Hula Hoops: Salt & Vinegar

Hula Hoops!  Found in the 'International/UK' section of a nearby grocery store, I grabbed this tiny bag as soon as I saw it.  I'd have preferred to buy the original flavor for a first try so I'd know what 'basic' Hula Hoops taste like, but oh well.  They only had Salt and Vinegar flavored ones, but as I've said in a few other reviews, I love salt and vinegar chips.  Lucky break for me, eh?

The bag is tiny and blue which seems to be a nearly universal 'Salt and Vinegar' bag color.  Not sure who decided that.  The Hula Hoops themselves look a bit like calamari which is kinda fun.  It smells like you'd expect salt and vinegar chips to smell - they smell like salt... and vinegar.  Not too overpowering so I'm not expecting much of a kick from these.  We shall see!

But what do they taste like?
They taste like very mild salt and vinegar.  It's more like a hint of salt and vinegar and a whole hell of a lot of 'Hula Hoop' which is pretty potato-y.  You know, considering how mild these are I think I have a pretty good idea of what regular Hula Hoops taste like.  The hoops are pretty solid and take more bite strength than, say, Lay's (the flimsy chip).  I wish these tasted more like salt and vinegar, actually.  I keep getting hints of it, but then the base Hula Hoop flavor blocks it out and I'm just tasting potato.  There's a bit of salt and vinegar flavor lingering, but it's mild.  Actually, now that I think of it, it's really a vinegar flavor.  These hardly seem salted at all compared to other Salt and Vinegar brands I've had.  Maybe that's because these chips don't have (according to the bag) "Artificial Flavours or Colours", "No MSG" and are made with 100% sunflower oil.  Maybe that's why they're not particularly salty then?

I definitely like my salt and vinegar chips to have some bite so these are a bit too mild for my taste, but they're still pretty good.  I'd probably get them again just for kicks, but I don't think I'd go out of my way to get them.  The strong potato flavor overpowers the salt and vinegar - I'll get my proper salt and vinegar chip fix elsewhere.

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