Top 15 Hottest Chili Peppers

Lately I've been following Chili peppers as new ones continue to be created and new ones take the title of "worlds hottest", and so I'm inspired to assemble a Top 15 Hottest Chili peppers as the list currently stands.  The list is fairly approximate as there is variance in how hot each individual pepper is compared to other peppers of the same type.  I'm also attempting to include some that have not been formally tested for heat but are generally accepted to be some of the hottest out there.

# 15 - Habanero

Average Scoville Units: Approx 100,000

The common habanero is a good way to start off the list.  Back about a decade ago this wouldve been considered one of the hottest if not the hottest pepper in the world.  However, though still an ultra hot pepper, it's been dethroned in recent years by newly cultivated peppers that destroy it in terms of heat.  Still a popular pepper for spicy foods and one of the hotter peppers that I've personally had.



#14 - Red Savina

Average Scoville Units: Approx 400,000

Essentially a redder and much hotter class of habanero.  This was the world record holder for hottest pepper prior to 2007 when it was dethroned by the Naga Jolokia, also known as the Ghost Pepper.



#13 - Trinidad 7 Pot

Average Scoville Units:  Approx 700,000

A chili from Trinidad fairly recently discovered.  It's name comes for the fact that one of these peppers is sufficient to heat up 7 pots of food.  Closely related to the Trinidad Scorpion.



#12 - Naga Morich

Average Scoville Units:  Approx 800,000

I think of this as the Ghost Peppers little brother.  Is part of the Naga family of peppers and considered to be milder than the Jolokia variety.



#11 - Trinidad Scorpion

Average Scoville Units:  Approx 900,000

Another of the family of peppers from Trinidad.  This pepper served as the base for some of the hottest crossbreeds of peppers in the world.



#10 - Naga Jolokia

Average Scoville Units:  Approx 1,000,000

Known commonly as the Ghost Pepper, this is probably the most well known of the top tier chilis.  The world record holder for hottest pepper from 2007 until 2010 when pepper growers started creating crossbreeds that exceeded it.  Grown in India and sometimes used in curry, this pepper is probably the worlds hottest naturally occuring pepper.  I've eaten one whole and it was easily the hottest pepper I've had, with a burn that incapacitated me for the next hour and a half or so.



#9 - Infinity Chili

Average Scoville Units:  Approx 1,200,000

Artifically bred chili and the first to surpass the Ghost Pepper.  This pepper held the world record for only a week before being surpassed by the Naga Viper.



#8 - 7 Pot Douglah

Average Scoville Rating:  Approx 1,250,000

I don't really know much about this other than that it is a much hotter version of the 7 Pot.  A popular chili for growers ordering seeds online.


#7 - Naga Viper

Average Scoville Units:  Approx 1,300,000

Big brother of the Ghost Pepper.  These peppers were artifically bred in England and held the record for several months before being usurped by the Trinidad Scorpion Butch T.  These are evidentally a crossbreed between a Naga Jolokia and a Trinidad Scorpion.



#6 - 7 Pot Brain Strain

Average Scoville Units:  Approx 1,350,000

Hottest of the 7 Pot family.  Believed to be closely related to and is often confused with a Trinidad Moruga Scorpion.



#5 - Trinidad Scorpion Butch T

Average Scoville Units:  Approx 1,400,000

Much hotter class of Trinidad Scorpion.  Technically still the Guiness World Record holder for hottest chili pepper, though there do exist hotter that are not yet recognized.  Named after Butch Taylor, a famous chili grower.  Is said to have a floral flavor, having a perfumey taste followed by incomprehensible heat.



#4 - Carolina Reaper

Average Scoville Units:  Approx 1,500,000

Also called HP22B in the chili circles.  Brand new pepper thats been unveiled online, with the grower presenting it as the new worlds hottest pepper.  However, there are still more peppers that appear to still be ahead of this pepper in terms of heat.



#3 - Trinidad Moruga Scorpion

Average Scoville Units:  Approx 1,700,000

Hottest variety of Trinidad Scorpion and the hottest pepper that has been offically been tested for its scoville rating.  A bit of controversy surrounds this pepper since its average heat and range for heat are vastly different, with some peppers measuring as high as 2,000,000 and as low as 500,000 or so.  However, on average it does appear to be the hottest recorded pepper, though not recognized yet by Guiness.



#2 - Carolina Reaper Death Strain

Average Scoville Units:  Unknown (believed to be 2,000,000+)

The only evidence of this pepper's existence that I've found is the internet reviewer Ted the fire Breathing Idiot, who says that this pepper is the hottest strain of pepper that Ed Currie, the grower of the Carolina Reaper has in store.  Both claim that this pepper averages at least 2,000,000.  This pepper is still out of sight from the public aside from hints of its existence.



#1 - Jay's Ghost Scorpion

Average Scoville Units:  Unknown (possibly 2,200,000+)

A pepper that has popped up out of nowhere in recent weeks and is a crossbreed between a Naga Jolokia and Trinidad Scorpion Butch T grown by a farmer known only as "Jay".  No scoville tests have been done on it yet, but several reviews who have tried the obscure ultra-hot peppers, including Ted, who reviewed the Carolina Reaper Death Strain, agree that this is currently the hottest pepper out of all of them.