Annie Chun's Roasted Seaweed Snacks: Sesame

Bit different this week since these aren't strictly 'chips', I suppose.  BUT!  I keep finding them in the chip aisle, and I would certainly eat seaweed like potato chips, given the option.  And I HAVE been given the option!  I've been known to, from time to time, get sheets of nori from the supermarket to just eat.  No plans of making sushi or any of that nonsense.  Just seaweed.  Nom.

So this, this is exciting!  It's also yet another purchase from 7/11.  They like to keep me well stocked.  Personally, and without trying them, I'd prefer a different flavor to sesame (even plain!), but my options were sesame or wasabi and I'm not a big fan of wasabi.  Who knows, though - sesame seaweed might be my new favorite thing!

But what do they taste like?
Salty!  Always a good sign for seaweed.  A more intense, sort of... deeper salt flavor than the usual nori.  I'm not sure if it's the sesame or what, but I don't taste much sesame otherwise.  It's also thinner than regular sheets of nori, I suspect because no one would make sushi with it, so it doesn't need to hold together.

Also strange is that they're too big to eat in one bite.  These are little chip nibblies!  Why must they be just a bit too big?  It's not too bad, and this seaweed isn't as flaky as regular seaweed, so it works out.  Still - one bite would be easier.  I'm digging the saltiness of these, but I'd prefer a bit punchier seaweed flavor.  I like the taste a lot, and feel there should be more of it, as I'm just eating bits of seaweed.  It also suffers from seaweed's problem of 'turns to mush very quickly'.  Not at all like a chip, where it stays 'chip-y' while chewing.  I expected this, but you perhaps, might not!  And now you shall.

Anyways - I'm absolutely going to eat all of these right now, even though they could taste a bit more like seaweed and a bit less like salt.  I really don't taste 'sesame' much at all, though it is a pretty mild flavor I suppose.  If you like seaweed (or, if you find seaweed a bit too seaweed flavored, and not salty enough), I'd definitely give these a shot!  Just... don't expect to feel full after - they're not very filling!

Rating

Cheetos Mix-Ups Cheezy Salsa Mix

Sorcery and witchcraft!  It's a mix of different Cheetos types in the same bag!  There was another bag in the store, but it didn't have a strange green 'jalapeno cheddar' thing in it, so I passed.  Why get normal Cheetos when I can get strange green ones?  No reason is why!

The flavors are:  salsa picante, chipotle cheddar, jalapeno cheddar and cheddar.  Cheddar seems like a standard cheez doodle type chip, while the salsa picante is more like a cheeto.  The other two are like a waffle fry (chipotle cheddar), and a green tater tot (jalapeno cheddar).  Let the battle for ultimate mix flavor... begin!

But what do they taste like?
Salsa picante: I thought these would have more flavor actually.  They're like cheetos, but there's... the tiniest hint of tomato flavor?  Not much spice and not much cheese though.  They really don't taste like much of anything other than some slight spiciness.  These were the mildest of the bunch, which was unexpected.
Chipotle cheddar: chemical-y, chipotle flavor right off the bat.  It tastes the way cheese sauce smells, if that makes any sense.  It's a strong, sort of smokey cheese flavor that stays pretty strong throughout.  It's not bad, but it's definitely the strongest chemical flavor of the bunch.  It's also a very thick chip, while the others are smaller bites.
Jalapeno cheddar: jalapeno-y, but not in a painful way yet.  They get a little spicier as you go, but not too bad.  A tiny bit of a kick, but they taste pretty good!  The green is... a little off-putting, but I guess you... might not know it's jalapeno otherwise?  All things considered it's pretty mild - like a cheez doodle that tastes spicier than cheez-y.
Cheddar: pretty much your standard cheddar flavor, but weirdly, every single chip seems to have the jalapeno green on it, so they all have a bit of a punch.  Basically... think 'cheez doodle' and you've got the cheddar flavor.

All four flavors at once: it's... weird.  Pretty much a spicy, chemical-y mix that has a strong cheez doodle flavor.  The problem with these is that the 'cheddar' and 'chipotle cheddar' are all way bigger than the others, overpowering them.  It's not much of a mix and match bag.  Eating a handful without the 'cheddar' flavor is actually better, just because the cheddar flavor is pretty overpowering.

