Popcorn Flavour Maltesers Bunny (Sainsbury’s) By @Cinabar

Maltesers Bunny chocolates have become a familiar sight over the years, much like the Cadbury Creme Egg. I’ve always enjoyed them as a smaller treat, perfect for an afternoon pick-me-up. This year, alongside the regular Maltesers Bunny, we have a new twist: the Popcorn Flavour Maltesers Bunny, which sounded intriguing.

Upon opening the packet, the Bunny looks identical to the regular version, with no obvious hints of its unique flavour, aside from a subtle aroma. Breaking off a piece, the popcorn scent became a little more noticeable.

Taste-wise, I found the Popcorn Flavour Maltesers Bunny rather delightful. The thick, creamy chocolate shell was just as satisfying as always, and the filling retained the classic malty taste. The popcorn flavour complemented it surprisingly well, adding an almost nutty note that I really enjoyed.

However, there’s a twist, small bits within the filling attempt to replicate the sensation of eating popcorn, hopefully without it getting stuck in your teeth! While I’m not sure I needed that level of authenticity, the overall experience was still lovely.

These are definitely worth a try for anyone who loves a playful twist on a classic chocolate treat.

Beetlejuice Popcorn Bar (Home Bargains) By @Cinabar

Do not say it three times. It is amazing how I watched the original film over a decade ago but still remember the line about not saying Beetlejuice three times in case he appears. Some things just stick, and particularly in a legendary Halloween film such as this one. I guess it is about time they brought out a new film in the series, and although I haven’t seen it yet, I’m very much looking forward to it.

So this bar is themed on Beetlejuice; we have a slab of popcorn held together by purple white chocolate. It is very nicely packaged, and the bar looks bright and fabulous. The main thing is though that the purple drizzle is just white chocolate coloured purple and not any crazy flavour. It is very pretty and exciting to look at, but the content is popcorn and white chocolate. The popcorn is lovely and big and crispy but soft, and the chocolate is creamy and thick. This is a tasty bar; I just wish they had added a little blackcurrant into the Beetlejuice Popcorn Bar just to have given it a reason to be purple. It looks lovely, it tastes lovely, but it could have been a bit more creative on the flavour.

Butterkist Caramelised Biscuit Flavour Toffee Popcorn (Ocado) By @Cinabar

Yesterday we had film night and watched Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and so we decided to open a nice big bag of popcorn to share while watching. I was looking forward to trying the new Butterkist Caramelised Biscuit Flavour Toffee Popcorn and it sounds perfect for a wet autumn evening in.

We poured a big bowl full of popcorn and tucked in. The first very positive note is that this popcorn has some serious toffee coating. They have a nice shell of crunchy toffee around each piece, and it is wonderfully sweet. I bought this bag for the Caramelised Biscuit Flavour and this part was the negative part; there wasn’t very much at all. Those biscuits are wonderfully warming and full of my favourite spice; this popcorn was toffee with a whisper of that flavour, which was such a disappointment. Don’t get me wrong, we happily munched and enjoyed the bag of popcorn because popcorn covered in toffee is a brilliant thing, but judging it on trying to be a biscuit flavour, for me, I just don’t think it was there. Cinnamon is my favourite spice, and I wanted more, not a hint, but a rich warmth from the spice; this is after all supposed to be Butterkist Caramelised Biscuit Flavour Toffee Popcorn.

Hostess Twinkies Flavoured Popcorn (Iceland) By @Cinabar

I did an online shop with Iceland, and I was looking at their new products when I spotted this bag of Hostess Twinkies Flavoured Popcorn. I paused before putting it into my basket as it was quite pricey for a bag of popcorn. I went for it anyway in the end, but I did think it was expensive.

When the order came, I realised that I had been paying for a large bag of popcorn, which was actually a very large bag and probably made it much better value for money than I thought it was. I opened the bag and poured some out to give it a try. Twinkies are snack cake bar popular in America (but can be found in the UK), and they have a vanilla cream running through the centre. This popcorn is flavoured after the cake, so I was expecting a birthday cake sort of taste. The flavour is actually a bit milder than that; the pieces are sweet and creamy with plenty of vanilla, but they don’t have the overly sweet birthday cake taste. The pieces of popcorn have a lovely texture too; they are big and fluffy, but with a nice crackly coating to mix up the texture.

I really liked this Hostess Twinkies Flavoured Popcorn; the only problem I have with it is the size of the bag. Any ideas on how long popcorn stores once opened? Or am I going to have to pig out?

