Popcorn is good. Toffee-covered popcorn is also good. And, it turns out, milk-chocolate-covered toffee-covered popcorn is also pretty darn fine.
At the centre of each piece of Trader Joe’s Milk Chocolate Covered Toffee Popcorn is a fluffy, dense piece of popcorn. It’s the lightest element in the concoction, which gains its heft by being weighed down with toffee and a layer of chocolate coating. At first glance, they look like giant Glosette raisins (a Canadian reference, I hear).
The taste and texture are curious. The toppings make it very sweet, but a bit of salt counters it and brings out the popcorn. Each element is clearly identifiable. There’s no difficulty picking out the toffee, which I thought might be a problem.
The slight puffy crunch of the caramel corn leads to a condition I like to call kernel-mouth, where little pieces of popcorn kernel jam their way into cheeks and in between teeth. A small trade off, but worth noting.
Overall, good enough that if I had a Trader Joe’s in my city, I’d worry about becoming addicted.
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RATINGS AND DETAILS
Cost: $2.99 for an 8 oz. (227 gram) bag.
Value for cash money: Not bad.
Availability: Trader Joe’s in the U.S. I found mine in Seattle.
Nutrition?: 130 calories per 1/4 cup. There are 9 servings in the bag, so multiply that up, and presto: 1,170 calories in all. It’s very easy to eat half a bag without thinking about it. Small amount of calcium (that’s milk chocolate, after all), protein, and fibre. Lots of saturated fat and sugar.
The verdict: Tasty. One hell of a lot better than Trader Joe’s chocolate covered edamame.
These sound yummy, but, 130 cal per a tiny 1/4 cup. I can imagine eating 2 cups in no time at all. Ouch! That hurts.
Agreed. It’s easy to eat half a cup without even noticing. I mean, how many plump chocolate-covered kernels are there in a quarter cup? A small handful? Eek.