1/5
Low Heat
Jalapeño / Serrano
0–25,000 SHU bandMatt's Heat Ratings
The Fire & Flavor Heat Scale
Fire & Flavor's five-level heat model groups catalog peppers from jalapeño and serrano through Carolina Reaper and Pepper X, then averages the recognized peppers' 1-5 tiers for multi-pepper sauces.
The SHU values describe raw pepper potential. Finished sauce heat can shift dramatically with pepper percentage, dilution, processing, fermentation, ripeness, and batch variation.
2/5
Cayenne Heat
Cayenne / Thai Chile
25,001–99,999 SHU band
3/5
Habanero Heat
Habanero / Scotch Bonnet
100,000–699,999 SHU band
4/5
Ghost Heat
Ghost Pepper / 7 Pot
700,000–1,399,999 SHU band
5/5
Reaper Heat
Carolina Reaper and hotter
1,400,000+ SHU bandPepper Research
Peppers Currently Named in the Archive
| Pepper | Estimated SHU | Scale | Sauces | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bell Pepper | 0 | 1/5 | 10 | High |
| HabanadaCornell-bred heatless C. chinense with habanero-like aroma. | 0 | 1/5 | 1 | High |
| Sichuan PepperNot a Capsicum pepper. Its tingling sensation comes primarily from sanshools rather than capsaicin. | 0 | 1/5 | 5 | High |
| Yellow Bell Pepper | 0 | 1/5 | 1 | High |
| Carmen Sweet Pepper | 0–500 | 1/5 | 2 | High |
| Paprika Pepper | 0–1,000 | 1/5 | 2 | Medium |
| Anaheim | 500–2,500 | 1/5 | 1 | High |
| Poblano | 1,000–2,000 | 1/5 | 2 | High |
| Ancho | 1,000–2,500 | 1/5 | 5 | High |
| Pasilla | 1,000–2,500 | 1/5 | 1 | Medium |
| Bulgarian PepperGeneric Bulgarian pepper label; cultivar can vary. | 0–5,000 | 1/5 | 1 | Low |
| Cherry Bomb Pepper | 2,500–5,000 | 1/5 | 5 | Medium |
| Guajillo | 2,500–5,000 | 1/5 | 3 | High |
| Hatch Green ChileHatch identifies a growing region and includes cultivars with differing heat. | 1,000–8,000 | 1/5 | 5 | Medium |
| New Mexico Chile | 500–10,000 | 1/5 | 1 | Medium |
| Korean Chili FlakeGochugaru heat varies by cultivar, seed content, and grind. | 1,500–10,000 | 1/5 | 8 | Low |
| ChipotleChipotle is a smoke-dried ripe jalapeño. | 2,500–10,000 | 1/5 | 20 | High |
| Fresno | 2,500–10,000 | 1/5 | 4 | Medium |
| Jalapeño | 2,500–10,000 | 1/5 | 52 | High |
| MoritaA smoked ripe jalapeño type. | 2,500–10,000 | 1/5 | 1 | Medium |
| Red Jalapeño | 2,500–10,000 | 1/5 | 15 | High |
| Serrano | 10,000–25,000 | 1/5 | 20 | High |
| Aji Lemon Drop | 15,000–30,000 | 2/5 | 1 | Medium |
| Barker's Xtra Hot New Mexico Chile | 15,000–30,000 | 2/5 | 2 | Low |
| Calabrian Chile | 25,000–40,000 | 2/5 | 1 | Medium |
| Red Chili FlakeGeneric flakes may blend multiple cultivars. | 15,000–50,000 | 2/5 | 3 | Low |
| Aji Amarillo | 30,000–50,000 | 2/5 | 1 | Medium |
| Cayenne | 30,000–50,000 | 2/5 | 25 | High |
| Green Cayenne | 30,000–50,000 | 2/5 | 1 | Medium |
| Tabasco Pepper | 30,000–50,000 | 2/5 | 1 | High |
| Aji LimoAji Pepper Sauce publishes a 30,000–60,000 SHU range. | 30,000–60,000 | 2/5 | 1 | High |
| Chiltepin | 50,000–100,000 | 2/5 | 2 | Medium |
| Thai Chile | 50,000–100,000 | 2/5 | 6 | Medium |
| Aji RocotoAji Pepper Sauce publishes a 100,000–250,000 SHU range for Rocoto. | 100,000–250,000 | 3/5 | 7 | High |
| DatilUF/IFAS testing found maturity-dependent results from about 61,500 to 123,000 SHU, while broader references extend to 300,000. | 60,000–300,000 | 3/5 | 3 | High |
| KS Lemon Starrburst | 100,000–300,000 | 3/5 | 1 | Low |
| Habanero | 100,000–350,000 | 3/5 | 94 | High |
| Scotch Bonnet | 100,000–350,000 | 3/5 | 15 | High |
| Smoked Habanero | 100,000–350,000 | 3/5 | 1 | Medium |
| Fatalii | 125,000–400,000 | 3/5 | 2 | Medium |