Proper KFC Popcorn Chicken Popcorn (Tesco) By @Cinabar

First there was popcorn chicken, but now we have chicken popcorn. I’m not sure how I feel about it, to be honest. I don’t mind salty popcorn as a savoury alternative, but my preference is for the sweeter versions. Toffee popcorn is the very best. This bag is made by the company Proper, and it is in conjunction with Kentucky Fried Chicken, so this is not just any chicken popcorn. Even the name is a little hard going; Proper KFC Popcorn Chicken Popcorn. 

Normally I have popcorn while watching a movie at home, but this felt like it was more the kind of snack that should be shared with a sandwich. I can’t tell; I’ve never had chicken-flavoured popcorn before.

So we poured some out for sharing and gave it a taste test. The first bite I had was a piece with a lot of seasoning, and I really liked the flavour. I could pick up on the chicken, but also the specific KFC seasoning. There were herbs, and it had a good taste. A little weird on a piece of popcorn, but ultimately very nice. Unfortunately, not every piece had that much seasoning; in fact, some had almost none and were a bit bland. This made the whole bag feel a bit disappointing at times. Although the well-seasoned pieces were tasty, I was still having problems with the idea of chicken-flavoured popcorn, so now that the novelty has worn off and the bag is finished, I wouldn’t rush out for another bag of Proper KFC Popcorn Chicken Popcorn.

Milk Chocolate Poppin’ Choc (Aldi) By @Cinabar

Popcorn is a healthier snack, right? So that makes this Milk Chocolate Poppin’ Choc healthier? Ok, I know they have covered it in milk chocolate and fudge pieces and brownie pieces and thrown in some white chocolate curls, and that may counterbalance the healthier claim, but I’m still in. Even if I have to throw in the obligatory comment about replacing perfectly good letters with apostrophes in the title, I’m still looking forward to this Milk Chocolate Poppin’ Choc bar.

The bar is very appealing to look at; it is nicely decorated and looks like the perfect stocking filler if you want to gift it. I’m eating this myself as a Friday treat.

I broke off a piece, and it was a little bit difficult to make sure I didn’t lose any bits as it was a bit crumbly. The texture is out of this world. There is the lovely soft but crispy popcorn, the chocolate, the crunchy bits, and the brownie. It was lovely. I love a mix of textures, and this delivered. From the crunch to the melt in the mouth bits, it was divine.

The taste was gorgeous too, full of popcorn and sweet, creamy milk chocolate. The added decorations are sweet and add a bit of variety. This Milk Chocolate Poppin’ Choc bar is a delight; it is definitely something I’ll be buying again as a treat.

Dairyfine White Choc Poppin Choc (Aldi) By @Cinabar

I think this bar is a Christmas one, but only in a subtle way. The bar has only just been released; there are no Christmas trees or decorations on the card, but the bar has green stars and red hundreds and thousands. So subtle, if it is?

Here we have the new Dairyfine White Choc Poppin Choc bar. There is popcorn all stuck together with a generous drizzle of white chocolate and decorated with stars and hundreds and thousands. It is super pretty. I opened up the pack and broke a corner off; obviously, it rained candy decorations and bits! Oh well! This Dairyfine White Choc Poppin Choc bar is all about the texture, and as someone who loves texture, this is very much my thing. The popcorn is crunchy, and the white chocolate is thick but soft and gives nicley. The decorations give it a bit of a crunch. The taste of the toffee popcorn is the main flavour, and it is lovely and sweet. The white chocolate has a good flavour and is sweet and creamy. It was a lovely looking bar, perfect for those of us with a sweet tooth.

I still don’t know if this Dairyfine White Choc Poppin Choc bar is meant for Christmas, but I’m content to buy it for myself as a bit of a treat. It is a nice looking item and would certainly make an excellent looking stocking filler for the season too.

Galaxy Popcorn Hot Chocolate (Sainsbury's) By @Cinabar

As we are officially in hot chocolate season, I had a bit of a browse in the supermarket. Here I found an interestingly flavoured instant hot chocolate. Galaxy Popcorn Hot Chocolate is the new autumn flavour for us to savour on cold evenings. Normally, I prefer the hot milk hot chocolates as they always seem creamier, but I can't resist a new flavour.

I opened up the tub, and I have to say there was a surprising amount of air gap. It looked like someone had already made themselves a drink or two, but this is what it looked like brand new.

