With 1,001,304 Scoville Heat Units, the Bhut Jolokia cultivated at New Mexico State University is now certified as the hottest known chile pepper.

Apparently the existence of the pepper has been publicized since 2000 by the Associated Press in an article called "Assam Chile named Hottest in the World". Rumours were that the pepper has about 500 to 800 thousand SHUs, though the claims cannot be verified. Seeds were then sent to NMSU's Chile Pepper Institute in 2001 for testing. But the fruit was hard to grow, so only recently did they gather enough of it.

The previous record holder is the Red Savina, which clocked in at 580,000 Scoville units. The Red Savina is a variety of Capsicum chinense, commonly known as habaneros, and is two to four times as hot as normal habaneros. The scientific name for the habanero is a misnomer: there are no members of the Capiscum family native to China, and the name was given by Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin of Austria based on his erroneous belief.

Interestingly, the new Bhut Jolokia ("Ghost Chile") is a member of Capsicum frutescens; so amoung its cousins like cayenne and tabasco, it really is the odd one out for having such intense heat. Its heat is also highly variable, depending on cultivation techniques. The same species grown in Assam versus in Madhya Pradesh can have a 50 percent difference in heat. Its other names include Bih Jolokia (Poisonous pepper) and Raja Mirchi (King of peppers), as well as the more comman Naja Jolokia.