23 peppers · 8K to 13M SHU
Pepper Encyclopedia
Every pepper worth knowing, organized by heat level. From the jalapeno that most people consider spicy to the engineered specimens that redefine what a pepper can be.
Scoville Splice · CRISPR-engineered
Engineered Specimens
3M–13M SHU. These are not bred — they are engineered through targeted genomic edits to the capsaicin biosynthesis pathway. Every one exceeds the current world record.
How do these compare? The current Guinness World Record holder, Pepper X, measures 2.69 million SHU. Scoville Splice’s lowest specimen, Verbal Warning, starts at 3 million SHU — 11.5% higher than the record. The highest, D.N.R., reaches 13 million SHU — 4.8x the record and 81% of pure capsaicin’s theoretical maximum of 16 million SHU.
Verbal Warning
3M SHU
Where the record ends and the lineup begins
Kill Switch
3.6M SHU
One edit. No ceiling.
Hostile Agent
4.3M SHU
The shape changes. The rules don't.
Containment Breach
5.1M SHU
The ceiling of one edit
System Shock
6M SHU
Two edits. New territory.
Venom Protocol
7M SHU
The blend shifts. The burn accelerates.
Level 4 Pathogen
8.2M SHU
Containment required
Collateral Damage
9.5M SHU
Beyond flavor. Pure signal.
Extinction Protocol
11M SHU
The pathway saturates
D.N.R.
13M SHU
The end of the lineup
View the full lineup with genomic data, onset speed, and flavor profiles on the Lineup page.
11 peppers · 1M+ SHU
Superhot
The million-SHU club. These peppers exceed 1,000,000 Scoville Heat Units — the threshold where handling gloves become mandatory and flavor gives way to pure capsaicin intensity.
Pepper X
Record2.69M SHU
Apollo Pepper
2.5M SHU
Dragon's Breath
2.48M SHU
Carolina Reaper
2.2M SHU
Moruga Scorpion
2.01M SHU
7 Pot Douglah
1.85M SHU
7 Pot Primo
1.47M SHU
Komodo Dragon
1.4M SHU
Naga Viper
1.38M SHU
7 Pot Barrackpore
1.0M SHU
Ghost Pepper
1.04M SHU
1 pepper · 100K–999K SHU
Hot
Serious heat without crossing the superhot threshold. The habanero family dominated competitive rankings for decades before the superhot revolution.
1 pepper · Under 100K SHU
Mild
The baseline. Most people consider a jalapeno spicy. On the Scoville Splice scale, it barely registers.
The full spectrum