Top 10 Hottest Hot Peppers in the World

What are the Top 10 Hottest Hot Peppers in the World?

The sizzling world of hot peppers is a little crazy right now. It seems like every day a new blazingly hot variety takes over the number 1 spot as the hottest in the world. It was only yesterday, the Ghost Pepper (aka Bhut Jolokia) was the hottest on the planet. It’s now ranked at number 8, and the way things are going, it will likely soon fall off the Top 10 list entirely.

While this list is hard to keep up, here are the current Top 10 in the world, along with their measured Scoville Heat Unit measure (SHU):

Current Top 10 Hottest Peppers List

The Pepper X is currently the hottestat a scorching 2,693,000 SHU. However, we state “currently” as the record is broken every year or two.
California Reaper pepper is now the reigning champion as the hottest pepper in the world. It is a cross between a Ghost Chili and a Habanero. It has been measured up to 2,200,000 SHU.
Trinidad Morugu Champion is not far behind at a scorching 2,009,231 SHU.
7 Pot Douglah pepper is brown in color and is known for it’s flavor. It’s hard to believe that a pepper this hot can be considered flavorful. 1,853,936 SHU.
7 Pot Primo is a sizzling red-hot variety with a long, thin end. 1,469,000 SHU.
Trinidad Scorpion “Butch T” is a very respectable 1,463,700 SHU.
Naga Viper was cultivated in the United Kingdom. It has a real bite at 1,349,000 SHU.
Ghost Pepper (Bhut Jolokia). For years this was the hottest variety in the world. Don’t be mistaken… although it is ranked number 8, it still set your mouth on fire. 1,044,427 SHU.
7 Pot Barrackpore originates from Chaguanas, Trinidad and Tobago. It is a sizzling 1,000,000 SHU.
7 Pot Red (Giant). Did You Know? All 7 Pot pepper varieties are related. The name comes from their ability to add heat to 7 pots of stew. 1,000,000 SHU.

Did You Know? Pure Capsaicin has a SHU rating of 15,000,000 to 16,000,000.