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Capsicum chinense

Dragon's Breath

Cultivar United Kingdom
Scoville Heat Units 1,800,000
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About this pepper

Dragon's Breath is a Capsicum chinense cultivar developed in the United Kingdom through a collaboration involving Neal Price, NPK Technology, and Nottingham Trent University. The pepper was grown by Mike Smith in St Asaph, Denbighshire, Wales. It was bred primarily to explore the potential use of capsaicin-rich peppers as a natural skin-numbing agent for medical applications.

The cultivar gained public attention after being entered into the 2017 Chelsea Flower Show as part of the Plant of the Year competition. Its name references the Welsh dragon, reflecting both its origin and extreme heat.

Unofficial claims suggested heat levels as high as 2.48 million Scoville Heat Units, though these figures were never scientifically validated. More conservative and widely accepted estimates place its heat at around 1,800,000 SHU, comparable to other super-hot Capsicum chinense cultivars.

Dragon's Breath is notable for its extremely high capsaicin concentration and its role in experimental research rather than culinary use. It is recognised as a stabilised modern cultivar.