I put the kettle on and found that the drink mixed well with the water. A few stirs, and there weren't too many lumps. I gave it a try and found it a bit disappointing to be honest. The chocolate drink was smooth, but the popcron was just a mild background flavour. I was hoping for something stronger, but it was a bit lost against the chocolate. It was nice enough to drink because of the chocolate flavour, but if, like me, you were hoping for a wonderful, strong popcorn flavour, then you might find it a bit mild.

Joe & Steph's: Dungeons and Dragons Sweet & Fiery Gourmet Popcorn By @SpectreUK

I must admit that I haven't seen the latest Dungeons and Dragons Honor Among Thieves movie. I know it's just come out on DVD, and it's more expensive on Amazon Prime, so I'll wait for the prices to come down first.

I'm quite the grumpy old man, and can't abide the crunching and slurping that goes on in cinemas these days, not to mention the playing on phones during movies. So, I'd rather do my crunching and slurping in the comfort of my own home, play on my mini iPad instead, and pause whenever I need the to refill popcorn or pop to the loo.

These Dungeons and Dragons Sweet & Fiery Gourmet Popcorn were sent to me by a friend, amongst other goodies, she had won from a competition. These Chilli Chocolate Caramel Gourmet Popcorn were produced by Joe & Steph's. They state on the back of the packet that these air-popped corn should have a smooth caramel flavour to start with, followed by Belgian Chocolate, and then Red Chilli Pepper, maybe to represent the burn of the dragon's breath. We shall see.

Bizarrely I decided to have these Dungeons and Dragons Sweet & Fiery Gourmet Popcorn with a barbecue turkey sandwich at lunchtime. On opening the packet they smelt like caramel and chocolate. On taste there was indeed caramel to start with, then creamy milk chocolate, followed by a fiery kick from the red chilli peppers in the ingredients. This left a pleasant warming medium burn on my tastebuds with all that sweet caramel and creamy Belgian chocolate. I found these Dungeons and Dragons Sweet & Fiery Gourmet Popcorn crunchy, sweet, fiery and very flavoursome. I'd definitely have them again.

Information on the packet; The 30g packet has 96 calories per 20g serving, with 5.5g of fat, 7.9g of sugar, and 0.12g of salt. With no artificial flavours, colours or preservatives, gluten free and suitable for vegetarians, please see photograph for the ingredients.

Popworks Salted Toffee (Tesco) By @Cinabar

I was looking for a snack to munch on while watching TV, and I thought of popcorn. Then I spotted this bag of Popworks Salted Toffee, and I thought it sounded interesting. They are made from popcorn but shaped like triangular, bulky crisps. Weird shape, but they still looked nice. I opened the bag, and the aroma was lovely, very sweet toffee.

I gave one a try, and the first thing I need to talk about is the textures. They were crispy, but the shape made them interesting to eat and very enjoyable. The flavour element is a bit more difficult to explain. The first bite I had, I decided categorically that they were a little too salty and not enough toffee. Which is true, but something in them made me have another few, and I decided that the salty-sweet mix was quite pleasant, so I had a few more, and then I decided that they were the best thing ever. Long story short, the bag was mostly finished before I could work out how that happened. They are super moreish and an absolute delight to munch on. They are crispy, crunchy, salty, and sweet goodness in a bag. I need another pack!

Popcorn Frappé and Light Whip (Costa) By @cinabar

For once I finished work and got to the train station with 15 minutes to spare, I decided to celebrate the weekend and treat myself to the summer special from Costa. I bought myself a Popcorn Frappé and Light Whip to enjoy on the train. It looked lovely with its popcorn syrup splashed on the sides of the cup and its whipped cream topping and popcorn bits on top.

My train was also surprisingly quiet (I got a seat), so that was a bonus too. I gave the drink a sip, and it was super yummy, sweet, and refreshing. There is clearly a lot of sugary caramel goodness in this drink, I also picked up on a touch of salt and, of course, that lovely flavour of popcorn. The taste was sweet but well balanced, and the popcorn added a slight, almost savoury flavour to the drink. The topping was good too, the bits on top weren’t actually popcorn as they melted away, but they had the flavour and plenty of caramel too. This Popcorn Frappé with Light Whip is such a good summer drink, perfect for a pick-me-up after a long day. The weekend starts here!

Poppets Choc Toffee Popcorn (#Gifted) By @Cinabar

Popcorn is one of my go-to snacks. I mean, nothing says movie night in better than a bag of popcorn. I like all flavours, from traditional to the creative ones. The people behind Poppets clearly agree that popcorn is the big thing at the moment and have come up with this fantastic sounding Poppets Choc Toffee Popcorn.

