Angies - Boom Chicka Pop - Dark Chocolate Drizzled Kettle Corn - Nov. 5, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Angie's Artisan Treats, Inc.
Boom Chicka Pop - Dark Chocolate Flavored Drizzled Sea Salt Kettle Corn 
Good +
Weight: 1.09 oz. (31 g.) / 5.5 oz. (156 g.) in total package 
Calories: 170 calories in 1 serving
Cost: $5.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Farm Fresh, online order (add-in to larger order)

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and Umami Theme Week, featuring chocolates with high umami flavor inclusions and chocolate pairings with umami foods.

Today's Dark Chocolate Flavored Drizzled Sea Salt Kettle Corn was distributed by Angie's Artisan Treats, LLC* (Osseo, MN). 

Aroma notes for this snack mix included: sweet/lightly candied popcorn and faint chocolate.

This kettle corn had a soft crunch and was, as advertised, drizzled with just the right amount of smooth (alkalized) dark chocolate (not too much, not too little). And the overall sweetness was not overwhelming (thank you!). You could still taste the lightly salted popcorn underneath.

Today's Kettle Corn was paired with two high umami snacks: 1.) homemade umami almonds (slow roasted with Worcestershire sauce) and 2.) homemade Parmesan cheese crackers. A satisfying sweet and salty (and umami) snack balance was achieved. 

Ingredients: Cane sugar, popcorn, sunflower oil, palm kernel and palm oil, cocoa powder (processed with alkali), whey powder, sea salt, soy lecithin, natural flavor.

Allergen-related information: "Contains milk, soy." "Manufactured in a facility that also processes peanuts and tree nuts."

*Angie's Artisan Treats (maker of popcorn and kettle corn snack products) was acquired by Conagra Brands in 2017. (Conagra brands include: Marie Callender's, Reddi-wip, Hunt's, Healthy Choice, Slim Jim and Orville Redenbacher's.)

Trader Joe's - Milk and Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel Popcorn - Oct. 9, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Trader Joe's
Milk and Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel Popcorn
Good - Good +
Weight: 3 oz. (85 g.) / 6 oz. (170 g.) in total package
Calories: 420 calories in 1/2 package
Cost: $2.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Trader Joe's, Mountain View, CA

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate, Salt and Savory Theme Week.

Today's Milk and Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel Popcorn was from Trader Joe's (based in Monrovia, CA).

This sweet and salty snack had a light, soft loft and crunch, and the combination of milk and dark chocolate coating was well balanced with the salted caramel popcorn at the core of every piece.

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Kind LLC - Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Popped Snack Bites - Dec. 7, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Kind LLC
Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt - Popped Snack Bites
Good
Weight: 1 cup (60 g.) / 6.5 oz. (184 g.) in total package
Calories: 220 calories in 2 servings
Cost: $2.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate Snacks Theme Week.

Today's Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt Popped Snack Bites were from Kind LLC (New York, NY).  This was a lighter, more thoughtful snack than most.

Whole grain snacks often have a heavier feel to them. However, the crunchy, whole grain snack morsels (bites) in this mix contained popped corn and sorghum; and other ingredients were applied with an equally deft touch resulting in an airier taste and feel.

The hybrid bites were considerably lighter than other oat-based granola snack mixes, and other coated popcorn snacks—often swimming in sugar and salt.

This whole grain (oats, brown rice, sorghum, amaranth, millet, quinoa and buckwheat + popcorn) blend did contain tapioca syrup and smidges of molasses and brown rice syrup, but didn't taste that sweet. (Thank you.) Similarly, the sodium (sea salt) level was a kindly 55 mg. per serving.

What about the chocolate? Semi-sweet chocolate (sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla extract) was the fifth ingredient listed, but contributed some rich, flavor depth that helped tie together all those grains.

Angie's Boom Chicka Pop - Milk Chocolatey Peanut Butter Flavored Kettle Corn - Sept. 2, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Angie's Artisan Treats, Inc.
Boom Chicka Pop
Milk Chocolatey Peanut Butter Flavored Kettle Corn
Good
Weight: 1.75 oz. (50 g.) in total package
Calories: 260 calories in 1 package
Cost: $2.50 for 1 package
Purchased from: Starbucks, Charleston Ave., Mountain View, CA


Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Peanuts Theme Week.

Today's Boom Chicka Pop Milk Chocolatey Peanut Butter Flavored Kettle Corn was from Angie's Artisan Treats, Inc. (N. Mankato, MN).

I don't generally eat kettle corn; it's too sweet for me. And while I do like dark and "dark milk" chocolate accents for snacks, sometimes a lighter touch is better.

This kettle corn, made with Non GMO popcorn, was lighter on the sugar. And the light drizzle of milk chocolatey peanut butter flavor wasn't too excessive. The flavoring was enough to add some accent flavor without overwhelming the popcorn.

