We Tried The World's Hottest Pepper And It Didn't Go Very Well

Meet the Carolina Reaper pepper. It's literal hellfire.

By
Ryan Broderick
by Ryan Broderick

BuzzFeed News Reporter

We got a bunch of brave souls together to try a Carolina Reaper pepper this week.

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Why, you might ask? Earlier this month, YouTuber Lizzy Wurst recorded a video that has since gone mega-viral. In the video, Wurst and her friend Sabrina try eating a Reaper pepper.

Twitter: @elizabethwurst

It. Does. Not. Go. Well. For. Them.

Twitter: @elizabethwurst

People couldn't get enough of it, mostly because Wurst and her friend's reactions are completely amazing.

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But also, it made the whole world wonder: Just how spicy is this thing?

Twitter: @Call_MeMeredith

So, for journalism, we decided to find out just how spicy this thing is. TURNS OUT IT'S REALLY SPICY.

For reference, a jalapeño is, like, 3,500 Scovilles — which is the unit of measurement for spiciness. A Carolina Reaper pepper has been named the hottest pepper in the world by Guinness and it clocks in around 2 million Scovilles.

First up, we have Tolani.

Laura Gallant / BuzzFeed

What's the spiciest thing you've ever eaten?

I’m Nigerian so I feel like a lot of my meals are spicy and if the meal’s not spicy, I feel like it makes me feel a bit sick. We have a Nigerian dish, it’s called ayamase, it’s basically a lot of Scotch bonnets and loads of peppers mixed together to make a stew and you have it with rice.

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VERDICT: Not the worst thing that's ever happened or that's gone in my mouth, haha. But yeah, it's spicy.

Then Ryan.

Laura Gallant / BuzzFeed

What's the spiciest thing you've ever eaten?

My mom's side of the family is from Oklahoma, which is kind of like the Canada of Texas, and they all love barbecue and trying different hot sauces. The spiciest thing I've ever eaten was a chili made with Ghost chili peppers — the second-hottest pepper in the world. It made me feel stoned and my face went numb.

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VERDICT: I wanted to eat the whole thing, but that was dumb. Very, very dumb. Honestly, though, I'd put a little bit of this on pizza or something.

Now it's Aisha's turn.

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What's the spiciest thing you've ever eaten?

I used to have chili competitions with my friend. We would try to make the spiciest chutney and we used to even put Naga Morich in it, which is a Bengali spice — and a close cousin of the Ghost chili pepper.

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VERDICT: I underestimated it. It was really hot and I thought I was going to cry.

Laura's up next.

Laura Gallant / BuzzFeed

What's the spiciest thing you've ever eaten?

Growing up in a typical American, semi-Jewish household, there was not much spice going on. My brother did like spicy foods, but that was, like, Sriracha sauce. The spiciest thing I’ve ever eaten would probably be, like, a curry. What’s the spicy one? Vindaloo?

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VERDICT: I thought I was going to throw up.

Also, this happened...

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And finally, Luke.

Laura Gallant / BuzzFeed

What's the spiciest thing you've ever eaten?

I don’t like spicy food. It just doesn’t interest me. The spiciest thing I’ve ever eaten was probably, like, this pasta I ate once that had a load of chilis in it. I don’t know what the fuck they were, but they were chilis.

Laura Gallant / BuzzFeed

VERDICT: It was really hot but, like, I could use it in cooking. My tongue hurt. Hurt quite a lot, but it's also not, like, intolerable.

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