ChilliFacts

Komodo Dragon Scoville Heat

Komodo Dragon measures up to 1,400,000 SHU, with a typical figure of 1,400,000 SHU: about 280× a typical jalapeño.

Capsicum chinense.

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

1,400,000 SHUTypical heat
up to 1,400,000 SHUMeasured range
280×Against a jalapeño
Breeder claimStatus
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 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 SHUKomodo Dragon · 1.4M1K SHU10K SHU100K SHU1M SHU
Where Komodo Dragon sits on the Scoville scale. Each dot is a pepper in our dataset, on a log scale.

Where the number comes from

Tesco claimed it measures 'up to 1.4 million' SHU, a maximum. The 1.4-2.2 million range on blogs looks borrowed from the Carolina Reaper. No lab or test data was published.

Origin

Blunham, Bedfordshire, UK. Grown for Tesco by Salvatore Genovese, the UK's largest chilli grower. It went on sale in about 500 Tesco stores from 12 Aug 2015, billed as Britain's hottest commercially grown chilli. [1]

Flavour and looks

Fruity.

Colours: red.

Delayed, then builds, similar to a 7 Pot

Facts

  • It was sold in UK supermarkets (Tesco), unusual for a super-hot. [2]

Hotter and milder

Komodo Dragon compared

Compare Komodo Dragon with any other pepper →

Questions

How hot is Komodo Dragon?

Komodo Dragon measures up to 1,400,000 SHU, with a typical figure of 1,400,000 SHU. That puts it among the superhots, peppers above 1 million SHU.

How many times hotter is Komodo Dragon than a jalapeño?

About 280× a typical jalapeño (1,400,000 vs 5,000 SHU). Against the hottest jalapeños it is about 175×, and against the mildest about 560×.

Is Komodo Dragon the hottest pepper in the world?

No. Number published by a breeder or seller; no independent lab named. The verified record holder is Pepper X at 2,693,000 SHU.

Where does Komodo Dragon come from?

Blunham, Bedfordshire, UK. Grown for Tesco by Salvatore Genovese, the UK's largest chilli grower.

Is the Komodo Dragon heat figure verified?

Breeder claim: Number published by a breeder or seller; no independent lab named. Tesco claimed it measures 'up to 1.4 million' SHU, a maximum.

Sources

  1. Tesco PLC press release, 12 Aug 2015: launch and 'up to 1.4 million' claim (secondary source)
  2. Chili Pepper Madness, Jun 2017: grower, launch, delayed heat; 1.4-2.2M range (secondary source)