ChilliFacts

Dragon's Breath Scoville Heat

Dragon's Breath measures up to 2,480,000 SHU, with a typical figure of 2,480,000 SHU: about 496× a typical jalapeño.

Capsicum chinense.

Data checked October 20, 2026 · How we rank and verify

2,480,000 SHUTypical heat
up to 2,480,000 SHUMeasured range
496×Against a jalapeño
UnverifiedStatus
Pepper X: 2,693,000 SHUCarolina Reaper: 1,641,183 SHUTrinidad Scorpion Butch T: 1,463,700 SHU7 Pot Primo: 1,400,000 SHUKomodo Dragon: 1,400,000 SHUNaga Viper: 1,382,118 SHUTrinidad Moruga Scorpion: 1,200,000 SHUInfinity: 1,176,182 SHU7 Pot Brain Strain: 1,175,000 SHU7 Pot Douglah: 1,170,000 SHUDorset Naga: 1,032,310 SHUGhost Pepper: 1,001,304 SHUNaga Morich: 1,000,000 SHUDalle Khursani: 393,950 SHUFatalii: 262,500 SHURed Savina: 248,556 SHUHabanero: 225,000 SHUScotch Bonnet: 225,000 SHUDatil: 200,000 SHUKanthari: 80,640 SHUBird's Eye Chilli: 75,000 SHUCayenne: 40,000 SHUTabasco: 40,000 SHUGuntur Chilli: 36,160 SHUKashmiri Chilli: 20,800 SHUSerrano: 15,000 SHUByadgi Chilli: 10,000 SHUJalapeño: 5,000 SHUDragon's Breath · 2.48M1K SHU10K SHU100K SHU1M SHU
Where Dragon's Breath sits on the Scoville scale. Each dot is a pepper in our dataset, on a log scale.

Where the number comes from

The BBC reported 'a Scoville scale rating of 2.4 million'. Other outlets say 2.48 million, described as tested 'unofficially'. No lab, sample size, method or report was published, and Guinness never recognised it. We list it as a claim, not in the ranking.

Origin

St Asaph, Denbighshire (Wales) and Nottinghamshire, UK. Owned by Nottinghamshire chilli farmer Neal Price and grown by hobbyist Mike Smith of St Asaph for the 2017 Chelsea Flower Show. It came out of a trial of a plant food developed with Nottingham Trent University. It is named after the Welsh dragon. [1]

Flavour and looks

Initial fruity flavour.

Colours: red.

Then 'extremely hot for about half an hour' (Neal Price, BBC)

Facts

  • Smith said he had not tasted it. The BBC reported he hoped it could serve as an alternative to anaesthetic in developing countries. [1]
  • Widely repeated claims that it 'can kill you' were overstated. The warning was a generic one about choking or anaphylaxis in allergic people. [2]

Record history

  • 2017-05-17: Claimed (BBC) as the 'world's hottest' at 2.4M SHU. Never certified.

Hotter and milder

Dragon's Breath compared

Compare Dragon's Breath with any other pepper →

Questions

How hot is Dragon's Breath?

Dragon's Breath measures up to 2,480,000 SHU, with a typical figure of 2,480,000 SHU. That puts it among the superhots, peppers above 1 million SHU.

How many times hotter is Dragon's Breath than a jalapeño?

About 496× a typical jalapeño (2,480,000 vs 5,000 SHU). Against the hottest jalapeños it is about 310×, and against the mildest about 992×.

Is Dragon's Breath the hottest pepper in the world?

No. Claimed in the media; no lab, method or report published. The verified record holder is Pepper X at 2,693,000 SHU.

Where does Dragon's Breath come from?

St Asaph, Denbighshire (Wales) and Nottinghamshire, UK. Owned by Nottinghamshire chilli farmer Neal Price and grown by hobbyist Mike Smith of St Asaph for the 2017 Chelsea Flower Show.

Is the Dragon's Breath heat figure verified?

Unverified: Claimed in the media; no lab, method or report published. The BBC reported 'a Scoville scale rating of 2.4 million'.

Sources

  1. BBC News, 17 May 2017: 2.4M claim; people; purpose; flavour (secondary source)
  2. Wikipedia, Dragon's Breath (chili pepper): 2.48M 'unofficially tested'; not recognised by Guinness (secondary source)
  3. Chili Pepper Madness, Feb 2022: notes nothing has been scientifically proven about its heat (secondary source)