ChilliFacts

Scotch Bonnet Scoville Heat

Scotch Bonnet measures 100,000–350,000 SHU, with a typical figure of 225,000 SHU: about 45× a typical jalapeño. It ranks #12 among verified peppers.

Also called Scotty bons, bonney pepper. Capsicum chinense.

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

225,000 SHUTypical heat
100,000–350,000 SHUMeasured range
45×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 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 SHUScotch Bonnet · 225K1K SHU10K SHU100K SHU1M SHU
Where Scotch Bonnet sits on the Scoville scale. Each dot is a pepper in our dataset, on a log scale.

Where the number comes from

UF/IFAS gives 100,000-350,000. NMSU's Chile Pepper Institute lists 350,000 as the hottest it has tested. Our typical figure is the range midpoint. The naming story is folk etymology and was not sourced to a primary reference.

Origin

Caribbean (especially Jamaica). A Caribbean C. chinense, central to Jamaican jerk cooking. It is commonly said to be named for its resemblance to a Scottish tam o' shanter bonnet.

Flavour and looks

Colours: red, yellow, orange.

Facts

  • The Chile Pepper Institute lists Scotch Bonnet at 350,000 SHU on its list of the hottest peppers it has tested, hotter than its orange habanero entry (250,000). [2]

Hotter and milder

Scotch Bonnet compared

Compare Scotch Bonnet with any other pepper →

Questions

How hot is Scotch Bonnet?

Scotch Bonnet measures 100,000–350,000 SHU, with a typical figure of 225,000 SHU. That makes it a very hot pepper.

How many times hotter is Scotch Bonnet than a jalapeño?

About 45× a typical jalapeño (225,000 vs 5,000 SHU). Against the hottest jalapeños it is about 28×, and against the mildest about 90×.

Is Scotch Bonnet the hottest pepper in the world?

No. It ranks #12 in our verified ranking. The current record holder is Pepper X at 2,693,000 SHU.

Where does Scotch Bonnet come from?

Caribbean (especially Jamaica). A Caribbean C.

Is the Scotch Bonnet heat figure verified?

Lab tested: Measured by a university, government or peer-reviewed lab. UF/IFAS gives 100,000-350,000.

Sources

  1. UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions, 'Peppers Ranked by Heat': 100,000-350,000
  2. NMSU Chile Pepper Institute, 'Heat' page (archived 19 Jun 2021): 350,000 tested
  3. Texas AgriLife Extension (Dr. Joe Masabni), 'Jalapeno & Other Hot Peppers': habanero/Scotch Bonnet 200,000-300,000 average