Red Savina pepper

Red Savina
A Red Savina habanero, at near-optimum ripeness. Note characteristic deep red color.
Species	Capsicum chinense
Cultivar	'Red Savina'
Origin	California, United States
Heat	Exceptionally hot
Scoville scale	248,556 SHU

The Red Savina pepper is a cultivar of the habanero chili (Capsicum chinense Jacquin), which has been selectively bred to produce hotter, heavier, and larger fruit.

Frank Garcia of GNS Spices, in Walnut, California, is credited with being the developer of the Red Savina habanero. The exact method Garcia used to select the hottest strains is not publicly known.

The Red Savina was protected by the U.S. Plant Variety Protection Act (PVP #9200255) until 2011.

In February 2007, the Red Savina chili was displaced in Guinness World Records as the hottest chili in the world by the Naga Jolokia pepper. The Red Savina held the record from 1994 until 2006.

Red Savina peppers were reported to a score up to 577,000 on the Scoville scale, but this oft-quoted figure was never verified; a comparison experiment carried out by a group of researchers including Regents Professor Paul W. Bosland at the Chile Pepper Institute at New Mexico State University in 2005 revealed an average heat level of 248,556 SHUs for Red Savina habaneros. Orange Habaneros may get as hot as 357,729 SHUs, but the average Orange Habanero is around 200,000 SHUs. The average Bhut Jolokia pepper is 1,019,687 SHUs.