Seeds and Things 10 Plus Bhut Jolokia Pepper Seeds AKA Ghost Pepper, Pure Strain, Grown in Isolation to Insure Quality Seeds.
In fall of 2006, the Guinness Book of Records confirmed that New Mexico State University Regent's Professor Paul Bosland had indeed discovered the world's hottest chile pepper, Bhut Jolokia. Bhut Jolokia, at 1,001,304 Scoville Heat Units (SHU), is nearly twice as hot as Red Savina, the chile pepper variety it replaces as the world's hottest. A New Mexico green chile contains about 1,500 SHUs and an average jalapeno measures at about 10,000 SHUs."The name Bhut Jolokia translates as 'ghost chile,'" Bosland said, "it's because the chile is so hot, you give up the ghost when you eat it!"According to Bosland, Bhut Jolokia is a naturally occurring inter-specific hybrid indigenous to the Assam region of northeastern India. A member of NMSU's Chile Pepper Institute visiting India sent Bhut Jolokia seeds back to NMSU for testing in 2001. Bosland then grew Bhut Jolokia, Red Savina, and habanero peppers under controlled settings. Bhut Jolokia exhibited significantly higher SHUs, as much as triple the amount, and these findings were confirmed by two independent laboratories.