Pop Mix by Marilyn

Oh snacks, I love my snacks.  I'm an avid snacker, mid-morning, mid-afternoon, all evening ... I have a particular weakness for popcorn (although strangely not for microwave popcorn).  I try any and all brands of popcorn I see.

Which brings us to Pop Mix by Marilyn, a artisanal small batch caramel popcorn line.

"Each non-GMO corn kernel is lovingly air popped to perfection by our gourmet artisanal chefs. Cascading rivers of caramel decadence coat the popcorn, ensuring a delicious balanced flavor profile to excite the palate. The caramel corn is then cooled & bagged at exactly the right temperature to capture that perfect crunch. Our mouthwatering experience will leave you craving for more! Handcrafted in small batches, our artisans only use the finest premium ingredients to create this addictive masterpiece."

Although this is caramel corn, it is vegan (and gluten-free, and kosher, if that matters for you), using plant based butter.  All varieties have the same base of brown sugar and corn syrup (along with the aforementioned vegan butter of course).  They currently make three flavors; I tried two of them.

Peanut Butter.

"Decadently doused with real, creamy peanut butter, this caramel-coated popcorn treat will bring back all the nostalgia you love from a certain childhood favorite. "

I started with the peanut butter flavor.  I was sooo excited for this popcorn.  I was on a serious peanut butter kick at the time, and couldn’t wait to try peanut butter popcorn, it sounded perfect to me.  

Like all the Pop Mix flavors, it uses a caramel corn base.  The pieces were all evenly coated, and decent size pieces.

But … alas, I didn’t really taste any peanut butter.  There were many bites where I didn't taste it at all, and mostly I struggled to detect any peanut butter vibes.  The caramel was definitely there, and these were a very candied type of caramel corn, but … peanut butter they were not.  Sadness. 2/5.

Classic Caramel.

"Lightly salted with flakes of real natural sea salt, this caramel-coated popcorn treat will give you that salty-sweet crunch you've been craving." 

Next I tried the classic caramel corn. It is a fairly sweet caramel corn, but relatively well balanced, not just cloying.  All pieces evenly coated.  Definitely something I need to be in the mood for though.  I don't find myself often just reaching for any bag of caramel corn - at least mixed with a salty kettle corn or cheese corn is more my style, or if opting for just a caramel corn, I use it as a topping on an ice cream sundae or something (which is what I ended up doing with this).  

So, good for what it was, but not something I'd naturally go purchase again.  3/5 as it was good for the style.