"Reference" means that this is the hottest heat level currently tested for these strains or hot sauces, but our company does not grow or sell these items.
MULTIPLY the HS numbers listed below by 12, to get the SCOVILLE heat numbers.
EASY CONVERSION CHART: 500,000 Scovilles = HS 42,000,
One million Scovilles = HS 84,000, and
1,500,000 Scovilles = HS 125,000
Sweet peppers---------------------------0
Cubanelle-------------------------------2 (f)
La Victoria® Taco sauce----------------------17
<<-reference
Ancho Mexican Large--------------------22 (f)
Anaheim--------------------------------25 (f)
Hungarian Yellow Wax-------------------42 (f)
Sandia---------------------------------42 (f)
Pace® Picante 'Hot" sauce--------------------42
<<-reference
California mild------------------------50 (d)
Joe E. Parker--------------------------53 (f)
Chilaca or Mexican Negro---------------72 (f)
Costeño Amarillo----------------------100 (d)
Jalapeno TAM mild---------------------122 (f)
Cherry Large Hot----------------------125 (f)
Mulato--------------------------------135 (d)
Fresno--------------------------------178 (f)
Costeño Rojo--------------------------192 (d)
Crystal® Pure Louisiana Hot Sauce----------222
<<-reference
Jalapeno "M"--------------------------238 (f)
Numex Big Jim-------------------------238 (f)
Chimayo-------------------------------370 (f)
Manzano/Rocoto Orange-----------------500 (f)
Barker--------------------------------580 (f)
Manzano/Rocoto Red--------------------600 (f)
Cayenne Long Slim---------------------625 (f)
Hawaiian Sweet Hot--------------------625 (d)
Jalapeño Early------------------------700 (f)
Uncle Steve's Louisiana Hot Sauce----------769
<<-reference
Manzano/Rocoto Yellow-----------------840 (f)
Loco--------------------------------1,000 (d)
Santa Fe Grande---------------------1,120 (f)
Jalapeño Sweet Craig's Grande-------1,230 (f) When
red-ripe.
Puya--------------------------------1,250 (d)
Serrano-----------------------------1,250 (f)
McIlhenny's Tabasco® Hot Sauce-----------1,250
<<-reference
Guajillo----------------------------1,300 (f)
Cascabel----------------------------1,600 (d)
Tabasco-----------------------------3,300 (f)
Zimbabwe Bird-----------------------5,600 (d)
Catarina----------------------------6,667 (d)
De Arbol----------------------------8,000 (d)
Onza Rojo---------------------------8,000 (d)
Red Savina Habanero® (Note 1.)-----10,000
(f)<-reference
Scotch Bonnet Big Sun--------------11,428 (d)
Scotch Bonnet Tobago Red-----------11,500 (d)
Habanero Peach---------------------14,300 (d)
Habanero Craig's Orange Deluxe-----16,000 (d)
Japones----------------------------16,100 (d)
Habanero Mustard-------------------17,300 (d)
Habanero Chocolate-----------------18,600 (d)
Pequin-----------------------------20,000 (d)
Habanero White Bullet™-------------23,000 (d)
Bhut Jolokia peach-----------------27,300 (d)<-reference
Trinidad Congo---------------------28,200 (d)<-reference
7 Pot Lava Red---------------------36,000 (d)<-reference
Bhut Chocolate---------------------40,000
(d)<-reference
Naga Viper-------------------------41,000 (d)<-reference
Bonda Ma Jacques-------------------42,600 (d)<-reference
ABOUT 500,000 SCOVILLES HERE>>>>>>>>>>
Bhut Jolokia regular strain--------43,000 (d)<-reference
7 Pot Brain Yellow-----------------48,000 (d)<-reference
Dave's Ultimate Insanity Sauce--------50,000
<--reference
Naga monster-----------------------50,700 (d)<-reference
7 pot brown------------------------53,100 (d)<-reference
Trinidad Moruga red----------------58,300 (d)<-reference
7 Pot Brain strain yellow----------59,000
(d)<-reference
Tepín (seeds removed)------
15,000-64,000 (d)
7 Pot Lava Brown-------------------65,400 (d)<-reference
Ghost (Bhut Jolokia) Giant---------66,000 (d)<-reference
Trin.Scorpion Butch T strain-------67,000 (d)<-reference
Naga Morich Red--------------------75,800 (d)<-reference
Trinidad Moruga orange-------------76,000 (d)<-reference
7 Pot Brain strain Red-------------81,000 (d)<-reference
Douglah----------------------------83,900 (d)<-reference
ABOUT ONE MILLION
SCOVILLES HERE>>>>>>>
7 Pot Douglah brown----------------86,800 (d)<-reference
Brazilian Brain Strain hybrid------92,000 (d)<-reference
Bhut Jolokia Chocolate-------------97,600 (d)<-reference
7 Pot Primo Red-------------------107,400 (d)<-reference
Trinidad Moruga Brown-------------107,500 (d)<-reference
Trinidad Scorpion Brown/Chocolate-108,600 (d)<-reference
Trinidad Scorpion Moruga Brown----109,000 (d)<-reference
ABOUT 1,500,000
SCOVILLES HERE>>>>>>>>>>>
Carolina Reaper (Note 2)----------127,000 (d)<-reference
Chocolate
Champion®-average of 10 pods = 140,000 (d)
or 1,662,000 Scovilles when
10 pods were HCLP lab tested as a composite.
