GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS REVEALS PEPPER X AS THE HOTTEST PEPPER

How spicy is too spicy? If you're familiar with the YouTube talk show Hot Ones, you know there's always a spicier sauce to tantalise the celebrity guests' taste buds. So what better platform to try the world's hottest chilli pepper? Pepper X was grown by Puckerbutt Pepper Co. and can boast an average of 2.693 million Scoville Heat Units (SHU), a measure of pungency for peppers and chiles. Guinness World Records awarded the title of the world's hottest pepper to Pepper X. 

For comparison, Sriracha is 2,200 SHU while Tabasco is 4,000 SHU. To mark the occasion, Ed Currie, founder of Puckerbutt Pepper, visited Hot Ones and was presented with a plaque inscribed with Pepper X's record. Currie, a veteran of the pepper world, also developed the previous record-holder for pepper, the Carolina Reaper, and after 10 years of development, holds the title for the current hottest pepper as well.

Hot Ones host Sean Evans attended a Pepper X tasting with famous pepper eater Chilli Klaus. After roasting, examining and eating the peppers,  they immediately turned red and there were tears in his eyes. "The flavour of Pepper X only lasts for a millisecond, and then the heat is just overwhelming," explained Currie. 

Although you can't currently try pepper for yourself because of its current trademark status, Puckerbutt Pepper Co. does however, offer a variety of sauces using this exciting ingredient. As if that wasn't bold enough, this may not be the end of the road for Currie. He revealed that he has two other pepper varieties that he has started the testing process and they may be even spicier than Pepper X.