Imagine an unusual pepper. It has a common green and yellow hue, but they aren’t solid. They fade down the sides and taper off at a point. This pepper doesn’t have the classic deep green of a Jalapeno, or a wider body like the Poblano. Instead, it’s a short, stubby pepper that has a goosebumps-like texture. This unique pepper is the hottest pepper in the world: Pepper X.

Pepper X has heated up the pepper world following its release on October 9th by Ed Curry, the “spice king” and pepper breeder; he also bred the former hottest pepper in the world, the Carolina Reaper. The latter is currently still set in the Guinness World Record as the hottest pepper, clocking in at 1.6 million Scoville units — a measurement for spice and heat. However, the newly acclaimed Pepper X destroys the Reaper’s heat with a spice level of almost 2.7 million Scoville. Ed Curry and his breeding grounds are rooted in South Carolina, although in this instance, he needed a little help from Michigan. According to Curry, Pepper X was created by taking a “brutally hot” pepper that his friend from Michigan sent him and combining it with his famous Carolina Reaper. 

Curry, being one of the only people who has tried Pepper X, provided a description of how it feels once this impactful pepper touches one’s taste buds. Ed describes immediate and intense heat that lasts for almost two to three hours. Then, the cramps start. Curry explains how after eating Pepper X, he experienced intense cramping that kept him up for another hour. However, for those with a high tolerance like Curry, Pepper X should have a slightly sweet and earthy flavor once the heat subsides. Although, it seems unlikely that anyone could build up a heat tolerance like Curry, who has been breeding peppers for all of his life.   

This process has been years in the making for Curry, who has been breading peppers and trying to perfect Pepper X for years. The small pepper clearly packs more than a punch, and as stated, Ed is only one of five people to try Pepper X so far, but that probably won’t be the case for long. Quick internet sensations are common, especially when involving heat. The Carolina Reaper became a trend with people trying the pepper to test their taste buds, along with other hot trends involving hot sauce or the one-chip challenge. Because of this reoccurrence, Ed Curry wants to ensure products with this pepper are made with his approval to make sure that Pepper X is used correctly and that people don’t piggyback off of what he and his farm have created. With the world and the internet seemingly fascinated by heat in the kitchen, it won’t take long for Pepper X to catch fire.