479° Popcorn

I'm always on a popcorn kick. 

It all started when I visited my parents one summer, and attended the local farmer's market with my mom.  The market was tiny compared to the Ferry Building farmer's market that I'm used to in San Francisco, but, it still left a strong impression.  The produce was fine, but nothing spectacular.  Overall, it seemed pretty forgettable.  And then my mom mentioned that she needed to get her "treat": a lemonade and a bag of popcorn.  She led me to a stand where they were making fresh kettle corn.  It smelt great, but it was just popcorn, how exciting would it really be?  While we waited for her lemonade to be freshly squeezed, I idly took a handful of the fresh popcorn.  It was salty.  It was sweet.  It was totally and completely addicting.  I couldn't stop eating it.

I haven't found kettle corn as good as that stuff anywhere else.  I've tried tons of popcorns, from packaged ones, to microwave ones, to fancy ones sold at the farmer's markets in SF.  None even come close to that popcorn.  The good news is, it freezes wonderfully.  I think I might even prefer it frozen, as it gets a little crunchier.  I may or may not have filled every remaining space in my luggage on my last return trip with popcorn.  And I may have mocked my mom when she overnight mailed me a giant bag of it as a surprise, telling her how ridiculous it was to spend that much money on shipping popcorn.  But secretly, I was thrilled.  If you are wondering, that is Howl'n Good Speciality Popcorn, and you can only find it in the Lebanon, NH area.

Anyway, this review isn't about that popcorn.  This is about 479°, a San Francisco based gourmet popcorn maker.  They are local, but sell it packaged in regular retail locations.  They have some savory and some sweet varieties, with fairly interesting flavors.

I almost liked all of their popcorns, but at the end of the day, they all leave me wanting something more.  Specifically, the popcorn from that tiny farmer's market in New Hampshire ...

Chipotle Caramel + Almonds.

“Rich, dark caramel spiked with chipotle chili + toasted almonds”.

This was sweet and ok, but not all that standout.  My notes said, "Just kinda there. Sweet, slightly spicy aftertaste, but really nothing special.  I really don’t get the chipotle spice at all.  Just kinda sweet popcorn, slight caramel flavor on finish.  There was only one almond in the entire bag.  Eh.  **+.

Vanilla Bean Caramel.

"Light, crunchy caramel popcorn infused with Madagascar vanilla. An indulgent snack with only 110 calories! Gluten Free, Non-GMO, Whole Grain, always air-popped, never fried."

On a recent flight with Virgin America, I saw 479° popcorn offered, skimmed it, and kept on reading my other options as I hadn't loved the 479° popcorn I'd tried before.  But then I backtracked.  Wait, it said "Vanilla Bean Caramel".  That was not the Sea Salt Caramel flavor I had before.  Do they make a second caramel corn now?

The answer?  Yes, they do, but it is an exclusive flavor to Virgin America.  Well, now I had to try it!

It was better than the sea salt caramel.  I could taste the vanilla bean clearly, which added a bit of oomph to the flavor.  The caramel was still very sweet, which I know is what you want with caramel corn, but without the salt to balance it, the result was even sweeter than the Sea Salt Caramel flavor.

The kernels were well coated, and the popcorn light and fresh enough, but overall, it didn't wow me.  Of course, like most popcorn, I immediately wondered how it would be frozen ... ***.

[ Others ]

• Fluer de Sel Caramel: "Sweet, crunchy caramel sprinkled with delicate flakes of sea salt".  Tasting notes:  Almost too sweet?  Not quite awesome.  Not quite a caramel corn, salt not really there enough. [ Way too sweet ]  [ Not actually good, but almost good, so you keep eating it trying to make it be good.  Almost too sweet, too much caramel.]  [ Really too sweet, I want to like this more than I do. ] **+.
• White Cheddar and Black Truffle: "Aged white cheddar drizzled with aromatic black truffle oil."  Tasting notes: Truffle is very subtle, don't really taste it.  Mostly just standard white cheddar popcorn with a bit of earthiness.  Not very good, cheddar very mild, meh. [ Update review: Cheddar too mild, not much truffle, meh ]. **+.
• Ginger Sesame Caramel:  "Ginger-infused crunchy caramel tossed with toasted black sesame seeds".  Tasting notes: sweet and ok, but not all that interesting.  Just like the fleur de sel, almost good but not really.  Lots of caramel, but not very good ginger or sesame flavors.  **+.
• Pimentòn de La Vera: "Smoky Spanish paprika with bursts of ripe organic tomato + onion." Tasting notes: Nice and spicy, liked.  Unique and flavorful.  ***+.
• Vietnamesse Cinnamon Sugar: "Vietnamese cinnamon dusted with crunchy light sugar".  Tasting notes:  flavor too subtle, not very cinnamony or sugary. **+.