Name The World's Hottest Chilli

You probably would say Habanero. Not even close!! The spiciness of any chilli, or chilli peppers as is known in these United States, is measured in SHU which is Scoville Heat Units. More details about what SHU is and which method is used today to measure the spiciness could be obtained from here. In recent tests done by the Chili Pepper Institute the spiciest chilli was found to be Naga Jolokia Bhut Jolokia also called Bih Jolokia or Naga Morich from Assam, India. The regular Habanero chilli is at 100,000 to 300,000 SHU, Bhut Jolokia crossed the 1,000,000 SHU mark. It broke the record previously held by California's Red Savina at 577,000 SHUs. The chemical compound Capasaicin, which gives the chillies its heat, is measured to be 16,000,000 SHU.

Most people are reduced to tears at 300,000 SHUs.

For your reference, here are the rough figures of all the various chillies.

Chilli Name	Units (in SHU)
Naga Morich	970,000 SHU
Naga Jolokia	850,000 SHU
Red Savina	350,000 to 577,000 SHU
Habanero's & Scotch Bonnet's	100,000 to 350,000 SHU
Chiletepins, Thai & Birds Eye	50,000 to 150,000 SHU
Piquin, Cayenne, Tabasco & Rocoto	30,000 to 50,000 SHU
De Arbol, Aji's & Shipkas	15,000 to 30,000 SHU
Serrano	5,000 to 15,000 SHU
Jalapeno, Mirasol & Hot Wax	2,500 to 5,000 SHU
Anaheim, Rocotillo, Sandia & Cascabel	1,500 to 2,500 SHU
Ancho, Pasilla, Mulato & Espanola	1,000 to 1,500 SHU
Cherry, New Mexican	500 to 1,000 SHU
Bell Peppers & Pimentos	0 SHU

• Times of India article


• Heat Guide

Updated [Feb 24 2007]: Thanks to thechileman, I have updated the name of the hottest chilli.