The Carolina Reaper is a cultivar of Capsicum chinense developed by Ed Currie of the PuckerButt Pepper Company in Fort Mill, South Carolina. It was certified as the world’s hottest chilli pepper by Guinness World Records in 2013, measuring over 1.5 million Scoville Heat Units on average, with individual specimens exceeding 2.2 million.
The pepper is small and gnarly, typically red when ripe, with a distinctive pointed tail. Despite its extreme heat, it has a fruity, sweet initial flavour before the capsaicin overwhelms. It’s a cross between a Pakistani Naga pepper and a red habanero type.
Carolina Reapers are used primarily in hot sauces, chilli eating challenges, and by enthusiasts who grow extreme peppers. They’re available dried, as powder, or in sauce form. While novelty drives much of the demand, the pepper has found a niche in the specialty hot sauce market worldwide.
How it's produced
Carolina Reapers are grown like other chilli peppers — as warm-season annuals that need a long, hot growing period. Seeds are started indoors and transplanted after the last frost. The plants prefer full sun, consistent moisture, and well-drained soil. They take longer to mature than milder varieties, typically 90 to 120 days from transplant to harvest.
Peppers are hand-picked when fully ripe (deep red with wrinkled skin). Growers handling Reapers routinely wear gloves, as the capsaicin oil can cause severe skin irritation. The peppers are sold fresh to sauce makers, or dried and ground into powder. Most commercial production is small-scale and specialty, though the variety is grown by home gardeners and chilli enthusiasts in warm climates around the world, including Australia.
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