24 Types of Peppers Ranked on the Scoville Scale

The Scoville scale provides a way to compare the world’s hottest peppers with
everyday varieties, measuring their pungency in Scoville Heat Units.
1. Pure capsaicin: 16,000,000 SHU
2. Carolina Reaper: 2,200,000 SHU
3. Trinidad Moruga Scorpion: 2,009,231 SHU
4. Trinidad Scorpion Butch T: 1,463,700 SHU
5. Naga Viper: 1,382,118 SHU
6. Bhut jolokia (ghost pepper): 1,041,427 SHU
7. Red Savina habanero: 580,000 SHU
8. Scotch Bonnet: 350,000 SHU
9. Jamaican Hot: 350,000 SHU
10. Habanero: 350,000 SHU
11. Devil's Tongue: 300,000 SHU
12. Bird's eye chili: 225,000 SHU
13. Carolina Cayenne: 125,000 SHU
14. Tabasco: 50,000 SHU
15. Santaka: 50,000 SHU
16. Chile de árbol: 30,000 SHU
17. Serrano: 23,000 SHU
18. Jalapeño: 10,000 SHU
19. Chipotle: 8,000 SHU
20. Guajillo: 8,000 SHU
21. Anaheim: 2,500 SHU
22. Poblano: 2,000 SHU
23. Pepperoncini: 900 SHU
24. Bell: 0 SHU

✓ Today, in order to obtain more accurate results, scientists use a technique called High-
Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) to determine the exact concentration of
capsaicin in a pepper.
✓ HPLC technique measures the pungency of a pepper in American Spice Trade
Association (ASTA) Pungency Units. This number can be plugged into a formula that
converts it to Scoville Units. Even though the process has changed since Wilbur Scoville's
time, we continue to use his Scoville scale to measure the heat of peppers.