Is Dorset Naga the hottest chilli ever measured? Possibly. Peppers by Post is a small market garden that grows and sells fresh chillies by post throughout Great Britain. Started by us, Joy and Michael Michaud, in 1996, it is favourably located by the sea in west Dorset. Our pride and joy is the Dorset Naga, an exceptionally hot Scotch Bonnet relative. It was originally selected from Naga Morich, a chilli that is highly regarded among Britain’s Bangladeshi community and is widely available in shops catering to their culinary needs. In the summer of 2005, a sample of Dorset Naga was collected and subsequently tested for heat by two laboratories in the USA. The average of the two results, measured in Scoville Heat Units (SHU), was an astounding 923,000 SHU. Confirming the 2005 results, our 2006 crop of Dorset Naga was measured this autumn and came out to be 960,000 SHU. A second test in a different laboratory is still pending. High as our results were, BBC “Gardeners’ World” has recorded an even higher level. As part of its 2006 programming, the BBC gardening team ran a chilli trial looking at several varieties, including Dorset Naga. Heat levels were tested in a British laboratory and the Dorset Naga came in at almost 1.6 million SHU (see http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/tv_and_radio/factsheets/pages/46.shtml). However, few details about the sampling and testing techniques are available, and we are not fully confident of the extreme figure of 1.6 million – although the true level is still likely to be considerably higher than a million. To put these figures in context, up until last year the Guinness world record for the hottest chilli was held by the Red Savina chilli, with a one-time measurement of 577,000 SHU. Joy and Michael Michaud
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