I opened up the bag, and the thing that hit me first was that the chocolates inside are huge! There is no way you could package these up in the traditional Poppets mini box; this is chunky popcorn. I gave one a try, and the chocolate is thick too, and under it is the sweetest toffee popcorn. It is fun to eat, and I enjoyed munching on them. This nailed all the fun textures of chocolate and popcorn, delivering a rich toffee taste and plenty of milk chocolate. It is moreish stuff, and I can’t wait to open another bag with a film tonight.

Emmi Caffe Latte Popcorn (Morrisons) By @Cinabar

When the seasons change, there is less and less hot chocolate around, and I hate that because I drink it all year. What I do like as a seasonal drink is iced coffee, and any new flavours always make me smile. This Emmi Caffe Latte Popcorn edition was found in Morrisons and would have been difficult to miss in its bright red and white carton.

I have to admit to being impressed that this is quite an exciting new flavour; it is something a bit different from the salted caramel flavour that is still doing the rounds.

The cup of popcorn latte doesn’t have a straw, but it does have a pierce-able lid if you have your own re-usable one. I took off the foil lid and then just sipped it. I will say the shape of the packaging is pretty funky, but it did seem a little unstable and top-heavy until I had drunk some down.

The drink is very well balanced, the coffee is creamy and enjoyable, and the popcorn flavour is just right. It isn’t too strong, but it is distinctive, with a touch of caramel, salt, and, of course, corn. Emmi Caffe Latte Popcorn is a fun edition, but it is also nicely put together, and I immediately thought I wanted another one. Here’s hoping that more brands choose popcorn as the new go-to flavour of choice for new items.

Magnum Double Star Chaser Popcorn (Tesco) By @Cinabar

Today there was sunshine (as well as rain and rainbows), so I took advantage of the opportunity to crack open a box of Magnum Double Star Chaser Popcorn ice creams.They have been waiting for the first spring rays of sunlight to be opened, well, that was my excuse anyway.

 

Inside the box are three milk chocolate coated ice cream, flavoured with caramel and popcorn. I was quite interested to try these as I do love popcorn. I bit into it, and the first thing I noticed was how lovely the texture was on the milk chocolate, it had lovely crispy bits that worked well. There is lots of popcorn flavour in this ice cream, and it was sweet, rich, and a little salty. The caramel layer was super generous too, and it was absolutely divine. Both the texture and the flavours were spot on, this is a new winning combination from Magnum and a proper treat. We need more sunny weather and another box of these for the weekend. 

Proppadoms - Poppadoms Done Proper - Jalapeno @myfamilysecret (by @NLi10)

My partner looks out for little snack things on her travels and picked these up from a garden centre I think.  I assumed that it was the same people as the proppercorn, but this is a whole new company to try out which is even better. 

It's what you'd expect - take a more interesting version of the crisp, add a more interesting twist on the flavour and then let it rip!  Only 25 g here so it's very much a portion, but we'll forgive them for that.

And look at all those ingredients! Almost all sound like things you'd cook with which is always a good start and they are based in Cradely Heath near us - and Dublin too!

And they certainly look like mini poppadoms, and they seem to have survived well in transit due to being a little thicker than the ones we get from the lovely restaurants of Bearwood & Cape Hill.

It's just a glorified crisp really, but they are incredibly tasty.  The Jalapeno is familiar, but not boring - and certainly isn't too powerful.  It's like someone's put Mexican starter dips out instead of Indian ones.  This in itself is an exciting combo, and coupled with the lovely rich poppadom itself makes for a very compelling snack. I expect these to end up winning those little award badges you see on all the good luxury snacks before long.

My advice is to get these into pubs and sell them (to me) alongside a nice selection of beers.  Fantastic stuff, and interesting enough that I saved the second bag of a different flavour to try a bit later just like this! 

 

Joe & Seph Festive Popcorn Chocolate Slab (Ocado) By @Cinabar

The packaging for this bar is stunning.It is in a gift-worthy box with a tree shape on the front, These are all things that make me smile. It was expensive though, and when I opened the box and had a look inside, I realised that £6 didn’t buy me very much popcorn at all. I also realised that it is just a tray of popcorn and not actually shaped like a tree, or with any real Christmas decoration despite being called Joe & Seph Festive Popcorn Chocolate Slab. That was a bit disappointing.

