New Guinness World Record spiciest pepper, 'Pepper X,' is 3 times as spicy as 'Carolina Reaper'

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The Guinness World Records title of "hottest chili pepper" has been awarded to "Pepper X," which clocks in 2,693,000 Scoville heat units (SHU), the publication announced in a press release on Oct. 16.

Pepper X is a specially crossbred pepper created by Ed Currie, owner of PuckerButt Pepper Co. in Fort Mill, South Carolina, and his "Carolina Reaper" pepper that previously held the world record for hottest chili pepper.

The Carolina Reaper had an average 1,640,000 SHU. As the Scoville scale is logarithmic, that means that Pepper X is about three times as spicy as the Carolina Reaper.

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Comparatively, a poblano pepper is about 1,000 SHU while a jalapeno pepper averages 5,000 SHU. A habanero pepper, one of the spiciest non-hybrid peppers, is about 100,000 SHU.

Pepper X has a higher SHU rating than police-issue pepper spray and bear spray, according to the Associated Press.

Ed Currie holds up his certificate that formally recognizes his new Pepper X variety of peppers as the hottest in the world, according to Guinness World Records. He said eating one was quite painful. (AP Photo / Jeffrey Collins)

Eating Pepper X is not an enjoyable experience, Currie says. 

"I was feeling the heat for three and a half hours. Then the cramps came," Currie told the Associated Press. "Those cramps are horrible. I was laid out flat on a marble wall for approximately an hour in the rain, groaning in pain."

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Only five people, including Currie, have actually eaten Pepper X.

Pepper X made its official public debut during the Oct. 16 episode of the YouTube series "Hot Ones," which is an interview show that typically pits celebrities against a series of increasingly spicy hot wings.

Pepper X peppers, grown by Ed Currie in Fort Mill, South Carolina, are three times as hot as the previous world record holder, which was also grown by Currie. (AP Photo / Jeffrey Collins)

The host, Sean Evans, asks the celebrities increasingly personal questions as the spice levels increase.

Evans called Currie the "sick, twisted mind behind Pepper X."

The creation of Pepper X was the culmination of a 10-year process, beginning when Currie was first awarded the Guinness World Record in 2013 for the Carolina Reaper.

In breeding Pepper X, Currie sought to "offer an extremely hot pepper flavored with sweetness," according to the Associated Press.

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Pepper X is a crossbreed of the Carolina Reaper and a "pepper that a friend of mine sent me from Michigan that was brutally hot," Currie told the Associated Press.

It reportedly has an "earthy flavor" and "citrus tone." The name was initially a placeholder that stuck.

Speaking on "Hot Ones," Currie said he had Pepper X's seeds "in the war chest for about a decade now," waiting for someone to overthrow the Carolina Reaper's heat record.

When nobody did, he "decided to bring it out to the world."

Ed Currie holds a handful of his Pepper X peppers. The pepper was recently crowned the "hottest chili pepper" by Guinness World Records. (AP Photo / Jeffrey Collins)

Spicy peppers is a serious business, Currie said, and he has had to ward off people from trying to nab his creations.

"Literally, people have been trying to steal it for the last 10 years," he said to Evans. "We have to protect ourselves because this is our pepper."

Currie was surprised with the Guinness World Record plaque for Pepper X during the episode of "Hot Ones."

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"It took a team. This is a culmination of a lot of work by a lot of people," said Currie, who was visibly emotional.

Currie said he was told that a pepper of Pepper X's spice level "couldn't be done" and that he was called a liar throughout the process.

An employee in a Carolina Reaper shirt looks over one of Ed Currie's greenhouses on Oct. 10, 2023, in Fort Mill, South Carolina. The Carolina Reaper was the previous world record holder for spiciest pepper. (AP Photo / Jeffrey Collins)

"We proved to them that Pepper X is the hottest pepper in the world," he said, adding that the work of his team "validated" the world record recognition.

While Pepper X products are available on PuckerButt Pepper Co.'s website, Currie told the Associated Press that a person should "build up a tolerance" before trying any of the more extreme products.

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He also hinted that an even spicier pepper may be in the works.

"Is this the pinnacle?" Currie told the Associated Press with regard to Pepper X. "No, it’s not the pinnacle."

The Associated Press contributed reporting.

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