Overall these are fine, but a bit strange.  The green from the jalapeno cheddar is pretty strange looking, and when it gets on the cheez doodles it makes them look moldy, even when they're not.  The flavors are aren't bad - bit cheesy and spicy, but, all the same, I don't think I'd buy them again.

Rating

Doritos Jumpin' Jack

As with the Doritos Tacos, these are in the weird throwback bag.  I'm not sure why since it looks weird.  I saw these in 7/11, which, all things considered, does a pretty good job of stocking strange chips, so I snagged a bag.

On first open, they remind me a lot of Cool Ranch Doritos (super delicious), so that's a good start.

But what do they taste like?
They taste a bit like pepper jack cheese, as you'd expect, since that's what the label says, but it's mostly 'Doritos chip' flavor.  More than anything else it's just salty with a little bit of kick (and when I say a little bit - it's barely there) from the cheese and... that's about it.  There's some weird 'cheese' sense when you first bite into it on some chips - I suspect it's on ones that were especially flavor blasted.  But, unfortunately it doesn't last for long and you're left with tortilla chip and spice flavor.

Do they taste good?  Sure!  Hard to go too far wrong with Doritos that taste like a chip, but is there some sort of magical awesome pepper jack cheese flavor going on?  No... not really.  I certainly wouldn't eat these and think 'ah yes, pepper jack flavored Doritos'.  It's like... a very mild Cool Ranch and maybe the slightest hint of pepper jack cheese.

So, while they taste fine, I wouldn't really go out of my way to get these.  I'd much prefer some Cool Ranch, or even regular Nacho flavor over these, just because it's a more distinct flavor.  All I get after these pepper jack chips is a tiny bit of mouth burn and tortilla chip taste.  And... that's kinda boring.  It seems like, unless the cheese flavor is 'nacho' Doritos is kinda out of its depth on cheese flavorings.

Rating

Doritos Jacked Ranch Dipped Hot Wings

It's a known fact that I think ranch dressing is pretty delicious.  It's also known that the best dipping sauce for buffalo wings is ranch dressing.  None of these other dressings for me.  It's safe to say that I am both pro ranch dressing, and pro buffalo wings.  Or, in this case, hot wings.  So I was pretty excited when I found these magic chips.  But also wary for, as I've learned, chips rarely taste like the two promised things.  It's one or the other.  How shall these fare?!

But what do they taste like?
Wow.  They actually taste a hell of a lot like ranch dipped hot wings.  They're not quite buffalo wings, because there's no chicken flavor really, but it's pretty close to eating a chip that's been dipped in some sort of strange 'ranch hot wing sauce' mix.  They're also practically neon with flavor - usually a good sign.  For these the flavor isn't super overpowering, but the flavor that lasts is the chemically hot wing taste, when I'd prefer to taste more ranch.  Another thing is that they're strangely thick chips, and way bigger than regular Doritos.  Is that a thing with JACKED chips?  It's a bit strange, since the chip flavor detracts from the ranch/hot wing flavor.  It seems to be a thing, since the bag says that they're 'bigger, bolder, thicker', but I honestly don't feel like that improves them.

The larger than average chips are kinda weird.  There are fewer chips in the bag, but simultaneously more calories than a usual bag of chips.  That's not a problem, but I think these can very easily be overeaten, since you feel like you've only eaten a few chips when really it's double normal size Doritos.  They're not too spicy, but they do have a bit of a kick, which you expect with hot wings sauce.

The flavor overall is nice, but it seems to taste best the first second you try it.  After that it gets pretty chemically.  I think I'd like these better if that first taste stuck.  The first taste is more ranch/wing, but it's very quickly overpowered by the chemical hot wing sauce.  Overall, these do actually have a ranch and hot wing sauce flavor, so props to Doritos for the 'dual flavor' chip, but they're deceptively big and taste pretty chemically the more you eat.  That and the neon seasoning requires extra napkins.

Rating