If you love spice, consider trying the hottest peppers in the world. These spicy peppers are off the charts in their Scoville ratings and aren’t for the faint of heart.
Professionals measure peppers with something known as the Scoville Scale. This scale pits the intensity of a pepper against another and compares them to determine potency. This scale is the scientific guide to determining how hot each species is.
Spicy foods have a special place in our hearts and taste buds. Everybody has heard of the Jalapeño and the Habanero, but not everyone has heard of the Naga Viper. Rarer still is the 7 Pot Douglah.
These peppers are the absolute hottest species in the world in 2022. They possess Scoville ratings higher than one could ever imagine. Carolina Reapers and Apollo Peppers are here to put your nerves to shame.
We hope you enjoy our list and remember to forgive us afterward!
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7 Pot Douglah
To start our list, we have an unforgiving monster. The 7 Pot Douglah is a purple, chocolatey pepper from Trinidad.
At its hottest, it measures over 1,800,000 Scoville units. It is regarded as one of the top five hottest peppers on Earth.
Because of its heat, cooks often prepare it with Ghost Peppers, Carolina Reapers, and other 7-Pot peppers to create daredevil combination sauces and novelty items.
7 Pot Primo
By now, you are probably wondering what exactly the “7 Pot” stands for. 7 Pot is a denomination that suggests a pepper is so intense that it is enough to spice up seven pots of food.
Like the 7 Pot Douglah, the 7 Pot Primo has a whopping Scoville score of nearly 1,500,000.
7 Pot Primo is a combination breed of the Trinidad 7 Pot and the Naga Morich. It is a crunchy, pimpled pepper that looks seriously dehydrated.
It is a little over an inch long and wide. For something that can fit in the crease of your palm, it is impressive that it packs such a punch.
Carolina Reaper
The Carolina Reaper deserves its dramatic name. It is, without a doubt, the hottest pepper on Earth.
Burnt red, shriveled, and potted, this pepper looks like it came straight from Hell. It is the subject of folklore due to its unforgiving spice.
Carolina Reaper peppers rank between 1,800,000 and over 2,000,000 Scoville units. What makes the Carolina so hot is its notoriously high concentration of capsaicin.
There are thousands of videos of daredevils willing to risk their sense of taste downing this pepper.
If you think you are brave enough to try it, you can order it online in whole or powder form.
Naga Viper
The Naga Viper boasts a nasty Scoville rating of almost 1,400,000 Scoville units.
An Englishman named Gerald Fowler bred the pepper in 2011 as a hybrid between three other intense peppers: the Naga Morich, the Trinidad Scorpion, and the Bhut Jolokia.
The moment this pepper was developed, it became the hottest pepper on the planet at the time.
It held the world record for around six years until the Carolina Reaper replaced it in 2017.
Naga Viper peppers are bright red and resemble many other peppers in its heat range.
The tip of the Viper curls into an intimidating dollop similar to an ice cream cone or the tail of a viper!
Trinidad Moruga Scorpion
I can not imagine a better name for a pepper. The Trinidad Moruga Scorpion stings quite literally as a scorpion does.
Its intensity rolls in waves. At over 1,200,000 Scoville units, this pepper is one of the hottest peppers on Earth.
The Trinidad Moruga Scorpion has very thick skin. You will see just how thick and intimidating it can be when you cut it in half. Sizes range from an inch to a little over two inches in length.
Similar to how smaller scorpions possess more potent venom, the smaller peppers have the more potent spice.
7 Pot Barrackpore
Another Caribbean entry for this list is more than welcome.
The 1,300,000 Scoville rating proves once again that Trinidadians know how to rock. 7 Pot Barrackpore is a bright red pepper that cuts through your taste buds like a machine.
It is a small pepper that looks quite intimidating when you dry it. 7 Pot Barrackpore can also be chocolate in color. I have always felt chocolate peppers look much more imposing than red ones.
Make sure not to confuse it with the other 7 Pot entries available when purchasing it. While hard to tell apart, these peppers differ by several hundred thousand Scoville units.
7 Pot Brain Strain
This accurately named 7 Pot pepper ranks over 1,200,000 Scoville.
That is about six times as potent as the average habanero. On top of its heat, the 7 Pot Brain Strain has the most unique shape and texture of any pepper on our list. It greatly resembles a human brain.
7 Pot Brain Strains rival Naga Peppers and Trinidad Scorpions in intensity.
If you have nerves of steel, it is an excellent choice to eat in a powder form or hot sauce. Just try not to strain your brain!
Dorset Naga
Dorset Nagas, like most Naga peppers, are notorious for their intensity.
They range between 800,000 and 1,500,000 Scoville units. It is also a notably aromatic pepper. Try not to inhale too deeply when preparing it!
These peppers can either be a rich red or fiery orange. There are even yellow Dorset Nagas available.
Despite looking tame, these yellow peppers still fall under the classification of a “superhot” peppers.
For a pepper so spicy, it may be a wonder how people include these in their recipes.
Salsas, sauces, and other dips include this eye-watering food in their ingredients.
Dragon’s Breath Pepper
This pepper is somewhat legendary. Reports of Dragon’s Breath Peppers reaching over 2,480,000 Scoville units testify that Dragon’s Breath Peppers are even hotter than Carolina Reapers!
As of 2022, the Guinness Book of World Records does not consider the Dragon’s Breath hotter than the Carolina Reaper, but that could change in the future.
Funnily enough, the breeder of the species claimed he did not breed it for its intensity at all. Rather, he admired the leaves and overall aesthetic of the plant.
