The world’s spiciest thing is Dragon’s Breath. It is a chili pepper cultivar unofficially tested at 2.48 million Scoville units.
The world’s current hottest pepper, Dragon’s Breath chili, was produced in cultivation by selective breeding and originated in Denbighshire and Nottingham, United Kingdom.
It has dwarfed its nearest competitor by scaling at 2.48 million Scoville units compared to Carolina Reaper, which comes at 2.2 million units.
But exactly how spicy is this pepper? And can you eat it, or is it considered lethal?
That’s what I will be covering in this article. We will also see how one measures the heat in a dash of pepper and what other peppers come close to being the hottest.
What Is The Spiciest Thing In The World?
Dragon’s Breath is the spiciest chili in the world, cultivated through selective breeding in Denbighshire and Nottingham, United Kingdom.
For reference, depending on who you talk to, Dragon’s Breath chili peppers are about 310 to 992 times hotter than Jalapeños.
The average peak heat of this hottest chili pepper was reported at about 2.48 million Scoville heat units, even hotter than the Komodo Dragon and Carolina Reaper pepper.
For instance, Carolina Reaper’s range of ‘hotness’ is 1.4 to 2.2 million Scoville heat units, with an average median heat of 1.6 million Scoville heat units. The heat in chili peppers generally depends on the plant, soil, and the conditions in which it is grown and tended to.
Following is a quick summary of the facts about Dragon’s Breath chili.
| Scoville Heat Units | 2,480,000 |
| Jalapeño reference point | 310 to 992 times hotter |
| Capsicum Spices | Chinese |
| Origin | United Kingdom |
| Use | Culinary |
| Size | Approximately 1/2 inches long, wrinkled, pock-marked, stinger (at times) |
While this chili pepper might have culinary use, it is not available for commercial use as these have the potential for military-grade heat.
Can You Eat The Spiciest Pepper In The World?
No, the Dragon’s Breath has not been consumed by a human yet, because the amount of capsaicin in the chili is considered lethal to a human body.
Eating the spiciest peppers is not harmful to the human body. Still, the body’s response to eating pepper is more damaging.
Eating spicy chili pepper can cause a lot of discomfort to the body. This includes swelling, nausea, vomiting, eye pain, diarrhea, abdominal pain, heartburn from acid reflux, and headaches, other than the burning sensations in the back of the throat, on the tongue, as well as the food pipe and stomach.
Named after a Welsh dragon, this chili pepper is more lethal than the Carolina Reaper sauce you might use on your burritos and tacos.
While eating an ordinary chili pepper can cause symptoms like pain, nausea, and vomiting, reports show that the lethal amount of capsaicin could cause the blood pressure to drop suddenly and the airways to narrow. Because the airways are now singed, they either get blocked or close up and cause anaphylactic shock.
According to Smith, the cultivator who grew the chili peppers in conjunction with Nottingham University, the Dragon’s Breath was developed to treat people allergic to anesthetics, as the pepper is so hot it can be used to numb the skin.
However, when the human body is exposed to unsynthesized chili pepper, this exposure can cause a life-threatening allergic reaction which happens when an over-release of chemicals puts the person into shock.
This is why the world’s hottest pepper is LETHAL, if consumed directly.
How Do You Measure How Hot The Pepper Is?
The Scoville Heat Unit measures the spiciness or pungency of hot peppers.
The scale measures the amount of capsaicin, the chemical compound that causes spicy heat, in pepper and assigns it a number rating in Scoville Heat Units.
This means the amount of capsaicin is directly proportional to the heat in the pepper.
The following table might help to understand the pungency of various pepper.
| Type of Pepper | Scoville Heat Units |
| Bell Peppers | 0 |
| Pepperoncini | 900 |
| Chipotle | 8,000 |
| Jalapeno | 10,000 |
| Jamaican Hot | 350,000 |
| Carolina Reaper | 2,200,000 |
| Dragon’s Breath | 2,480,000 |
| Pure Capsaicin | 16,000,000 |
Pure crystallization extract of capsaicin can only be extracted through a chemical process. This number is lethal to be ingested by any human being.
What Are The Top Five Hottest Peppers In The World?
Apart from Dragon’s Breath, here are the top five hottest peppers in the world.
1. Carolina Reaper
Carolina Reaper used to be the world’s hottest pepper, consisting of about 2.2 million SHU.
With a mean heat of 1.64 million SHU, it is estimated to be 20 times hotter than a Jalapeno. You can buy it in the form of powder, plant, or even seeds to grow them into plants.
2. Trinidad Moruga Scorpian
Trinidad Moruga Scorpion pepper packs about 2 million SHU and is a rare species discovered more recently.
However, if you are eating it, it is not that different from the Carolina reaper.
3. 7 Pot Douglah
7 Pot Douglah is one of the hottest peppers in the world that, surprisingly, is not red. It has about 1.85 million Scoville Heat units.
You can easily get your hands on Douglah seeds or powder in the market.
4. 7 Pot Primo
7 Pot Primo pepper is famous and distinctive for its long skinny tail-like structure at the end.
It carries about 1.46 million SHU and tastes very similar to Carolina Reaper.
5. Trinidad Scorpion Butch T
Trinidad Scorpion Butch T pepper held the previous Guinness World Record for being the hottest pepper from Australia in 2011.
It packs about 1.46 million Scoville heat units. However, the burning sensation from this pepper is more than some of the higher-ranking peppers on the SHU scale.
What Are The Spiciest Things Other Than Peppers?
Following is a list of spicy items that are not peppers.
1. Black, White, and Green Peppercorns
All these peppercorns come from the same species of plants. While they are all used regularly in culinary activities, be mindful that only a tiny amount of these peppercorns should be used when cooking. In texture, they can be pretty spicy.
2. Curry Powder
One of the main reasons some people can not digest curry powder, especially if it is not in their cultural diet, is because of what is in it.
Cumin, turmeric, coriander, ginger, and mustard seeds are used to make this power. All of these spices are known to add heat to the food.
3. Wasabi Root
The real wasabi root is packed with heat, but the same cannot be said for American wasabi.
American wasabi contains less than 30% heat from the wasabi roots.
4. Galangal Root
Galangal root is a part of the ginger family.
It is one of the main spices used in Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai cuisines and is packed with flavor and heat.
Final Remarks
In this article, we discussed the spiciest thing in the world. We also talked about how lethal these items can be to eat.
Let’s briefly go over this topic once again.
What is the spiciest thing in the world? The world’s spiciest thing is Dragon’s Breath, a chili pepper cultivar unofficially tested at 2.48 million Scoville units. It was made through selective breeding and is not naturally available in the environment.
My name is Douglas Ryan and I am the founder of BargainFoodie. I have worked in the culinary space for many years, and exploring new food is my greatest pleasure in life.