Today's kettle corn contained no high-fructose corn syrup or trans fat and was gluten free.

Popcorn, Indiana - Dark Fudge Peppermint Drizzlecorn - April 4, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Popcorn, Indiana LLC
Dark Fudge Peppermint Drizzlecorn
Good++
Weight: 3 oz. (84.9 g.) / 5 oz. (141 g.) in total bag
Calories: 390 calories in 3 servings (3/5 bag)
Cost: $missing information for 1 bag
Purchased from: missing information

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and Indiana Theme Week.

Today's Limited Edition Dark Fudge Peppermint Drizzlecorn from Popcorn, Indiana LLC* (Westport, CT) hit the spot.

This sweet, salty and minty Drizzlecorn was full of flavor without a homogenous sugary glaze, making it possible to taste layers of flavor and the natural popcorn underneath.

The chocolate fudge was drizzled lightly across the popped corn, giving it just the right amount of rich chocolate flavor and contrasting smooth texture. This Drizzlecorn was also made without artificial colors, flavors or preservatives, and it was certified gluten free and kosher.

I recommend this with only one reservation. Like many snack foods, if you eat this when you're hungry, it's easy to eat way too much. Not a bad problem to have, but consider yourself forewarned. (Although you may have to wait until the holidays to find this Limited Edition flavor in stores again.)

*Popcorn, IN is not just a marketing name. It's a small community that really does exist, about 60 miles outside Indianapolis, IN. 

Hershey's Kisses; Trader Joe's Cocoa Kettle Corn - Feb. 4, 2017

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

The Hershey Company
Hershey's Kisses
Good
Weight: .725 oz. (20.5 g.) / 1.45 oz. (41 g.) total piece
Calories: 105 calories in 1/2 Kiss
Cost: $missing information for 1 kiss
Purchased from: missing information, CA

Hello and welcome to Day #9 of DEFGHIJK Theme Week. We've covered previous letters of this alphabet series this past week, and today we'll finish up with the letter "k."

Today, "K" is for Hershey's Kisses and Trader Joe's Cocoa Drizzled Kettle Corn—two sweets with a long history in the U.S.

Hershey's Kisses
The Hershey Company* (gluten free) drop-shaped chocolate Kisses were first introduced in 1907. Today's larger-sized Hershey's Kiss was solid milk chocolate and wrapped in silver foil. It was fairly sweet, as one would expect with milk chocolate; and it was similar in taste to a Hershey's milk chocolate bar.

Kettle Corn
Kettle corn is a popped corn-based treat that's salty and sweet. Dutch settlers to the U.S made mention of it as early as 1776.

Later, another new world food (cocoa) was incorporated. Today's Cocoa Drizzled Kettle Corn from Trader Joe's (Monrovia, CA) lacked the sugary varnish that often accompanies sweet popcorn treats. (Thank you!).

This kettle corn maintained a crunchy, salty-sweet balance. The application of the chocolate flavored confectionery coating (sugar, palm kernel oil, cocoa...) was restrained and, again, well balanced. And the cocoa coating tasted like chocolate.

*The Hershey Company (formerly known as Hershey Foods Corporation and/or Hershey's) was founded in 1894 by Milton S. Hershey in Derry Township, PA.

479 degrees - Dark Chocolate + Bing Cherries - June 4, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

479 Degrees
Dark Chocolate + Bing Cherries (popcorn)
Good+ - Good++
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 5 oz. (142 g.) in total package
Calories: 120 calories in 1 cup serving
Cost: $0.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Cherries Theme Week.

Dark Chocolate + Bing Cherries (popcorn) from 479 degrees (San Francisco, CA).

Founder, Jean Arnold, trained at Cordon Bleu in London. And she had a thing for popcorn (the perfect snack). Eventually Arnold founded a high-end family of flavored popcorns.

The company's name was inspired by what Arnold cites as the optimal temperature for corn popping—479 degrees. And today's organic flavored popcorn reflected this care and precision.

This Limited Edition Dark Chocolate + Bing Cherries popcorn flavor was quite good.

Air popped (Non GMO) popcorn was coated with a veil of flavorful but light cherry infused sweetness and a thin drizzle of dark chocolate icing. I loved having a whole grain (popcorn), gluten-free snack that wasn't completely encased in sugar and corn syrup.

The coating was made of agave syrup, brown sugar and butter blended with Bing cherries and cherry extract + a hint of sea salt.

Today's popcorn contained no trans fat, artificial flavors or colors, and it was certified kosher and gluten free.

The content and images in this post belong to ChocolateBanquet.com.

