Dragon's Breath Pepper, a 2.48M SHU Claim Never Verified

Is Dragon's Breath hotter than the Carolina Reaper?

Nobody has shown it, and you should be wary of any page that says otherwise. In May 2017 the BBC reported a Scoville rating of 2.4 million for Dragon's Breath, and CBS News reported 2.48 million a few days later, but neither named who ran the test³⁴. Both said the growers were still waiting for Guinness to confirm it.

A number without a tester is a claim; the only peppers with a confirmed hottest-chilli title on this table are the Carolina Reaper and Pepper X.

Even the people selling you the seed say so. Sandia Seed's page says nobody has proven Dragon's Breath to be the world's hottest pepper and that there isn't much solid information yet about its average heat range or stability¹. Pepper Joe's writes that it hasn't officially dethroned the Carolina Reaper and that unofficial tests report above 2.4 million².

1. November 2013

   Guinness confirms the Carolina Reaper as the hottest chilli, at an average of 1,569,300 SHU.⁵

2. May 2017

   BBC and CBS report Dragon's Breath at 2.4–2.48 million SHU, with a Guinness application pending.³⁴

3. October 2023

   Guinness names Pepper X the hottest chilli, at 2,693,000 SHU, after tests at Winthrop University.⁶

If the 2017 figure ever held up, it would still sit below today's record: 2,480,000 is about 92 % of Pepper X's 2,693,000. For how the title has moved from pepper to pepper, the record history covers each confirmed holder.

What would it take to confirm Dragon's Breath's heat?

A real test looks very different from a headline, and you can use it as a yardstick for any claim. Guinness's hottest-chilli rules ask for heat measured in Scoville heat units and in American Spice Trade Association pungency units⁷, and both its recent records name the lab behind them, such as Winthrop University for Pepper X⁶.

NMSU's test of the Bhut Jolokia shows the standard a serious result meets. The researchers grew the pepper in replicated field plots beside known control peppers, bulked 25 random ripe pods from at least 10 plants in each replication, ran the dried powder through HPLC, and sent samples to two commercial labs to check their numbers⁸. Both outside labs came back in the same range.

Score Dragon's Breath against that list and the 2017 reports tick none of the boxes. You aren't calling anyone a liar by noticing that; you're just reading the evidence. The pepper may well be fiercely hot, and only a published test can tell you how hot.

Who grew the first Dragon's Breath?

A Welsh grower working with someone else's plant, which is why you'll see two names attached to it. The BBC reported that Mike Smith of St Asaph in Denbighshire was growing the Dragon's Breath, which belonged to Nottinghamshire chilli farmer Neal Price³. Smith had borrowed the plant about three months earlier.

Price, the BBC said, grew it using a new plant food developed with Nottingham Trent University, and the pepper was due to go on show at the Chelsea Flower Show³. That's the university's whole role in the reports we read: the plant food, not the heat test. We found no statement from the university about the pepper's Scoville rating.

Seed sellers tell it differently. Sandia Seed credits Mike Smith and says he developed the pepper with researchers at the University of Nottingham¹, a different university from the one the BBC named. Pepper Joe's says breeders developed it in the UK and named it after the Welsh dragon². When you read a story about this pepper, check whose version it repeats.

Could a chili really numb skin like an anaesthetic?

That was Mike Smith's idea, not a finding. He told the BBC the pepper's oil can numb the skin, so it might serve as an alternative to anaesthetic in poorer countries or for people allergic to anaesthetic drugs³. CBS repeated the same suggestion⁴.

No trial, paper or university statement we found tests Dragon's Breath as a medicine. The idea stays a grower's hope, and nothing you should try at home. Putting superhot oil on your skin causes burning, and Poison Control's advice for that is washing, not more pepper⁹.

If you're curious why capsaicin burns at all, the heat science guide explains the receptor behind it.

What does a Dragon's Breath pod look like?

Small, red and bumpy, and you'd struggle to pick it out of a tray of other superhots. Sandia Seed describes peppers 1 to 2 inches long that taper to a point, with red bumpy skin and a strong floral aroma; Pepper Joe's lists bright red 2-inch pods¹².

You won't tell it apart from a dozen other red superhots by eye. A small, pointed, bumpy red pod could just as well be a scorpion type or a red 7 Pot, so buy seed from a named seller and label your plants from the day you sow.

What does it taste like, and can you eat one?

Fruity for a moment, then very hot for a long time, if you believe the one person on record who tried it. Neal Price, who tasted it, told the BBC it had an initial fruity flavour, then stayed extremely hot for about half an hour; Mike Smith hadn't tasted it³. Pepper Joe's also describes a fruity, sweet taste that the heat overwhelms².

The growers themselves called it too hot for human consumption, according to CBS⁴. Take that seriously. If you grow one, use it the way you'd use any superhot: a sliver in a big pot of sauce, never a whole pod on a dare.

Wear rubber, latex or nitrile gloves whenever you cut one, as Poison Control advises for any hot pepper⁹. Capsaicin oil clings to bare skin, and you'll find out the hard way the next time you touch your eyes.

• Fruity
• Floral aroma
• Superhot

How do you grow Dragon's Breath from seed?

Like any slow C. chinense: you'll need steady heat, bright light and patience. Sandia Seed's planting notes give you the numbers¹:

1. 1

   Sow shallow

   Place seeds in sterile seed-starting mix and cover them 1/4 inch deep.¹

2. 2

   Give bottom heat

   Keep the tray at 85 °F with bright light and the mix moist at all times.¹

3. 3

   Wait for sprouts

   Expect germination in 14–28 days; slow seed is normal for this species.¹

4. 4

   Plan the season

   Count on 100 days by Sandia's listing or 110–120+ by Pepper Joe's before ripe pods.¹²

5. 5

   Give it room

   Plants grow over 3 feet tall in Sandia's notes and about 4 feet in Pepper Joe's, so pot or space them accordingly.¹²

In a short summer, start your seed indoors in late winter so the plant has time to ripen pods before autumn cold. The Carolina Reaper growing guide covers the same long-season routine for superhots in more depth, from hardening off to the first ripe pod.

Your plant's heat will also depend on your garden. NMSU's Bhut Jolokia paper notes that the environment where a pepper grows affects how much capsaicin its pods build⁸, so a Dragon's Breath raised on a cool British windowsill and one grown in a hot, dry summer may taste very different.

Don't expect every plant to match. Sandia warns there's little solid information on this pepper's stability¹, so pods from your plant may differ from the last grower's, in shape as well as heat.

Which record-claim pepper should you trust?

Trust the ones with a named tester. Here's what you actually know about each famous superhot claim, so you can choose your seed with your eyes open:

If you want a superhot you can grow from seed with a confirmed number behind it, the Reaper is the safer pick. If you want to grow Dragon's Breath for its story, go ahead; just label your sauce with the heat you can taste, not the heat the headlines promised.

Where to go after Dragon's Breath

Grow one plant if you're curious, and grow a Carolina Reaper beside it so you have a confirmed reference pod in the same soil and weather. To see every superhot in the index sorted by its measured heat, open the superhot list.