With the popularity of FBC’s new hit show “Heated Interviews”, many may be wondering how hot peppers can get. Well, all peppers are measured in terms of Scoville heat units (SHUs), which measure how much capsaicin is concentrated in each. For example, the “Da Bomb: Beyond Insanity” hot sauce used on the show is rated at 135,600 SHUs (per spicinfoods.com), which is extremely spicy in its own right but blown away by some of the top-notch varieties of pepper.  Below are a few extremely hot peppers that are grown all around the world for maximum spicy pain.

Carolina Reaper

The Carolina Reaper is the official king of spice, as it is the Guinness World Record Holder for Hottest Chilli Pepper. This pepper packs a punch, with it clocking in at an astonishing 2.2 million SHUs (almost fifteen times as much as Da Bomb: Beyond Insanity). It was grown recently in 2012 by “Smokin’” Ed Curry, a renowned pepper breeder, and was quickly proved to be the world’s hottest. Despite its extreme heat, seeds are relatively easy to obtain, and can even be grown in home gardens. 

Chocolate Bhutlah

While the name of this spicy specimen may make it sound like a sweet treat, this pepper is anything but. It is referred to as a “chocolate” bhutlah due to its fine brown skin when fresh.  The bhutlah topped at about two million SHUs, making it way more excruciating than a Hershey’s Bar. The bhutlah is also one of the larger peppers out there, but the capsaicin is still spread evenly throughout its flesh.

Seven-Pot Primo

Created in 2013, this pepper is a favorite amongst lovers of hot food for its vibrant looks and a taste described as citrus-like. It took around 10 years to develop, and its creator, Troy Primeaux, went from a nursing student with a passion for peppers to a traveling spice magnate due to his creation’s popularity (per theAdvocate.com). Primeaux’s pepper has rated up to 1.4 million SHUs, and has become one of the hottest in the world in both popularity and taste.(All spicy pepper statistics courtesy of pepperscale.com and peppergeek.com unless otherwise stated)