herbsandspices.food The reference guide to herbs and spices
Chilli Compare Spice Finder

🏆 Records & extremes

The hottest chillies, the dearest spices and the biggest growers.

4 pages in this section

Biggest spice producers
Who grows the world's pepper, vanilla, saffron and cardamom
India is by far the world's largest producer and consumer of spices, but many individual spices are dominated by others: Vietnam for pepper, Madagascar for vanilla, Iran …
Chilli-eating contests
Festival stages, restaurant challenges and why the medics are on standby
Chilli-eating contests test who can eat the hottest chillies fastest or longest, from festival stages to online challenges. They are popular, mostly harmless, and occasio…
Hottest chilli records
From Red Savina to Pepper X, and why the numbers deserve a pinch of salt
The Carolina Reaper held the Guinness title for the world's hottest chilli from 2013 until Pepper X was recognised in 2023. How these records are measured matters as much…
Most expensive spices
Saffron, vanilla and the rest, and why labour, not rarity, sets the price
Saffron is the world's most expensive spice by weight, followed by vanilla and cardamom. Their prices come mainly from hand labour, low yields and climate risk, and swing…