Hottest Capsicum Annuum Peppers, Ranked by SHU
Capsicum annuum includes jalapenos, cayenne, and serranos. Compare the hottest listed annuum varieties by their upper SHU values.
30 peppers · Capsicum annuum varieties, ranked by maximum SHU, hottest first.
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The Charleston Hot is a USDA-bred cayenne-type pepper hitting 70,000-120,000 SHU - roughly one-fifth the heat of a habanero, with a sweet, fruity…
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Bird's eye chili is a small hot chile commonly sold as Thai pepper or bird's chili. UF/IFAS lists this Thai pepper/bird's eye type at 50,000-100,000…
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Chiltepin is the round-fruited wild form of Capsicum annuum, variety glabriusculum, native from Mexico into the southwestern United States…
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Prik Jinda is a Thai chili delivering 50,000 to 100,000 SHU of sharp, clean heat, roughly comparable to a habanero on the lower end, but with a…
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The Teja chili is a slender, wrinkled Indian pepper delivering 50,000 to 100,000 SHU of smoky, earthy heat. Dried and ground into powders or whole in…
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The Thai chili is a small but ferocious pepper registering 50,000-100,000 SHU - roughly on par with a scotch bonnet in raw heat. Native to Thailand…
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The Thai Dragon hits 50,000 to 100,000 SHU with a sharp, bright heat that builds fast and lingers. This small elongated Capsicum annuum chile peppers…
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Prairie Fire is a compact C. annuum ornamental pepper from the USA, clocking in at 70,000-80,000 SHU - roughly 16x hotter than a jalapeño and…
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Tien Tsin is a slender Chinese chili clocking in at 50,000-75,000 SHU - roughly 5x hotter than a serrano. Sharp, smoky heat with minimal sweetness…
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Most people assume the yatsufusa pepper is just another Asian chile, but it carries a distinct identity rooted in Japanese agriculture. These…
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The piquin pepper is a wild-harvested Mexican chili sitting at 30,000 to 60,000 SHU - roughly twice the heat of a de arbol, with a distinctly smoky…
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Aurora is a compact ornamental Capsicum annuum whose edible pods ripen through purple, yellow-orange, and red. Two seed suppliers report 30,000 to…
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Buena Mulata is an heirloom C. annuum from the United States, delivering 30,000-50,000 SHU of cayenne-level heat in a slender color-shifting pod. Use…
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Cayenne pepper is a hot Capsicum annuum group commonly sold as fresh red pods, whole dried chiles, or a fine ground spice. Choose fresh pods for…
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The Facing Heaven pepper (Chao Tian Jiao) is a Chinese C. annuum variety prized for its upward-pointing pods and complex flavor. Registering…
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The hot Goat Horn pepper profiled here is a long, curved C. annuum seed line sold at 20,000 to 50,000 SHU. Because other sellers use the same common…
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NuMex Twilight is a ornamental pepper that earns its keep in the kitchen too. Developed at New Mexico State University, it produces small round…
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The reshampatti chili is a deeply earthy, fiercely hot Indian pepper clocking in at 40,000-50,000 SHU - roughly 8-10x hotter than a jalapeño. Grown…
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Most people assume the Santaka pepper is just another Asian chili, it is not. This Japanese-origin C. annuum delivers a sharp, citrusy heat between…
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Red pepper flakes deliver a sharp, peppery heat that hits fast and lingers. Ranging from 15,000 to 45,000 SHU, they sit firmly in the hot tier…
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Calabrian chili is a hot Italian chile tied to Calabria and the broader peperoncino tradition, commonly listed around 25,000 to 40,000 SHU. Its…
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The Guntur Chili is one of India's most commercially significant peppers, grown primarily in Andhra Pradesh and registering 35,000-40,000 SHU. Its…
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The Guntur Sannam is India's most commercially significant chile, grown in Andhra Pradesh's Guntur district and exported worldwide. Known for its…
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The Dundicut is a small round Pakistani chilli from Sindh, sold dried and reported by Dawn at 30,000 to 35,000 SHU. Sharp and savoury rather than…
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The Black Pearl Pepper is a striking ornamental-edible C. annuum variety developed in the USA, producing clusters of small, round, jet-black fruits…
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The bolivian rainbow pepper is a compact ornamental Capsicum annuum that still brings real kitchen heat, usually landing around 10,000-30,000 SHU…
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The Bulgarian Carrot pepper is a compact Bulgarian Capsicum annuum cultivar with bright orange, carrot-shaped pods about 3 inches long. Its…
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A Chinese 5 Color pepper carries a sharp, clean heat that builds fast, somewhere between 10,000 and 30,000 SHU, roughly 3x hotter than tabasco. What…
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Count Dracula brings 5,000-30,000 SHU with dark purple ornamental pods that can still cook like a medium-heat annuum. We treat it as a dual-purpose…
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De Arbol delivers 15,000-30,000 SHU of clean, building heat with a distinctly smoky, nutty backbone that sets it apart from most dried chilies. A…
How we rank: Capsicum annuum varieties, ranked by maximum SHU, hottest first. Scoville figures come from our pepper database, measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) where available. Individual pods vary with growing conditions, so ranges matter more than single numbers.