Jalapeños are not the hottest pepper. That's a misconception. There are actually a lot of peppers that are hotter than a jalapeño. A serrano, cayenne (which we used to grow in our backyard garden), tabasco, Thai chili, habanero (which Pete uses in his fra diavolo sauce), scotch bonnet, ghost pepper, and Carolina reaper, in that order. The Carolina reaper is the hottest pepper, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. So if you don't want heat, stay away from those. The Carolina reaper, while we're talking about it, is the pepper used in every level of heat at Dave's Hot Chicken.