ChilliFacts

Kanthari Scoville Heat

Kanthari measures 80,640 SHU, with a typical figure of 80,640 SHU: about 16× a typical jalapeño. It ranks #14 among verified peppers.

Also called Kanthari mulaku, white kanthari. Capsicum frutescens.

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

80,640 SHUTypical heat
80,640 SHUMeasured range
16×Against a jalapeño
Lab testedStatus
Pepper X: 2,693,000 SHUDragon's Breath: 2,480,000 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 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 SHUKanthari · 80,6401K SHU10K SHU100K SHU1M SHU
Where Kanthari sits on the Scoville scale. Each dot is a pepper in our dataset, on a log scale.

Where the number comes from

Derived from the Spices Board's 0.504% capsaicin for 'Kanthari-White' (5,040 ppm x 16 = 80,640 SHU). ASTA colour is 2.96, as expected for an ivory chilli. No dedicated peer-reviewed SHU study was found. Blogs quote 50,000-100,000.

Origin

Kerala and parts of Tamil Nadu, India. A small, very pungent bird chilli grown mainly as a homestead crop in Kerala. The white (ivory) form is especially prized. [1]

Flavour and looks

Colours: ivory white, red, green.

Facts

  • The Spices Board describes Kanthari-White as 'short and ivory white in colour with high pungency', grown mainly as a homestead crop and sold year-round. [1]
  • Kanthari has no GI registration on the Spices Board's list (as of Sep 2026). The Kerala chilli on that list is Edayur Chilli. [2]

Hotter and milder

Kanthari compared

Compare Kanthari with any other pepper →

Part of our guide to Indian chilli varieties.

Questions

How hot is Kanthari?

Kanthari measures 80,640 SHU, with a typical figure of 80,640 SHU. That makes it a hot pepper.

How many times hotter is Kanthari than a jalapeño?

About 16× a typical jalapeño (80,640 vs 5,000 SHU). Against the hottest jalapeños it is about 10×, and against the mildest about 32×.

Is Kanthari the hottest pepper in the world?

No. It ranks #14 in our verified ranking. The current record holder is Pepper X at 2,693,000 SHU.

Where does Kanthari come from?

Kerala and parts of Tamil Nadu, India. A small, very pungent bird chilli grown mainly as a homestead crop in Kerala.

Is the Kanthari heat figure verified?

Lab tested: Measured by a university, government or peer-reviewed lab. Derived from the Spices Board's 0.504% capsaicin for 'Kanthari-White' (5,040 ppm x 16 = 80,640 SHU).

Sources

  1. Spices Board India, Chilli spice catalogue (archived 8 Jun 2026): description, capsaicin 0.504%, ASTA 2.96
  2. Spices Board India, 'List of GI Tags Registered for Spices' (as of 15/09/2026): no Kanthari GI
  3. Bosland & Baral, HortScience 42(2):222-224 (2007), New Mexico State University: ppm x 16 conversion