The Guinness Book of World Records has announced that the hottest pepper in the world is now Pepper X and no longer the Carolina Reaper as of Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023. Ed Currie, a pepper expert from South Carolina has a certification to prove it. He is the inventor and one of the five people in the world who have successfully ingested it.
Currie, who is also the grower of the previously hottest pepper in the world (the Carolina Reaper) has now grown a hot pepper even hotter than the Carolina Reaper. The new Pepper X was rated on the Scoville Heat Unit scale to test at 2,693,000 compared to a regular jalapeno pepper which would score on average around 5,000. The Scoville Heat Units of the Carolina Reaper was an average of 1,641,183 per the AP. The new Pepper X is even “hotter” than bear spray, which is 2.2 million per the AP.
The Pepper X is a greenish-yellow color and considered a crossbreed of the Carolina Reaper. Right now, Pepper X can only be tasted in the sauces made by Currie’s company. Currie is also one of five people who have eaten a whole Pepper X. The experience lasted for hours and included intense cramps.
Currie says that he continues to work on an even hotter pepper for the near future.