Popcorners

Update Review, 2020

I've long been a fan of popcorn-like snacks, and Popcorners have been on my radar for years, so I was excited to try yet another flavor, although, the form factor still sorta kinda lets me down, as you've seen in my previous reviews.

Jalapeno Cheddar.

"When you bring our white cheddar to the party, you’ve got the start of something good. But we did it ONE BETTER with real jalapeños from California, Mexico and Peru for a flavor fiesta like no other."

Cheddar was one of the first varieties of Popcorners I ever tried, and I liked it.  The idea of doing "ONE BETTER" and adding jalapeño sounded great to me.

The result?  I liked them.  Were they something I'd go buy again?  Probably not.  But the jalapeño flavor was there, they had a slight bit of fresh tasting kick, and were well coated in the cheddar.  I still kinda wanted popcorn, or a chip, not the hybrid, but they were good enough. 

Update Review, December 2019

It has been 7 (!) years, since I originally reviewed Popcorners, a product I found quite novel at the time, but now has become totally commonplace to me.

I've since had them *many* more times, and have discovered that I like them best, just like popcorn, when frozen.  Just try it sometime!

Cinema Style.

"We took a blockbuster favorite and made it ONE BETTER by adding just the right amount of real theater butter to every batch. Pop in a movie, open up a bag and enjoy an experience like no other."

Simple butter popcorn is usually at the bottom of my list.  I go for sweeter varieties (caramel, chocolate drizzle, maple ... bring it on), more flavorful savories (cheesy, spicy), or something mixed like kettle corn.  But simple butter?  Eh.   I almost even prefer plain.

I got this "Cinema Style" butter version on a JetBlue flight though, sad that they had ditched the kettle corn ones, but I was still willing to try them.

And ... I liked them.  They weren't sweet, but they sorta tasted more like a mild white cheddar than butter.  Really.  I thought they had a cheesy element.  I double checked the bag several times.

I encountered them again months later, and again, felt the same way.  It wasn't a fluke.  Huh.  Well, I like them?

Like all Popcorners (and popcorn!), they freeze great, and I like the more crunchy version that way as well.

Sweet Heat Chili.

"If you like sweet and heat, you’re in for a treat. Our secret to making this ONE BETTER starts with the spices themselves. Garlic, onion and paprika come together for a signature taste that rivals your best game day chili recipe."

The first time I visited Australia, I discovered the magic of sweet chili sauce.  Served there with wedges (e.g. thick cut potato wedges, spiced) and sour cream.  I don't know why we don't do this in the US.  Spiced potatoes, cooling sour cream, sweet yet spicy sweet chili ... its a fantastic combo.

So when I saw the Sweet Chili flavor of Popcorners I was thrilled.  And scared my hopes were up too high.  I was skeptical, since onion powder + garlic powder + paprika didn't really sound like sweet chili to me.

Well ... they didn't taste like it either.   Instead, they tasted mostly like a sweeter bbq chip?  Except, of course, not a chip, a Popcorner.  My brain struggled with "huh, this is a really sweet bbq chip" , sorta like Hawaiian style BBQ I've had before, and it struggled with "why is this popcorn not a chip?"  I tried to give it time, to get used to it, but, it never really worked.  They really were strangely just too sweet (and, um, no heat).

Sadly, not the chip for me.

Original Review, December 2012

Popcorners are a fun product, sorta a cross between chips and popcorn, two snack foods I've been kinda into lately.  They are basically popcorn, but in the form of a chip.  You get the crunch of a chip, but the lightness of popcorn.  They remind me a little of Halfpops in that they are trying to mix popcorn with another popular snack food, although I think Popcorners are a little more successful.

I first had them on a Jetblue flight a year or so ago, when I had the kettle flavor, and I recall liking them, but I didn't take any formal notes.  Below are my notes on the flavors I've tried since.  As always, subsequent tastings are in brackets.

Caramel, White Cheddar.

• Caramel: Tasting notes: Kinda sweet, decent.  Slight saltiness too. [ Fairly addicting.  Not awesome, but caramel is pretty decent. ] [ Caramel flavor is pretty nice.  I prefer kettle flavor since it has the sweetness and the saltiness, and this is mostly just sweet, but the caramel is fairly well developed. ] [ Slight sweetness, slight caramel flavor, almost really good, but something stops me from loving these. ]
• White Cheddar:  Tasting notes: Good cheddar flavor.  Like! [ I had some ones that were past the expiration so they were a bit stale.  I really liked the white cheddar flavor though. My favorite of the flavors.] [ The flavor of these reminds me of Pirate's Booty.  I still wish they were a bit more popcorny though. ]

Sea Salt.

 Slightly salty, more like a traditional chip though, and just not all that interesting.

Kettle.

Saved the best for last.  When I'm not in the mood for the savory white cheddar flavor, these are my other favorites.  A bit sweet, a bit salty, and incredibly addicting.  I have a VERY hard time stopping eating these once I get going!