Popchips

Update Review, December 2020

Yes, I keep trying Popchips products, even though I don't ever really like them, as you know from my past reviews (and update review).  

This time, another new product, and, yup, not a winner.

Puffs

I had no idea Popchips had a "Puffs" product line, until after I discovered the Bamba Peanut Snacks at Trader Joe's (so good!), got #addicted, but found myself in rural New Hampshire with no Trader Joe's nearby.  What *is* a girl to do?  Seek out more common brands at grocery stories, like, Popchips.

"Popchips has gone nuts. peanuts. we’ve taken everything you love about peanut butter and packed it into one perfectly snackable puff. peanut butter nutter puffs are a symphony of salty-sweet memories born from our shared love for this seductive spread. now that’s #peanutbetter."

It turns out, Popchips also makes a puffed peanut snack, dubbed "Puffs", available in two varieties.  I was hopeful.

They are a different product, no question, the Trader Joe's version is made with just corn grits (salt, oil) and peanut paste, the Popchips version is yellow corn, peanut flour, and peanut butter (peanuts, sugar, salt), sweetened, etc, but, I was still eager to try.

Peanut Butter & Chocolate.

"Puffed snack with real peanut butter."

The chocolate variety called out to me, which, in addition to the aforementioned ingredients, adds in, um, "chocolate seasoning", a mix of sugar, cocoa, whey, cream, milk, salt, and of course "natural flavors".

I ... liked these, but didn't love them.

The puffy form factor was right, very munchable.

They were very peanut buttery, moreso than the Trader Joe's ones actually, but in a way that made them not very craveable - they felt too heavy, left your mouth too coated in peanut butter.  A good thing in some ways, and I did want them to be peanut buttery, but, it was actually just too much.  I guess I liked the lighter peanut paste way that the Trader Joe's manufacturer picked.

I also really wanted to taste chocolate, and these did not deliver in the chocolate department at all.  They were brown, you could see the cocoa powder dusting, but, chocolate taste they did not have.  They left me just wanting more chocolate.

So overall, they were good, they were immensely peanut buttery, but I certainly wouldn't buy them again, and never found myself really reaching for the bag impulsively.

**+.

Update Review, January 2020

I haven't ever really liked Popchips, as you've read in my past reviews.  Like many "healthy" chips, they just aren't actually tasty to me.  Strange textures, always.

But when I was in the UK, I saw a new form factor (ridges!) and an exciting flavor (smoky bacon!), so, I gave them a try.

Verdict?  Yup, I still don't want Popchips.

Smoky Bacon Ridges.

"Sizzling, smoky, sinless - these chips aren’t right off the grill, but they taste like they are. Popped to maximum crunch for ultimate satisfaction, with no greasy finger tips."

These sound fun.  Bacon.  Smoky.  And, ridges are far more exciting than regular potato chips.  But ... I still approached with apprehension, as they clock in at <100 calories a bag, and that isn't because the bag is poorly filled.

I tried one, and forgot that they were supposed to be smoky bacon.  They tasted like "Sweet BBQ", nothing I could really call "bacon" at all.  But far sweeter than a normal BBQ chip.  An interesting, bold flavor, not bad, just not bacon.

But for me, the problem was the texture.  The ridges helped perhaps a little, but not much.  They were still a strange mush base.  Not for me.

Original Review, January 2013

I've been craving salty snacks like crazy lately.  I have no idea why.  In attempts to at least have something slightly healthier, I decided to try out Popchips, a local San Francisco snack company, rather than standard chips.  You can find their products in many stores, and they sponsor tons of events around town.  The have two major product lines, potato chips and tortilla chips.  Their entire premise is that they make healthier chips using some crazy method to pop the chips, rather than fry (unhealthy! oils!) or bake (loses flavor).

I liked the idea behind their products, and I'm all for local brands, but I just can't get past the consistency of their chips.  No matter how great the flavors are, they are just totally and completely off-putting to me.  Blech.

• Tortilla Chips, made with stone ground masa.
• Salsa: These had a strange mouthfeel, like all popchips, that takes some getting used to.  It is very obvious that these are a healthy chip, without any oil.  But the flavor was good, zesty, from tomato, garlic, onion, cayenne.  I probably wouldn't buy these again, but they weren't bad.
• Potato Chips, made with potato starch, potato flakes, and rice flour.  All have a very strange consistency.
• Original: Super boring.  No flavor whatsoever.
• Barbecue: Pretty decent bbq flavor. [ I can't stand the consistency of these.  Flavors don't matter, they are just gross, gross gross. ]
• Cheddar: Meh, not that cheddary, popchip consistency wierd [ Popchip consistency is just horrible, can't really stand these. ]
• Thai Sweet Chili: These tasted like styrofoam.  With some slight flavor, that wasn't distinguishable as sweet chili, perhaps just a mild bbq.  But I couldn't get past the horrible airy styrofoam nature of them.  Eww.