Trinidad Moruga Scorpion

The Trinidad Moruga scorpion (a cultivar of Capsicum chinense) is a chili pepper native to the village of Moruga, Trinidad and Tobago. In 2012, New Mexico State University's Chile Pepper Institute identified the Trinidad Moruga scorpion as the hottest chili pepper at that time, with heat of 1.2 million Scoville heat units (SHUs). Paul Bosland, a chili pepper expert and director of the Chile Pepper Institute, said, "You take a bite. It doesn't seem so bad, and then it builds and it builds and it builds. So it is quite nasty." Aside from the heat, the Trinidad Moruga scorpion has a tender fruit-like flavor, which makes it a sweet-hot combination.