Thatcher's Gourmet Popcorn

Update Review, March 2023

It had been many years since I last had Thatcher's popcorn, a SF brand (although now only virtual, they closed their stores during Covid).  When I last had it, I appreciated the quality of the popcorn, large, fluffy, well popped kernels, but didn't find the flavors all that compelling.  However, when someone brought some giant party bags into my office ... of course I couldn't resist a re-visit!

I tried both flavors available, both savory ones, and my overall review is the same: great quality popcorn, flavors aren't amazing though.

Parmesan & Herbs.

"Take this combination: air popped popcorn, parmesan cheese, garlic, Italian herbs and corn oil. A la italiano upscale flavor!!!"

The parmesan & herb I had tried before, and found fairly subtle and boring then.

My impression this time was more favorable - I did detect the cheese and herbs reasonably well.  The pieces were well coated, and I again really loved the large size kernels.  A nice savory popcorn that didn't feel too decadent, didn't leave you with cheese laden fingers, and had a nice herb mix.  Still a touch boring, but well made, and nice for something light.  ***+.

White Cheddar Cheese.

"This is so Cheddary and flavorful it's hard to believe it's healthy! Try eating only one of these! "

Next I moved on to another cheesy option, classic white cheddar.  These pieces had a stronger cheese element, stronger flavor overall.  Fairly one note, just, cheddar, but if you are in the mood for cheesy, but not overly heavy, popcorn, this was another well made flavor.  I liked it less than the more interesting parmesan & herbs though.  ***.

They also make a white cheddar with truffle that could be more interesting, and a bright orange cheddar version as well.

Original Review, September 2019

Another day, another snack food manufacturer to try, featuring one of my favorites: popcorn.

Thatcher's Gourmet Popcorn is actually local to me, based in San Francisco.  It is a cute success story, a local business that started in 1983, did well, and fairly quickly expanded into having multiple shops and a warehouse.  Now, they are an international distributor of popcorn.

"Thatcher's Gourmet Popcorn is made the old-fashioned way, using small batches to ensure optimum coating for each and every kernel."

I was drawn in by the flavor ranges, like many companies in this space, they feature both sweet and savory.  I won't enumerate them all, but in addition to the classics, there are interesting savory flavors like Sriracha, Jalapeno, and White Cheddar Flavor, and fun sweet creations like Birthday Cake, Cinnamon Toast, and Tiramisu.

I was able to try one sweet and one savory.  Neither flavor actually was all that successful, but, I think the popcorn itself was really well made.

Uni-Korn.

"This new and spectacular flavor blends blueberry, vanilla, blackberry and strawberry to create a fruity flavor that's out of this world."

I went for the flashiest, most decadent, most Insta-worthy flavor of all: Uni-Korn.

It promised 4 fruity flavors (ok, 3 fruity flavors plus vanilla), but, um ... what it was was just extreme sweet.  I know I picked a sweet one but this was ... something else.

To give the positive points though, the kernels were large, fresh, well popped, and extremely well coated.  The popcorn element was good.

Uni-Korn: Close Up.

At first glance, it looked like only a trio of colors (pink, white, blue), but it turned out to be all 4 as described, with two shades of pink.

If I had to guess to match colors, the white was vanilla, the blue was blueberry, the darker pink blackberry, and the lighter pink strawberry?  But honestly, it doesn't matter, as the flavors were not distinct.

It just tasted like sugar.  Too much sugar.  I love sweet but this was ... just not interesting, and honestly, I didn't taste any distinct flavors, no matter how many pieces I had (and yes, I kept trying to like it, on multiple days, but ... it just really wasn't distinct, and was so very cloyingly sweet!)

Parmesan & Herbs.

"Excellent Parmesan cheese taste mixed with herbs will deliver the best savory taste!"

Next I went savory.  A cheesy version, but rather than the more common cheddar, this was parmesan.  With herbs.

The popcorn kernels again had a great pedigree.  Large, well popped, uh, fluffy, if that is a thing.  They were reasonably well coated with the powdered parmesan and some visible flecks of herbs.

The flavor was not very intense though - not particularly cheesy, not particularly herby.  Subtle.  A lighter styles popcorn, fine, but not particularly compelling.  But again, well made popcorn itself.