You are probably thinking could handle some pretty spicy chillies, aren't you? Sure, you may have eaten some jalapeños and thought, ‘Hmmm, this isn’t that spicy’. But the 6 hottest chillies in the world are in a league of their own. Take a look below and see if you still think you can handle the heat!
How is Chilli Hotness Ranked?
But before we get into what the hottest chillies are, we need to talk about how we can measure the burn! Generally, the Scoville scale is used to measure the spiciness of chillies. Invented by Wilbur Scoville in 1912, the test involves a panel of experienced chilli tasters being fed dilutions of capsaicinoids (the part that makes it spicy) from a chilli until they can no longer notice the heat. The more dilutions, the more spicy a chilli is. A chilli with a Scoville Heat Unit (SHU) of 2000, a weak jalapeño for example, would take 2000 dilutions until the spice could not be noticed by the testers. Sounds like a painful job, doesn’t it?
Does hottest mean best?
Unless you have a strange desire for pain, eating a chilli raw is unlikely to please your senses. So eating these 6 hot chillies is not recommended. But adding them to cooking, or even better, enjoying them in chilli sauce, is a really great way to use them.
Our Crazy Bastard Sauces use some of these chillies in our award-winning flavour combinations. We use the finest chilli peppers and combine them with the highest quality natural ingredients to create our vegan sauces. Why not take a look at our full collection of sauces in our shop?
6 - Ghost Chilli
Well known to all hot chilli enthusiasts, the Ghost Chilli (or Bhüt Jolokia in Assamese), is an exceptionally hot chilli according to the Scoville scale. Clocking in at over 1 million SHU, the ghost chilli packs a real punch. Unlike many other chillies on this list, the ghost chilli developed naturally over time and is native to the north-eastern region of India known as Assam.
The spiciness of this chilli is so high that the Indian army used them in ‘chilli grenades’ in 2015. Ghost Chillies are really not for the faint-hearted. Take a bite out of one of these and you will be running to the nearest dairy for a pint of milk!
If you are seeking a pungent sauce, take a look at our fruity and exotic Ghost Pepper & Mango Chilli Sauce. At around 30,000 SHU, our sauce offers a more realistic way of sampling a Ghost Chilli. It's made with juicy mangoes and a variety of fresh ingredients, we just know you’ll love it!
5 - Infinity Chilli
Next on the list is the Infinity Chilli. For 2 weeks in 2011, this was the hottest chilli in the world. It has an SHU of just over 1 million, and was made completely by accident.
Nicholas Woods of Lincolnshire, United Kingdom grew his chilli peppers in a greenhouse where cross breeding happened commonly. One day he tasted the new chilli, initially finding it ‘odd’ and ‘fruity’ before a few moments later he ‘began to shake uncontrollably.’ Needless to say, eating this chilli is not a fun experience, even if you think you are a spice master.
4 - Naga Viper
Another name that may be familiar to many of you is the Naga Viper Chilli. First created in 2011 by Gerald Fowler in Cumbria, United Kingdom, this chilli held the crown of hottest in the world for a period after stealing it from the Infinity Chilli! Cumbria is not a place usually associated with lively chillies, but this pepper is over 200,000 SHU hotter than its predecessor. It will burn your socks off!
One of the chillies that went into initially breeding the Naga Viper is the Naga Morich, also from northeastern India. This chilli has a unique sweet and slightly tart flavour profile, and we use it in our Superhot Naga Fermented Chilli Sauce. Unlike some of our other sauces, the chillies have been fermented to create a deep, complex taste. This one really is not messing around with spice either, so be prepared to feel the kick!
3 - Trinidad Scorpion
The bronze medal for the hottest chilli in the world belongs to the Trinidad Scorpion. An American creation, the “scorpion” part of the name refers to the pointed end of the chilli, resembling a scorpion's stinger. It certainly feels like a scorpion sting too at nearly 1.5 million SHU.
Thinking you can tame this chilli, try our Trinidad Scorpion & Clementine Chilli Sauce. It offers a slow-building heat, balanced with the zesty punches of clementine. Bound to get people intrigued at your barbecue, this sauce goes well with a variety of dishes, from pizzas to grilled chicken.
2 - Carolina Reaper
Beware, this is where things start getting really intense. The famous Carolina Reaper was the hottest chilli in the world for 6 years up until very recently. One of the most famous super-hot chilli breeders in the world, Ed Currie created this chilli in 2017, cross breeding a Naga Chill from Pakistan with a “nastily hot” Habanero pepper from the Caribbean.
A reporter who tried this chilli ended up rolling around on the floor and hallucinating. This is all that needs to be said about this chilli. It will mess you up - big time!
Despite this, we have crafted our Carolina Reaper & Blueberry Chilli Sauce for you to safely consume this terrifying chilli. Are you really a hot sauce fan if you don’t give this a go? The sweet blueberry notes couple perfectly with the jolt of the ‘Reaper’. The spice is long-lasting, and is sure to add some zing to any meal you’re making.
1 - Pepper X
Here it is, the hottest chilli pepper in the world. Once again, made by Ed Currie in the USA in 2023, the seeds for this chilli are not for sale. Very few products exist on the market for these chillies, and for good reason. It took Currie over 10 years to develop this chilli, and when he tried it, it took him 5 to 6 hours to recover from it. Hardly surprising at 2.6 million SHU, around a million SHU hotter than the Carolina Reaper.
Even if you think you can handle spice, if you ever get your hands on a Pepper X, maybe it’s just best to put it down and leave it alone.
Still think you can take the heat?
Hopefully, you’ve cooled down after learning about these mega-hot chillies. You’re probably not going to go and get yourself a bunch of Carolina Reapers now, are you?
Instead, have a look at all our chilli sauces on our website. Our sauces are a feast for the senses, and although they’re hot, they aren’t going to leave you rolling around on the floor. Check them out now and get 10% off your first order by entering your email here Sign Up For 10% Off – Crazy Bastard Sauce. Get started finding a Crazy Bastard Sauce for you today!