Angie's BOOMCHICKAPOP

Oh, man.

I eat a lot of snacks.  I adore popcorn.  I *really* adore sweet, dessert-like, decadent popcorn.  Particularly when it is frozen.  Yeah, I'm strange, but I really love my popcorn.  Frozen.

I've seen BOOMCHICKAPOP at stores all over the country, for years, and rather assumed it was just another run-of-the-mill packaged popcorn.  Yeah, it is non-GMO and gluten-free, but, um, isn't all popcorn?  It does have a cute story, started by a husband and wife (yup, Angie), with a quick rise from local fame to specialty stores to nationwide mass retail.  You can buy it at Target or the corner Walgreens. Boomchickapop is certainly a success story.

BOOMCHICKAPOP Packaging.

BOOMCHICKAPOP comes in far more varieties than most brands starting with the basics (butter, sea salt, light sweet, sweet & salty, white cheddar, cheddar cheese), plus some slightly interesting (caramel, salted caramel, caramel & cheddar, sweet & spicy, and sweet barbecue), and then the ones that called out to me, decadent milk chocolate peanut butter and dark chocolaty drizzled sea salt.

They also often have seasonal specials, dubbed "holidrizzle", which are "drizzlecorn" varieties even more decadent than the standard lineup.  These sounded irresistible, and thus, into my shopping cart a bag of holidrizzle went (they also had a frosted sugar cookie version that sounded nearly as interesting!)

The bags come as full size multi portion bags, which of course is danger for me, given my ability to eat an entirely unreasonable amount of popcorn in a single sitting.  Yes, I can literally take down a full bag, in one sitting, no problem.  And then I'll move on to another flavor ... yes, I have a propcorn problem!

Savory

Savory popcorn is not my usual goto, although I've had some really interesting spicy varieties over the years that I have quite liked, or sometimes something like salt & pepper or sour cream & onion can be fun, but the regular savories of butter or cheese ... eh.  Still, sometimes even I don't want sweet, so I've tried a few.

Sea Salt.

"Snacking should make you feel good. I mean, am I right? That's why we set out to make a light, tasty treat that satisfies without triggering post-snack guilt. Always real, free of gluten, trans fats and preservatives. And because it's by Angie's, it's got all the delish that comes from being made with simple ingredients you'll love. Really, at 35 calories per cup, you're about to get snack-cessful up in here."

I started with the simple sea salt flavor. 

It was ... popcorn.  Just light salted popcorn.  Well popped, large kernels, but, bo-ring.

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Real Butter.

"What goes better with popcorn than real butter? Angie’s BOOMCHICKAPOP® Real Butter Popcorn is a timeless classic that will be sure to knock your socks off! Angie’s BOOMCHICKAPOP® Real Butter Popcorn makes movie nights a whole lot better!"

I moved on to the equally simple "Real Butter" variety.  It too was ... very plain.  Not particularly buttery nor interesting.  Butter popcorn is best hot, freshly popped, and smothered in real butter (or, the movie theater liquid gold they call butter ...).

White Cheddar.

"For when you feel the need. The need for real cheese."

The White Cheddar variety was also pretty lackluster.

Well popped fresh kernels, but, the white cheddar flavor just wasn't strong enough for me, although it was made with real cheddar cheese, not strange fake powder.

White Cheddar.

I had it again, when in a particularly savory mood.  And ... yeah, it still just doesn't deliver.  Just far too mild.  Not cheesy at all.  And certainly no satisfying cheesy coated fingers!

Double Update Review: I've had it several times, and always found it really quite boring.

Dill Pickle.

"Perfectly pickled popcorn. Say that 10 times fast. After you chew and swallow that handful, of course. This flavor clocks in at 50 calories a cup, so yeah, it’s a pretty big dill (sorry, couldn’t resist)."

Ok.  This sounded awesome, as I do love dill pickles.  It wasn't bad, but, the dill flavor just wasn't very strong.  Mild dill.  I wanted more from it, but for a very non-indulgent option, it was fine.

Sweet

The sweet flavors are my everyday pick, bonus points for having a salty and sweet combo.

Sweet & Spicy.

"This delicious flavor combines garlic, cayenne, cumin and paprika for a zippy, yet slightly sweet, fiesta kind of snack. At 70 calories per cup, it's sure to be a favorite for bold-flavor lovers. Party on snacker!"

I was not really unimpressed with the "Sweet & Spicy".  It was neither sweet, nor spicy.  It did appear to have a little seasoning on it, but it certainly was not "bold".  Sadness.  (If you want a sweet and spicy one though, I highly recommend the Synergistically Seasoned popcorn from Trader Joes!).

I moved on.

Light Kettle Corn.

"Snacking is the best part about life. It should be both DELICIOUS and carefree. Angie's BOOMCHICKAPOP Lightly Sweet has all the delish that comes from being made with simple ingredients you'll love. Just a hint of sweet is added to this popcorn, clocking in at 37 calories per cup. Munch up, savvy shopper."

The light kettle corn was good.  Slightly sweet, slightly salty, well coated kernels.  Certainly a lighter variety than I often tend towards, but good.  A nice thing for me to have on hand, so I don't *always* go for the crazy decadent ones!

