Pepper X

Pepper X is a cultivar of Capsicum chili pepper bred by the American chili breeder Ed Currie, the creator of the Carolina Reaper. In 2023, Guinness World Records recognized it as the world's hottest chili pepper.

Breeding
The exceptional pungency of the chili was developed over 10 years of cultivation for desired traits to emerge through selective plant breeding, and 10 or more generations for the hybrid chilis to stabilize with the desired intense pungency. The breeder, Ed Currie, produced 100 hybrid crosses per year with the intent that one or two would succeed for the 10-year development cycle.

Pungency
Pepper X resulted from several cross breedings that produced an exceptionally high content of capsaicin in the locules – the plant tissue holding the seeds. The extensive curves and ridges of a Pepper X chili create more surface area for the plant placenta and locules to grow and retain capsaicin, adding to the intensity of heat experienced when a Pepper X is eaten. Ingestion of a Pepper X chili causes intense abdominal cramps and heartburn.

Guinness World Record
On August 23, 2023, Guinness World Records recognized Pepper X as the world's hottest chili pepper, measuring 2.69 million SHU, beating the previous world record of 1.64 million SHU held by the Carolina Reaper, also bred by Currie.