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The Scoville heat unit is the closest thing to a standard for measuring the heat in a pepper. It is a measurement that involves adding sugar to a solution until one can no longer taste the pepper. The more sugar, the higher the spice, the greater measurement in Scoville units. Created in 1912, there are now more scientific measurements, but they generally use the Scoville units.

The following chart is an approximation of heat, used to compare the relative spiciness of peppers. I have constructed it, referencing two charts.

Pepper TypeHeat rating (in Scoville heat units)
Habanero200,000-300,000
Red Amazon75,000
Pequin75,000
Chiltecepin70,000-75,000
Tabasco30,00-50,000
Cayenne35,000
Arbol25,000
Japone25,000
Smoked Jalepeno (Chipotle)10,000
Serrano7,000-25,000
Puya5,000
Guajillo5,000
Jalepeno3,500-4,500
Poblano2,500-3,000
Pasilla2,500
TAM Mild Jalepeno-11,000-1,500
Anaheim1,000-1,400
New Mexican1,000
Ancho1,000
Bell & Pimento0


0-5,000: Mild5,000-20,000: Medium
20,000-70,000: Hot70,000-300,000: Extremely Hot


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corey@wiw.org