Sweet & Salty Kettle Corn.

"Opposites don’t just attract they make us fall in love, too. You and your friends will want to crush the whole bag."

Not surprisingly though, I preferred the Sweet & Salty Kettle Corn, double the calories (70 calories per cup instead of 37) of the Light version.

It was actually really good kettle corn.  And I'm particular about my kettle corn.  It reminded me of my favorite kettle corn that comes only from a small vendor at the farmer's market in my hometown.  The kernels were really well coated, crispy, and it was loaded with both sugar and salt.

Totally addicting, and a favorite, no question. 

Salted Caramel.

"We think salted anything is pretty dang amazing. But salted caramel? Well, that’s a whole new level. Vegans, rejoice—you can be a part of this popcorn party."

And then ... caramel corn.  Salted caramel corn.

Crunchy, deep buttery popcorn.  I actually think our catering team just incorrectly labelled this and it was the Buttery Caramel (170 calories per cup), considered an "Everyday Indulgent" selection by the manufacturer, because it was far too decadent and coated in real caramel to be the lower cal Salted Caramel (80 calories per cup) it was labelled as.

I do adore this popcorn though.  The caramel was intense, truly fabulous caramel.  The pieces are well coated.  It is addicting.  Even moreso if you freeze hit to make it extra crispy (and keep for longer!)

Everyday Indulgent

The sweet lineup will satisfy more people, and me most of the time, but if you want to go all out, Angie's has another product line, dubbed, "Everyday Indulgent".  For, uh, everyday.

Buttery Caramel.

"What’s not to love? It’s caramel. And popcorn. And it’s made with real ingredients. So go on. Crush your craving. And if someone wants you to share, that’s your call."

Another caramel corn?  Near identical in looks and taste (again, I suspect the previous one was mislabelled when I had it ...).

This was buttery caramel corn, just as promised.  I liked how crispy it was, and how well coated.  Very deep rich caramel flavor.

Very sweet, very buttery, just as I wanted.  I still think the earlier one was also this one ...

Dark Chocolate Drizzled Sea Salt Kettle Corn.

"We asked people what they thought of our kettle corn popcorn with a dark chocolate drizzle, but all we got was “nomnomnow…”"

I agree with the description on this one.

Classic good kettle corn.  Nice salt level.  And then plenty of chocolate drizzle.

At times, I wished the chocolate drizzle was more generous.  I wanted just the best coated pieces!  But at the same time ... that is what made it fun to eat, searching for the best ones.  So maybe they nailed this, getting me fairly addicting, waiting for just "one more" perfect piece ...

Cinnamon Roll Drizzled.

"Your nose will think it’s breakfast and your taste buds will love the surprise. Hold the bag tight because once it’s open people will suddenly appear."

I was skeptical of this one, just because it sounded potentially awesome and I worried it would let me down, but, it was actually fantastic.  I adored it the first time I had it, and literally scarfed down a whole bag ... which, by the way, I do not recommend.  I had quite the stomachache later!

The base is cinnamon popcorn, well spiced, dominant, but not too aggressive.  The best part is the drizzle, a sweet cinnamon icing.  It added a creaminess, crispness, and an addictive quality since not all kernels were equally drizzled, and I found myself seeking out the "best" pieces, while plowing through way too big of a portion.  Sometimes though, I found it too sweet, particularly if I got too many well coated pieces in a row.  But most days?  I love it.

I tend to prefer my popcorn frozen (crunchier!), and this one in particular is great frozen, the cinnamon roll icing gets super crispy.

Holiday Flavors

Around the holidays, bonus, limited time, flavors come out, such as Sugar Cookie, or of course, Pumpkin Spice.  These tend to all sound kinda awesome, and are even more indulgent.

Holidrizzle: White Chocolate Peppermint Kettle Corn.

"Feel all the nostalgic feelings with Angie’s BOOMCHICKAPOP® White Chocolate & Peppermint Flavored Kettle Corn. Drizzled with the finest white chocolate and mixed with delicious flecks of peppermint, this Holidrizzle flavor tastes just like the peppermint bark your grandma used to make. And let’s be real, your grandma was a pretty cool lady."

Around Christmas, I snagged a bag of the white chocolate peppermint Holidrizzle.

This was absolutely insanely good.  The base is kettle corn, buttery, sweet, and salty.  Very good kettle corn.  And then, as advertised, drizzled with white chocolate and crushed peppermint candies.  The drizzle allowed clumps to form, like granola.  It was applied very generously, but not evenly, which meant that it tapped into my addition in a horrible way.  "Just one more piece, I'll just have one more really well coated chunk", I'd tell myself.  And then, next thing I knew, I had eaten several more cups full, but, well, those pieces weren't the perfect piece I was looking for.  Ooph.

So here you had a wonderful mix of buttery, salty, sweet, and minty, in a fun to eat form factor that kept you seeking "just one more"?  Yeah, horrible.  And awesome.  I didn't even need to freeze this one to enjoy it.

I'd gladly eat another bag, right now.  I guess I'll have to wait for next holiday season.  Protip for next year: stock up!