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Four Indian scientists have discovered that a type of chili pepper grown in the country’s northeast has one of the highest Scoville units of pure capsaicin — a measure of hotness.
This chilli pepper is called the Tezpur chili pepper, after the area where it is grown; scientists say the pepper has beaten Mexico’s Red Savina Habanero, widely acclaimed as the hottest chili pepper in the world.
The Tezpur chilli was rated having 855,000 Scoville units whereas the Mexican chilli contains 557,000 Scoville units of pure capsaicin. This chilli pepper is however not the hottest as that to date is still the Dorset Naga with a Scoville reading of 923,000.
Tezpur lies on the banks of the river Brahmaputra about 112 miles from Guwahati, the main city of Assam, which is better known for its flavoursome tea than its chili peppers.
India is one of the world’s top producers of chili peppers, exporting an estimated 35 tonnes a year.
