8:03 am
  - Shawn Pallaya says:
    never been a fan of hot peppers, have been tricked into eating some hot ones tho (my younger brother loves to do that shit to me) i think ill avoid every pepper on this list tho >_>
    April 20, 2018 at 9:59 am
  - Christian B says:
    That’s not cool, especially if it’s really hot. My brother and I fight all the time about who can handle the hotter peppers, but lying and tricking with hot stuff is a line you don’t cross. Your brother needs a beating.
    May 22, 2018 at 3:06 pm
Ramesh says:
Respected sir I want to grow bhut jolokia in my green house. how much seed I need and spacing details water, humidity etc and cost of seed?
January 10, 2017 at 1:00 pm Reply
- Max says:
  It’s weird because I just ate the Carolina reaper about 45 minutes ago and it just now stoped but I can still fell it
  September 15, 2017 at 6:49 pm Reply
  - joe says:
    nice english
    November 12, 2017 at 11:41 pm
  - Etoro Wills says:
    max is czechishe and has tried putting down his experience in english. if you know too much then answer me wie geht es ihnen?
    June 8, 2018 at 8:24 pm
  - Antaniya says:
    ive ate every single one and there not hot to me
    November 20, 2017 at 10:23 pm
  - lorenzo says:
    Antaniya that’s crap. If they weren’t hot,either you didnt have the real peppers or your taste buds are dead as hell
    November 25, 2017 at 6:34 am
  - David Daniel Milton says:
    not entirely accurate, some people just have a higher resistance to capsicum then others, I can eat reapers raw all day long, but for some reason ghost peppers get me. I still feel it, not hot to me just super uncomfortable.
    December 16, 2017 at 10:52 am
  - TJW says:
    Look up TRPV1 Receptor.
    February 21, 2018 at 9:56 pm
  - Chad Douglas Atkinson says:
    There are differences in people ability to handle capsicum, but this is a lie…
    April 25, 2018 at 6:03 pm
  - Joe says:
    Yea sure
    December 16, 2017 at 8:48 pm
  - David says:
    From what I understand according to the book, “Eat Right For Your Blood Type” people with certain blood types can handle the heat of peppers better than others. I have type A+ and I can barely handle a Habanero which is number 10 down the list. There are other people I know with different blood types who can eat much hotter peppers without a problem. Just an observation.
    December 25, 2017 at 10:52 pm
  - Herb says:
    Sure u did
    February 7, 2018 at 1:37 pm