The Top 10 Hottest Peppers in the World is constantly changing; it evolves. Seems like a new pepper is either created or discovered every year and they are becoming spicier!
Before we continue, let’s clarify how the “hotness” of a pepper is determined. The spiciness of a pepper is measured in Scoville Heat Unit (SHU).
SHU is a way of finding out how spicy a pepper is, by measuring the number of capsaicinoids. Capsaicin is the chemical responsible for the spicy sensation within a pepper.
Without further ado, here is our Top 10 Hottest Pepper in the World as of 2019! Any thoughts of the number 1 hottest?
List of the Top 10 Hottest Peppers in the World
10. Red Savina Habanero
The Red Savina Habanero has a 500,000 SHU and was considered the KING of peppers back in the early years of super hot peppers.
It has since been dethroned and many peppers have passed it in spiciness.
This pepper just barely makes the Top 10 this year but does so in fashion with its great flavor and extreme heat.
9. 7 Pot Red (Giant)
The 7 Pots Red has a 1,000,000 SHUand was named after their ability to heat up 7 pots of stew. It includes the varieties of Jonah and Yellow.
8. 7 Pot Barrackpore
The 7 Pot Barrackpore has a 1,000,000 SHU and is one of the hottest of the 7 Pot peppers. This one is from the Town of Chaguanas in Trinidad and Tobago.
7. Ghost Pepper (Bhut Jolokia)
Ghost Pepper has a 1,041,427 SHU and is the most famous “Super Hot” because it received so much attention from the press in the past. It exploded in popularity on YouTube and other social sites where contestants ate whole Ghost Peppers as part of a challenge.
This is the first pepper to scientifically test over 1 million Scoville in 2007. Many people still believe that the Ghost Pepper is still the World’s Hottest Pepper.
6. Naga Viper
Naga Viper has a 1,349,000 SHU. It is an extremely rare pepper that is cultivated in the United Kingdom. Hybrid of many different peppers and years of cross-pollination created this variety of “Super HOT” pepper.
5. Trinidad Scorpion “Butch T”
The Trinidad Scorpion Butch T has a 1,463,700 SHU. It 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.
4. 7 Pot Primo
The 7 Pot Primo has a 1,469,000 SHU and is very distinctive with its long skinny tail. Horticulturist Troy Primeaux created this pepper.
Some pepper 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…
3. 7 Pot Douglah
This pepper has a 1,853,936 SHU. It is also known as 7 Pod Douglah, Chocolate 7 Pod, or 7 Pot Brown. Pot Doughlah is well-known in the pepper community as one of the hottest peppers with the best flavor.
Oddly, it 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 scorching hot.
You can’t go wrong with fresh, dried, or powdered Douglah on any food.
2. Trinidad Moruga Scorpion
The Trinidad Moruga Scorpion has a 2,009,231 SHU. Straight from the depths of hell, the Trinidad Scorpion Moruga Blend, AKA Moruga Scorpion, is a rare sought after pepper.
It was just recently discovered and is 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.
1. Carolina Reaper: The Hottest Pepper in the World
Carolina Reaper has a 2,200,000 SHUaand is the hottest pepper this year (2019). It is once again officially the “Worlds Hottest Pepper” being the champion last year also.
It has been ranked as the world’s hottest pepper in 2013 and 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!
This pepper 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 200 times hotter than a Jalapeno. Just looking at it, you know its one mean pepper.
This World Champion has a unique stinger tail that is unlike any other pepper. 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.
There you have it; the Top 10 Hottest Peppers in the World for 2019. But before we end this presentation, here’s.
My Top10PlusOne Bonus
There are some upcoming hybrid peppers that show promise to become the hottest in the world. Let’s talk about two of them.
Dragon’s Breath
Dragon Breath pepper has a 2,483,584 SHU. It
Pepper X
As the letter, X implies, this pepper is still unknown, but is claimed to be TWICE as hot as the Carolina Reaper also. The creator of Pepper X releases very limited information about his work so far.
We will have to wait and see if Pepper X becomes a reality before it could be added to the Top 10 Hottest Pepper in the World.