Hottest Capsicum Annuum Peppers, Ranked by SHU
Capsicum annuum is the most widely grown pepper species — jalapenos, cayenne, serranos and more. Here are the hottest annuum varieties, ranked by heat.
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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The chiltepin is a wild-harvested Capsicum annuum native to Mexico, clocking in at 50,000–100,000 SHU - roughly 20 times hotter than a jalapeño. Its…
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Prik Jinda is a Thai chili delivering 50,000–100,000 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 50,000–100,000 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 50,000–100,000 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 Dundicut pepper is a small, elongated Pakistani chili hitting 30,000–65,000 SHU - roughly twice the heat of a tabasco pepper. Sharp, pungent, and…
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The piquin pepper is a wild-harvested Mexican chili sitting at 30,000–60,000 SHU - roughly twice the heat of a de arbol - with a distinctly smoky…
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The Aurora pepper is a compact ornamental-turned-culinary C. annuum from Mexico, ranging 30,000–50,000 SHU. Its pods ripen through a vivid color…
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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 sits at 30,000-50,000 SHU - roughly half the heat of a pequin but with a clean, neutral peppery bite that makes it the most flexible…
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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 goat horn pepper earns its name from its curved, tapered shape - a C. annuum variety with disputed origin records that delivers 20,000-50,000 SHU…
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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 15,000–45,000 SHU, they sit firmly in the hot tier - roughly…
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Calabrian chili is a hot Italian chile tied to Calabria and the broader peperoncino tradition. It is commonly listed around 25,000-40,000 SHU, with…
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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 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 bright orange Bulgarian Capsicum annuum known for tapered carrot-shaped pods, steady heat in the 5,000-30,000 SHU…
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Bite into a Chinese 5 Color pepper and you get a sharp, clean heat that builds fast - somewhere between 10,000 and 30,000 SHU, roughly 3x hotter than…
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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.