I broke a bit off to try, and then I checked the box for a use-by date. Not a good start. My popcorn was chewy, soft, and unpleasant. The date was for March next year, and there was no noticeable tear in the packaging before I tried it. I almost thought I wasn’t going to review it, as I had clearly gotten a bad bar. Then, for interest, I had a look online at some supermarket reviews for Joe & Seph Festive Popcorn Chocolate Slab, and many of them said the same thing: chewy, soft popcorn, so I fear this might be a design feature. In which case, despite the chocolate the salted caramel having good flavours, the texture is not to my taste. Shame. 

Popcorn Shed White Chocolate Popcorn (Popcorn Shed) By @SpectreUK

I do love everything white chocolate, but I've never had white chocolate popcorn before. This Popcorn Shed White Chocolate Popcorn may be a decent late night snack, especially accompanied by a pot of low calorie vanilla ice cream. The back of the packet stated that this popcorn was flavoured with caramel and white chocolate. I mean, this snack is sounding better every second.

 

On opening the packet you can see from the photograph that this Popcorn Shed White Chocolate Popcorn looked pretty much like any other regular popcorn at a glance. On closer inspection (yes, we do that here), the popcorn had a light covering of white chocolate over caramel. On taste the initial flavour was creamy white chocolate followed closely by sweet caramel. On mixing the vanilla ice cream with the white chocolate, sweet caramel and popcorn flavours, this was an indulgent flavoursome heavenly treat to watch with a good movie.

Information on the packet; The 24g packet was 103 calories, with 3.5g of fat, 10g of sugar, and 0.2g of salt. Please see photograph for the ingredients, which are all natural and gluten free.

Chocolate Orange Popcorn (Popcorn Shed) By @SpectreUK

I haven't tried chocolate orange popcorn before, so here's a first. I do like the odd chocolate orange pudding. I usually go for various chocolate orange bars and an orange flavoured Wagon Wheel or two. I fancy a bit of a change, so this Popcorn Shed Chocolate Orange gourmet popcorn should go rather well with the chocolate orange doughnut that Cinabar brought back from the shops earlier. I'll have it with a pot of low calorie vanilla ice cream and some chocolate buttons too.

 

As you can see from the photograph I used the Krispy Kreme Doughnut box as a tray. The Popcorn Shed Chocolate Orange popcorn was covered in dark chocolate. There was a toffee flavour immediately underneath the dark chocolate coating, and then the orange flavour mixed perfectly well with the sweet toffee taste. Gorgeous and moreish, this chocolate orange popcorn went very well indeed with my ice cream and chocolate buttons, and the Krispy Kreme chocolate orange doughnut too. Yum.

Information on the packet; The 24g packet has 106 calories, with 3.9g of fat, 9.5g of sugar, and 0.2g of salt. Please see the photograph for the ingredients.

Red Velvet Popcorn (Popcorn Shed) By @Cinabar

For those of you who watched Bake Off last week, you will know that the technical was a Red Velvet cake, and that reminded me that I had a small bag of Popcorn Shed Red Velvet popcorn in the Foodstuff Finds cupboard. I have to be honest, my knowledge of Red Velvet cake was a chocolate cake dyed red, which is definitely mostly true, but it has a cream cheese frosting too and it is made with buttermilk.

I wondered whether this popcorn went down the easy route of just a chocolate flavour or if it attempted to create quite a complex flavour. I opened it up and poured the popcorn out. It smelled chocolatey and didn’t look red, not a bad thing. I gave a piece a try and found it to be a very rich indulgent flavour, with a proper cake taste. I could pick up on plenty of chocolate, but also a sweetness and creaminess like the cream cheese frosting. Every piece was generously coated and it was a proper treat. I’m really enjoying these small bags, perfect for a light snack too. These were originally sent to me by the lovely people at Popcorn Shed and I can’t wait to try some more flavours.

Popcorn Shed - Toasted Marshmallow (Gifted) By @Cinabar

The rather lovely folk from Popcorn Shed sent us some of their new flavours to try, and this Popcorn Shed Toasted Marshmallow caught my eye straight away. I love marshmallows and I love popcorn, so I eagerly opened up the box. The pieces of popcorn are big and fluffy and seem to have quite a bit of topping on them. On closer inspection, I could see that some had traces of pink from the mallows. They were also a little more stuck together than the usual Popcorn Shed varieties.

I gave one a try and it was a wonderful sweet flavour, with a touch of creaminess. The taste is marshmallow, but marshmallow isn’t the strongest of flavours, just that delicate vanilla sweetness. The best part though, was the texture. These were a joy to eat. Some pieces were quite gooey and chewy, as they were dripping in marshmallow. I loved that. Some pieces were crispy and crunchy, these were a simple flavour but a fantastic texture. The box didn’t last long.