The world’s spiciest Pepper X is so hot right now—but it’s nearly impossible to buy. Here’s why

On October 9, a new pepper was crowned the world’s hottest, according to Guinness World Records, officially dethroning the Carolina Reaper. It’s called Pepper X, and those who are looking to sear their taste buds off are already trying to snag it.

Pepper X comes from PuckerButt Pepper Company, which pepper expert Ed Currie founded. Currie also created the Carolina Reaper, and said he’s kept Pepper X under wraps for years. He only chose to release it now because nobody had beaten his previous record yet.

But right now, it’s not so easy to come by. While you can snag a variety of hot sauces containing the hottest pepper on PuckerButt’s site, they don’t sell the peppers or the seeds to grow your own. That’s intentional. Currie didn’t protect the Carolina Reaper, and more than 10,000 products use the name without permission, his lawyers have said.

Currie wants to ensure the same doesn’t happen with Pepper X, so he’s holding the release of the seeds until further notice. “Everybody else made their money off the Reaper. It’s time for us to reap the benefits of the hard work I do,” Currie told the Associated Press.

Currie is one of only a few people who have eaten an entire Pepper X, and the experience sounds downright miserable—even for a pepper connoisseur. “I was feeling the heat for three-and-a-half hours. Then the cramps came,” he said to the AP. “Those cramps are horrible. I was laid out flat on a marble wall for approximately an hour in the rain, groaning in pain.”

Regardless of the fact that eating a Pepper X sounds brutal—it has a rating of 2,693,000 Scoville Heat Units (for reference, a jalapeño pepper has a rating of 5,000 units)—adventurous pepper enthusiasts still want to try it. And the pepper seeds are even showing up on eBay in listings that advertise “unofficial” products, with hundreds already being sold.

While this pepper is hot right now, we’d suggest waiting until the real release. And no matter when you try one, you should probably have a glass of milk and a video camera handy.