Komodo Dragon
Unlike most of the other superhots on this list, Komodo Dragon peppers are smooth.
They lack the pits and pimples that other contenders, like the Reaper, proudly boast. Komodo Dragon peppers are bright red and an inch to two inches long.
This beastly pepper has a 1,400,000 Scoville ranking. This rank makes it more than appropriate for this list. It has an intimidating name and an even more intimidating flavor.
The Komodo Dragon pepper species is relatively young. It was bred in 2015 and is available in stores and online.
Much like a real Komodo Dragon, the Komodo Dragon Pepper has a delayed reaction. It takes a while for the bite to kick in.
Pepper X
Although the Carolina Reaper is the hottest official pepper on record, Pepper X may, in reality, be the hottest pepper known to men.
Tests have measured the beast at over 3,000,000 Scoville units. The peppers are bright green like toxic sludge or cartoonish burning acid.
Regardless of its unofficial status, you should abstain from eating Pepper X if you have not tried the other entries on this list.
It is very, very hot. The breeder intended it to be incomparable to any other pepper we have featured.
In a way, the name of the pepper does service to its mysterious nature. The name Pepper X sounds so vague and elusive, like a mystery flavor or a special agent.
It is more than fit, given its brutal potency. It may even take the crown soon from the Carolina Reaper.
What you would use this pepper for, we have no idea, other than immense cruelty! You have probably heard of Pepper X on Hot Ones, where it is waiting in the Last Dab challenge.
It is the hottest pepper on the show and likely the hottest potential pepper in the world.
Trinidad Scorpion Butch T Chili Pepper
Trinidad Scorpion Butch T Chili Peppers are a mouthful to say and an even bigger mouthful to eat!
They possess a Scoville rating that varies between 1,000,000 units and 1,400,000 units. Its potency is very dependent on its growing conditions and environment.
This bulbous, red pepper has a somewhat bizarre shape. It looks like the tip of an ice-cream cone has begun to melt in on itself. But make no mistake, it is nothing like ice cream!
You can purchase these former world record holders at your own risk.
7 Pot Jonah
Last but not least of the 7 Pot Peppers, we have the 7 Pot Jonah.
This Caribbean pepper is one of the larger 7 Pot Peppers you can buy. They have plenty of bright red folds that make them look like lopsided soccer balls.
7 Pot Jonahs are usually bright red, but they can be orange too. They have a Scoville rating of 800,000 to 1,200,000 units.
Apollo Pepper
If you thought things couldn’t get more intimidating than the Carolina Reaper or the dreaded Pepper X, you are in for a surprise.
The Apollo Pepper is a hybrid between both of them! That is correct; it results from breeding between the two hottest peppers on Earth.
This evil love child of the official hottest pepper in the world and the unofficial hottest pepper in the world has a Scoville rating between 2,500,000 units and 3,000,000 units.
It has the short, crunchy appearance of both their parents.
While Pepper X is still the hotter pepper, this challenge is no walk in the park. Apollo Peppers are available online.
Whether you are prepared for something this devilish is only up to you.
Chocolate Bhutlah
This pepper is one of the hottest of the superhots. In fact, the most intense Chocolate Bhutlahs can rival Carolina Reapers.
There is even a debate online whether the Chocolate Bhutlah is hotter than the Carolina Reaper.
Chocolate Bhutlahs are small brown peppers that are covered in tiny boils. They get their intensity as a crossbreed between 7 Pot Douglah and the notorious Ghost Pepper.
The name Bhutlah is actually a play on words between Douglah and Bhut.
The pepper in question can reach up to 2,000,000 Scoville units. They taste a bit floral, as most superhot peppers do.
Ghost Pepper
The Ghost Pepper is one of the most infamous peppers on this list.
Despite its lower Scoville rating compared with the Carolina Reaper or the 7 Pot Douglah, the Ghost Pepper is almost a household legend at this point.
The Ghost Pepper ranges wildly in color. Most peppers are red, but some are chocolate, purple, orange, green, and even a fitting, ghostly peach-colored.
As someone who has tried multiple Ghost Peppers in one sitting, I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that it is just as overwhelming and spicy as some of the other entries on this list.
It boasts a Scoville rating of 1,000,000.
Naga Morich
Naga Morich is one of the most deceptive peppers on this list.
Generally, the hotter a chili is, the more red or brown it will be. Naga Morich peppers are bright green, seemingly harmless, but are over 1,000,000 Scoville units.
Believe it or not, this pepper is the only naturally occurring pepper with a Scoville rating higher than 1,000,000.
Every other entry with a Scoville rating higher than Naga Morich results from artificial breeding.
Red Savina Habanero
You might not have expected to see a habanero on this list, but the Red Savina is nothing like any habanero you have ever tasted. It is the absolute hottest species of habanero that exists.
Red Savina Habaneros are about two inches long, similar to most other group members.
However, it is unique among Habaneros because it ranks over 675,000 Scoville units. That is anywhere from seven to ten times as spicy as the average Habanero.
Trinidad 7 Pot
Finally, we have the somewhat underappreciated Trinidad 7 Pot.
This 7 Pot is a rather innocent-looking pepper. Its shape and color might even trick you into thinking it is a habanero.
In reality, the Trinidad 7 Pot is over 1,000,000 Scoville units. As the name suggests, this elusive pepper hails from the island nation of Trinidad.
It is a shapely pepper about two inches in length and an inch and a half in width.
Trinidad 7 Pot has a nutty flavor that is surprisingly pleasant. Unfortunately, obtaining it in person is difficult, but you can buy Trinidad 7 Pot online.
I would even suggest buying the seeds to plant yourself.
