The Carolina Reaper is a crossbreed pepper created from a La Soufriere pepper and a Naga Viper pepper that was named due to its tail shape. It has an initially sweet taste that quickly turns to a burning, molten lava sensation. The Reaper's intense heat comes from high density of capsaicinoids, particularly capsaicin, which determines Scoville Heat Units. The pepper was bred by Ed Currie in South Carolina and certified by Guinness World Records in 2017 as the hottest pepper in the world, surpassing the previous record holder Trinidad Scorpion 'Butch T' with an average heat of 1,641,183 SHU.

1. The crossbreed is between a "really nastily hot" La Soufriere pepper from Saint Vincent and a Naga
Viper pepper from Pakistan,[3]
and was named "Reaper" due to the shape of its tail. It has been
described as having a fruity taste, with the initial bite being sweet and then immediately turning to
"molten lava".[4][5]
The sensory heat or pungency detected when eating a Carolina Reaper derives
from the density of capsaicinoids, particularly capsaicin, which relates directly to the intensity of chili
pepper heat and Scoville Heat Units (SHU).[6]
The pepper was bred in a greenhouse in Rock Hill, South Carolina, by Ed Currie, proprietor of the
Puckerbutt Pepper Company in Fort Mill. It was certified as the world's hottest chili pepper
by Guinness World Records on August 11, 2017,[7][8]
surpassing the previous record set by
the Trinidad Scorpion "Butch T". The official Guinness World Record heat level was 1,641,183 SHU
in 2017, according to tests conducted by Winthrop University in South Carolina. The figure is an
average for the tested batch; the hottest individual pepper was measured at 2.2 million SHU.[8][9]