Pepper X

Ed Currie's Pepper X was measured at an average of 2.69 million Scoville heat units in 2023. That is roughly 1.6 times hotter than the Carolina Reaper, which averaged about 1.64 million.

Context

The Scoville scale began in 1912 as a taste test by pharmacist Wilbur Scoville, in which a pepper extract was diluted until a panel could no longer feel burning. Today laboratories usually measure capsaicinoids, the compounds that cause the heat, with liquid chromatography and convert the result into Scoville heat units. Because peppers vary from fruit to fruit, a record is based on an average across many samples rather than one pod.

Pepper X was bred by Ed Currie of the PuckerButt Pepper Company in South Carolina, who also created the Carolina Reaper. Samples were tested at Winthrop University, and Guinness announced the result in October 2023, replacing the Reaper as the hottest chili. The reported average of about 2.69 million SHU compares with roughly 1.64 million SHU for the Reaper's earlier record.

Heat also varies with growing conditions, so individual pods can score above or below the average.

Records like this depend on testing by an accredited laboratory, and Guinness relies on that documentation. Heat tolerance is also personal, so the same pepper can feel very different to different eaters, and handling such peppers calls for gloves and care.