Copyright © 1984-2022
by Craig C. Dremann
Listed are the highest
heat levels, so far measured to date for each variety.
"Reference" means that these varieties were tested from
seed grown from other seed companies, and these are not offered
by Redwood City Seed Company.
Note 1 = "Red Savina Habanero" is a US Registered Trademark, only for the dried fruit. The seeds for planting, plants, fresh fruit and sauces are not covered by this trademark.
Note 2 = Three US Registered
Trademarks exist for "Carolina Reaper" -- two trademarks
cover the "Smokin' Ed's Carolina Reaper" fresh peppers
and processed peppers, and another trademark is registered for
"Carolina Reaper Vodka". However in the United States
a plant or seed US Registered Trademark name cannot be the same
as the plant variety name according to USDA rules.
There's probably 50,000-60,000
different pepper varieties world-wide,
and if you include variations in the different heat levels of
individual varieties (like all of the different strains of Jalapenos
for example), perhaps as many as 100,000. Only a few thousand
of the peppers of the world have been described, and nobody has
accurately tested the heat levels of any significant numbers of
all those hundred-thousand peppers.
How is the "Dremann's
Scale"--different than the "Scoville" Scale? There's a lot of controversy
about pepper hotness, so in 1984 I invented an easy method to
test a pepper's heat level, to get a fast, accurate, and inexpensive
method.
To test a pepper using the old Scoville units, you have to spend
about $75 dollars to have a laboratory test the heat of a single
variety.
On the other
hand, Dremann's Hotness Scale™ can be done at home for free
in the kitchen, with a gram scale, a blender, distilled water
and a graduated baby's eyedropper (in cc) in about 10-15 minutes.
The numbers are different between the two scales.
You will see fantastically high Scoville claims published,
but those numbers are nearly impossible to confirm unless you
want to spend the money to test them at a laboratory.
>>>Free download for doing your own DREMANN SCALE tests<<<
Why
does the Dremann Scale use "d" and "f" next
to the numbers? If you look at Scoville unit claims for
any pepper, they were done from dried ripe peppers.
The general rule on pepper hotness is that when it is fresh green,
it is only one-third as hot as a red-ripe fresh pepper of the
same kind. Also, the dried pepper is generally 2-10 times hotter
than the fresh red-ripe pepper of the same variety.
Take the cap and stem off before testing! When the peppers are used in cooking or making hot sauces, the caps and stems are always removed, so when testing, they should also be removed.
HOW TO SELECT THE WORLD'S HOTTEST STRAIN. Plant 30-100 plants of the variety you are interested in selecting into a hotter strain, or going for the world's hottest record. Put a tag on each plant and number each plant.
Some type of Capsicum chinense looks like the most likely candidate for increasing the heat levels each year, but whatever your favorite strain is plant a lot of plants each year to select from, and isolate them from other varieties of peppers.
When the first two pods on each plant ripen, dry at a low heat, and test the heat level using my method. Then from the top hottest five plants, save the seeds from those plants to plant next year, and grow the next 100 plants in isolation so they will not back cross with any other peppers, like 200 feet from any other peppers.
Then repeat
this same process each year. You should be able to increase the overall
heat about 20% each year, and start to narrow the variations and
push them all further towards the higher range.
DOWNLOAD Craig's Hotness Testing method FREE HERE.
DOWNLOAD "Dremann Pepper Heat Search" information
Updated
December 24, 2022 - Redwood City Seed
Company seed list