Pepper Heat Pecking Order?

[smariotti]

So everyone knows Bhut Jolokia is king of heat, but what about the rest of the peppers? I mean, heat isn't EVERYTHING, but it definitely is important.

Anecdotally I've heard that Fatalii peppers and Trinidad Scorpions and 7 Pot are hotter than your average Habanero, but how does that all sort out?

This is my (albeit unschooled) impression:

Bhut Jolokia
.
.
Red Savina Habanero
.
.
Average Habanero
.
.
Thai Bird
.
.
Jalapeno

and when I hear about 7 Pot and Fatalii I kind of just lump them somewhere between Average Habanero and Red Savina.

But yesterday I was reading that the 7 Pot rates higher (anecdotally) than a Red Savina and maybe Fatalii too?

I have some Fatalii Fire sauce from CaJohn that's some of the hottest sauce I regularly use including some made from the Jolokias so I'm curious how the actual raw peppers themselves fare along this scale. I've never eaten a Fatalii raw or a 7 Pot or a Trinidad Scorpion so I can't attest. I've seen some of Neil's tasting videos but pretty much most of what he tastes seems to leave him pretty knackered.

Can anyone shed any light? Has anyone ever done the high pressure liquid chromatography to rate SHU on these varieties?

 

[POTAWIE]

Everyone has their opinions on this subject since heat varies from pod to pod. Here's my general order of hotness
Hottest to mildest:

Trinidad scorpion
7-pot/pod
bhut, naga, bih
Chocolate congo
Devil's tongue/fatalii
Caribbean red
Red savina
Orange hab
pubes
frutescens/ baccatum
annuums

 

[AlabamaJack]

I agree with Potawie that the Scorpions and 7s are hotter than the Bhuts/Nagas...something about the scorpion burn that is the top contender for me...the scorpion burn actually hurts me...

 

[bigt]

Everyone has their opinions on this subject since heat varies from pod to pod. Here's my general order of hotness
Hottest to mildest:

Trinidad scorpion
7-pot/pod
bhut, naga, bih
Chocolate congo
Devil's tongue/fatalii
Caribbean red
Red savina
Orange hab
pubes
frutescens/ baccatum
annuums

Good list Potawie - of all the varieties I've tried, I would have to agree with you 100%. I haven't tried the Chocolate Congo, but I have grown the Chocolate Habanero and that was the hottest I've had until I grew Naga's and 7 Pots this year. Where would you rank the Gold/White Bullets in that pecking order?

 

[POTAWIE]

I think the chocolate congo I grow is actually a "Congo black" which is said to be the same as Chocolate habanero. I've grown many chocolate types which are the same or very simiar in shape, taste and heat but the one I found the hottest was actually the Cappuccino habanero, although its taste wasn't as impressive as the other types from what I remember.
I've never grown the white/gold bullets, but I did grow white ammo(rip-off version) and I think they were probably hotter than orange habs, but not as hot as devil's tongue and fatalii

 

[peppermanbaha]

Trinidad Scorpion
7pot
Goat Pepper
Naga Morich/Bhut Jolokia
Doughlah / Fatalii
red Savina
Wilds
Habanero
Rocotos
Frutescens / Baccatum
Anuums

 

[bigt]

I think the chocolate congo I grow is actually a "Congo black" which is said to be the same as Chocolate habanero. I've grown many chocolate types which are the same or very simiar in shape, taste and heat but the one I found the hottest was actually the Cappuccino habanero, although its taste wasn't as impressive as the other types from what I remember.
I've never grown the white/gold bullets, but I did grow white ammo(rip-off version) and I think they were probably hotter than orange habs, but not as hot as devil's tongue and fatalii

I just had my 1st Red Savina and while I enjoyed it, the heat was not what I was expecting. I'm not sure if it's much hotter than a regular Orange Hab, if at all. I would rank the Bullet Types as much hotter, but probably just below a Chocolate Hab. They are harder to gauge because of their small size, but they definitely pack a wallop. Here's few pics of the Red Savina I just tried. I ate one half without much damage. A little more heat than a Scotch Bonnet IMO.

My personal results make the 577,000 Scoville claim seem dubious.

 

[MrArboc]

My personal results make the 577,000 Scoville claim seem dubious.

Was it at Red Savina, a red habanero or a Red chinense?

Red Savina is (tm) even thought it's just a red variety of chinense.

 

[POTAWIE]

I know ecoseeds "orange hab" tested higher in SHU in this 2001 test
http://www.fiery-foods.com/index.ph...levels-reported&catid=86:capsaicin&Itemid=151

Just remember: "Despite the accuracy of HPLC testing, we should remember, as Dr. Villalon points out, "Capsaicin can and is quantitatively measured by high performance liquid chromatography, to exactness for that particular pod, that particular plant, that particular location, and that particular season only." Thus, chiles will often deviate from published heat levels because of local environmental conditions. As there are many factors affecting the pungency of any variety, and there are many varieties within the various species and pod types, the measurements listed below are necessarily approximate."
http://www.fiery-foods.com/index.ph...t-scale-updated&catid=86:capsaicin&Itemid=151

 

[peppermanbaha]

Potawie, say what now!????

 

[peppercrazy]

Potawie, say what now!????

That quote says that the scoville heat test is only accurate per the pod tested, and where that pod was grown, conditions, etc etc etc, and it will not likely be exact for any two pods, even if from the same tree, but may be a ballpark figure for the heat level for the type of pepper.

 

[LGHT]

Wow I don't know how you guys can stand that amount of heat. Habs are probably my limit. I've only had a few TS, Bhuts, and although I liked the flavor it packed too much of a punch for me to handle. I only have about 10 super hot plants that I grew mainly to have some extra heat when needed and the other 40 are a mix of good taste and flavor plants but with a lot less heat as I cook with a lot of sauces and sometimes prefer a specific flavor over heat level. Good to know that the TS seems to be hotter by majority as I could only find 1 Bhut to grow, but have 3-4 TS plants growing strong and putting out a ton of flowers.

 

[JayT]

I know we have had this discussion about the Red Savina before, but it was specifically bred to be super hot for the testing. I don't think the SHU is accurate for most Red Savinas. Also, IMO the orange habs I have had were generally hotter than the Red Savinas. Also, I have found in my limited experience with them that the 7-Pot has been hotter overall than the Scorpion. But, the Scorpion has WAY more initial heat and mouthburn. Again, just my opinion.

 

[POTAWIE]

I don't know about the red savina being specifically bred to be super hot for the testing, but I believe the original test results were severely flawed since they have never come close to duplicating these results