‘Dragon’s Breath’ Chili Is The New World’s Hottest Pepper

Dragon’s Breath chili – hottest in world – developed in North Waleshttps://t.co/QFGvSb6Qye

— Daily Post Wales (@dailypostwales) May 16, 2017

Up until today, the world’s hottest chili pepper has been known to be the Carolina Reaper. Dialing in at around 2.2 million Scoville heat units, this chili would easily blow your mouth away. You could still consume it at caution, however.

That’s not the case with this new weapons-grade chili that easily eclipses the Reaper in terms of heat. It’s so potent that it has to be kept in a sealed container and nobody has actually orally consumed it yet out of fear that it could actually kill you.

This new pepper, called the “Dragon’s Breath” chili, was developed by hobby grower Mike Smith and Nottingham University, according to the Daily Post. The team is expecting a confirmation letter from the Guinness Book of Records to officially name their pepper as the world’s spiciest.

At 2.48 million Scoville heat units, the Dragon’s Breath is more potent than law-enforcement grade pepper spray and dangerous to consume because it could literally burn your airways, forcing them to close up and inducing anaphylactic shock. The creators haven’t dared to eat it themselves, but one did put it on the tip of their tongue and reportedly spat it out after 10 seconds due to the intensity of its heat.

While you may not want to eat this chili (or do, if you’ve got insane heat tolerance and a love for crazy-hot peppers), it was actually developed for medicinal purposes, as the oils from the chili are so potent that they can actually numb the skin, giving it a use as a topical anesthetic for those who are allergic to current painkillers out there.

The Dragon’s Breath will be displayed at the Chelsea Flower Show next week, but there’s no telling yet if or when this will be available for people to order and consume. My guess is that not very many people will want to given how fiery it is.