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Variety Guide
Find Your Heat Level.
Scoville Heat Units (SHU) measure capsaicin, the chemical that brings the burn. A bell pepper sits at zero. A Carolina Reaper clocks in above 2,000,000. Here's how the rest of the spectrum lays out.
0
MILD
10K
MEDIUM
100K
HOT
500K
SUPERHOT
2M+
INSANE
NEW TO SCOVILLE?
HEAT IN PLAIN ENGLISH
Scoville Heat Units originally measured how much sugar water it takes to dilute the burn of a pepper until you can't taste it. A jalapeño needs about 8,000 parts. A Reaper needs over 2 million. Today, most official testing uses lab analysis like HPLC instead of taste panels. Start where you're comfortable every grower's tolerance is different.
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