| Red Savina Habanero | 350,000–577,000 | 3/5 | 2 | High |
| Chocolate HabaneroNMSU lists tested Chocolate Habanero values up to roughly 700,000 SHU. | 425,000–700,000 | 3/5 | 10 | High |
| Chocolate Ghost Pepper | 800,000–1,200,000 | 4/5 | 1 | Medium |
| 7 Pot PepperGeneric 7 Pot entry. Individual cultivars vary and some exceed this range. | 780,000–1,300,000 | 4/5 | 1 | Medium |
| Leviathan Pepper | 800,000–1,300,000 | 4/5 | 1 | Low |
| Scorpion Red TailCultivar identity and published testing are inconsistent. | 800,000–1,400,000 | 4/5 | 3 | Low |
| Ghost PepperPenn State lists approximately 750,000-1,500,000 SHU; NMSU cites roughly 1 million SHU. | 750,000–1,500,000 | 4/5 | 48 | High |
| Chocolate Scorpion | 800,000–1,500,000 | 4/5 | 2 | Low |
| Scorpion PepperGeneric scorpion label; named cultivars can test substantially hotter. | 800,000–1,500,000 | 4/5 | 13 | Medium |
| 7 Pot PrimoPlaced in Matt’s 4/5 7 Pot tier even though published ranges can overlap the Reaper threshold. | 1,200,000–1,470,000 | 4/5 | 2 | Medium |
| Death Spiral Pepper | 1,200,000–1,500,000 | 4/5 | 1 | Low |
| Chocolate Douglah | 923,000–1,850,000 | 4/5 | 1 | Medium |
| Apocalypse ScorpionSuperhot Scorpion cultivar; published values vary and overlap the Reaper threshold. | 1,200,000–1,600,000 | 4/5 | 1 | Low |
| Chocolate BhutlahSuperhot hybrid with widely varying reported results; retained in Matt’s ghost/superhot tier. | 800,000–2,000,000 | 4/5 | 1 | Low |
| Trinidad ScorpionA superhot Scorpion-type pepper placed in Matt's 4/5 ghost-tier band because it generally sits below the Carolina Reaper anchor, though individual tests and cultivars can overlap. | 1,200,000–2,000,000 | 4/5 | 4 | High |
| Carolina ReaperGuinness reported tested averages near 1.57-1.64 million SHU. | 1,400,000–2,200,000 | 5/5 | 48 | High |
| Chocolate Reaper | 1,400,000–2,200,000 | 5/5 | 1 | Medium |
| Yellow Reaper | 1,400,000–2,200,000 | 5/5 | 1 | Medium |
| Apollo PepperProprietary superhot hybrid without a stable public laboratory range; placed at Reaper tier based on maker positioning. | 1,400,000–3,000,000 | 5/5 | 1 | Low |
| Dragon's BreathWidely repeated claimed figure; not recognized as a verified Guinness record. | 2,480,000 | 5/5 | 5 | Low |
| Pepper XGuinness-recognized average based on Winthrop University testing. | 2,693,000 | 5/5 | 1 | High |
| Chili ExtractExtract potency varies too widely to estimate without a stated SHU or concentration. | Not published / too variable | Manual review | 1 | Low |
| Chili PepperGeneric pepper wording does not identify a cultivar. | Not published / too variable | Manual review | 2 | Low |
| Racha PepperProprietary cultivar. Racha Organics publishes mild, medium, and hot sauce tiers but no numeric SHU range. | Not published / too variable | Manual review | 3 | Low |
How sauce ratings are calculated
- Match every named pepper in the sauce profile to a researched SHU range.
- Place each recognized pepper in one of Matt's five anchored SHU bands.
- Average those 1-5 pepper tiers when multiple pepper types are listed.
- Round the result to the nearest whole Fire & Flavor rating while retaining the SHU midpoint average as supporting context.
When a catalog record starts with generic wording such as “chili pepper,” the build checks product-level maker research before assigning a score. Proprietary peppers and archived products without published SHU testing use clearly marked maker-tier or product-research estimates with confidence levels and source links.