Top 10 Hottest Peppers in the World

Every year, Guinness world records updates the ranking of the hottest peppers in the world, which keeps on changing and evolving. 

It is because new varieties of pepper are either created, discovered or cultivated. It is very exciting to see the new ranking or see which pepper is going to be strong this year and so on. 

If you are a chili lover, then you may want to know about the world’s hottest peppers. We have the complete up-to-date list of World’s hottest peppers with the Scoville Heat Units (SHU) for each one. So, let’s quickly checkout the world’s hottest peppers. 

Here is the list of the top 10 hottest peppers in the world:

10. 7 Pot Jonah

7-Pot Jonah measured about 800,000 Scoville Heat Units or maybe more than this. This pepper has a fruity flavor, which makes it an ideal choice for preparing salsas, sauces or jellies. Although most of the pepper turns from green to red, you may also find yellow peppers.

These peppers are bigger than others from this list. They are also textured and bumpy in appearance.

9. 7 Pot Brain Strain

This chilli pepper is a close relative of the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion. It measured about 1,000,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU). 

David Capiello brought some seeds of one the peppers from Trinidad to the US for the first time ever in 2010. Unlike other chilli peppers, It is not a hybrid one. 

7-Pot Brain Strain has a rounder and squatter shape than many of the peppers from this list. It looks pretty similar to a brain. Apart from that, while most of the peppers are hot peppers, they are commonly bright red, but you can also find the yellow 7-Pot Brain Strains. 

8. 7 Pot Barrackpore

7-Pepper Barrackpore is our number eighth in this list of hot peppers. It has measured about 1,000,000 Scoville Heat Units. The origin of name of this pepper is from its hometown, “ Barrackpore, Trinidad”.

In case you don’t know, Trinidad produces very hot peppers. When you taste this 7 Pot Barrackpore, you will feel a unique combination of bitter and fruity taste.

If you are thinking of producing your own 7-Pot Barrackpore, then be prepared to have a lot of peppers. Each of the plants makes many chillies.

7. Ghost Pepper

Although ghost pepper may not be the hottest pepper, it is a very well known chilli on its own. It has measured about 1,041,427 Scoville Heat Units. Ghost pepper was discovered back then in 2000 and since then it has earned a great name as the perfect chilli for hot sauces.

Ghost pepper gets its name from its heat’s ability to sneak up on anyone. It has got a pungent scent and is fruity after the taste. You can even get this pepper in a variety of colors including peach, brown and purple. 

6. Naga Viper

Naga Viper is an extremely rare pepper which measures 1,349,000 Scoville Heat Units. It is a unique combination of three more peppers ie; Trinidad Scorpion, Bhut jolokia and Naga Morich.

Each pepper is extremely hot on its own. When the three of them combine, the result is a hot Naga Viper. 

Naga viper briefly held the title of the World’s hottest pepper in 2011. You won’t feel its hotness at first. But after you do it, it will hit you with a big force.

5. Trinidad Scorpion ‘Butch T’

This Butch T pepper is preety much less spicy than the pepper which we recently talk about. It measures about 1,463,700 Scoville Heat Units. The nickname from this pepper is came from its original cultivator ‘Butch Taylor’.

Butch T was held as the title of World’s hottest pepper in the year 2011. However, Butch T have much more smotther skin than other scorpion peppers.

While many other pepper have a sweet flavor at first, but Butch T burns right away from its first bite.

4. 7 Pot Primo

It is a cross between Naga Morich and Trinidad 7-Pot. As to not be confused with other 7-Pot peppers, it is sometimes called ‘Primo’ as its inventor is Troy Primeaux also known as “Primo”. This hottest and powerful pepper tastes floral and fruity. It also measures 1,469,000 in the Scoville Heat Units (SHU).

At first first glance, you might become confused to tell this pepper as it looks very similar to the Carolina Reaper. This pepper is also very distinctive with it’s skinny ‘tail’.

3. 7 Pot Douglah

7-Pot Douglah is  well known as the hottest pepper in the world. Surprisingly, the color of this pepper is chocolatey brown, which is said to be rare as most of the pepper in this list is red. The initial stage of this pepper is green, but eventually turns into its brown color.

Many people also think that this pepper is a little purple in color. It’s skin is covered with little bumps, from which we can tell this pepper is apart from other peppers.

This rare hot pepper measures about 1,853,936 Scoville Heat Units as it is very hot. The flavor of this pepper is a combination of nutty, fruit and sweet.

2. Trinidad Moruga Scorpion

As it is one of the hottest peppers, it measures about 2,009,321 SHU units. It is the only chilli pepper after the Carolina Reaper to cross the threshold of 2 million SHU.

It is amazing to know that this pepper tastes very sweet and fruity but of course you will feel its burn. These peppers are native to the islands of Tobago and Trinidad.

The Moruga Scorpion is a rare sought after pepper which has just been discovered. Once you taste this pepper the hotness will never stop building. The Trinidad Moruga Scorpion is every bit as hot as the Carolina Reaper.

1. Carolina Reaper

We have the Carolina Reaper in our first position. On the Scoville Heat Units, it ranges from 1,400,000 to 2,200,200 SHU.

Since 2013, It has been the hottest pepper in the world. When it was tested again in 2018, Carolina Reaper broke its own record with even more SHU. 

Ed Currie from PuckerButt Pepper Company in South Carolina is said to be the first person to cultivate this hot pepper. It is a cross between red ghost pepper and a red habanero.

Together, these peppers create a fiery red pepper with an unmistakable heat. It also has hints of chocolate and cinnamon in its flavor.

Final Words

Now hopefully you may feel like a hot pepper king. Each of these peppers have a unique story and origin with slightly different flavor profiles. However, it doesn’t matter which pepper you are going to try from this list, but one thing is sure that there are some more super-hot chilies out there!