Popcorn, Indiana - Chocolate Peanut Butter Drizzlecorn - Mar. 12, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Popcorn, Indiana LLC
Chocolate Peanut Butter Drizzlecorn
Good++
Weight: 1.85 oz. (53 g.) / 5.5 oz. (156 g.) in total package
Calories: 257 calories in 1/3 package
Cost: $3.00 (sale)
Purchased from: Safeway, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate and Peanut Butter Theme Week.


I was concerned that today's confection would be on the heavier sweeter side.

Made by Popcorn, Indiana LLC (Englewood, NJ), this Chocolate Peanut Butter Drizzlecorn looked like a decadently sweet, crunchy, popcorn snack food, drizzled with chocolate and peanut butter.

The company, however, gave quite a bit of thought to health and well-being with their whole grain snacks. This popcorn was made with Non-GMO corn, and without artificial flavors or colors, or high-fructose corn syrup. It was also gluten free, kosher, and contained "zero grams trans fats."

And, most important, this had identifiable, natural tasting chocolate and peanut butter flavors, and did not descend into the depths of sticky, sweet gooiness. Thank you!

BlackTruffle Caramels - Feb. 25, 2013

Chocolate of the Day:

Liddabit Sweets

Black Truffle Caramels
Good
Calories: 175 calories (estimate) in 3 pieces
Cost: $5.00 (sale) for 1 box of 12 caramels
Purchased from: Liddabit Sweets, Brooklyn, NY

Bacon Corn
Good - Good+
Weight: 1.4 oz. (39.6 g.)/ 7 oz. (198 g.) total box/package
Calories: 158 calories
Cost: $12.00 for 1 box
Purchased from: Liddabit Sweets, Brooklyn, NY

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate and Umami or Bacon Theme Week.

Black Truffle Caramels

Extending Chocolate and Truffle Theme Week, from this past week, today I tried some Black Truffle Caramels, very subtlely flavored with Black Truffle oil, from Liddabit Sweets (Brooklyn, NY). Liddabit makes a variety of creatively designed and flavored treats with interesting and local ingredients.

Bacon Corn

I also enjoyed a small plate of the company's Bacon Corn -- not your parents' caramel corn. This batch was made with maple syrup, Bourbon whiskey, Crop to Cup coffee beans and kosher salt.



Described as "a salty, crunchy, smoky, boozy, bacony melange of awesome" on the packaging, the smoky bacon, coffee and bourbon flavors were overwhelmed by the sugar and corn syrup covering the air-popped popcorn. (I'd be curious to see how these other flavors taste if the sweetness was dialed back.) However, this doesn't disqualify this fun snack from being a "Breakfast of Heroes" -- another self-titled moniker on the box. Fun is fun. I respect that.

Oscar Night - February 24, 2013

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

1.) Poco Dolce 
Popcorn Toffee
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 1.2 oz. (33.96 g.) / 8 oz. (227 g.) in 1 tin
Calories: 180 calories (estimate) in 1.2 oz. (33.96 g.) serving
Cost: $16.00 for 1 tin
Purchased from: Poco Dolce, San Francisco, CA

Tonight a group of us watched the annual Academy Awards Ceremony. This event began with watching stars arrive and sashay up the red carpet on their way to an auditorium. And it ended when the last golden Oscar statuette was handed out three or four hours later (depending on when you tuned in).

Many chocolates were nominated to star this evening, but we enjoyed tasting small squares of Popcorn Toffee from Poco Dolce  (San Francisco, CA); nibbling on the head from a chocolate figurine; and munching on some smoked bacon popcorn.

All these items were part of Day #2 of Chocolate and Umami or Bacon Theme Week.

2.) Once Upon a Chocolate
Oscar Style Statue (golden chocolate man)
Good
Weight: .75 oz. (21.2 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) (estimate) in 1 statue
Calories: 112.5 calories (estimate) in top part of of statue
Cost: N/A - gift
Purchased from: N/A - gift

What a delight to have a chocsimile (chocolate facsimile) of the golden man himself (Oscar style statuette) on hand for the ceremonies. Although he did lose his head during the after-party. He was last heard to say: It was an honor just to be nominated. Thank you Megan for this gift!

3.) Fabrique Delices
Natural Uncured Bacon Butter
(Bacon butter + popcorn + smoked Alderwood salt)
Very Good
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1 g.) / 3 oz. (84.9 g.) in 1 container
Calories: 50 calories (estimate)
Cost: $6.99 for 1 container
Purchased from: La Fromagerie, San Francisco, CA

Fabriques Delices (Hayward, CA) natural uncured bacon butter (made with fully cooked bacon) was a hit -- drizzled over freshly popped popcorn. We added a pinch of Alderwood smoked salt to this batch, and we were riding high on the hog.

Umami flavors (often called the fifth sense of taste -- and more recently discovered than the first four: sour, sweet, bitter and salty) include fat, smoke and salt. Expect to see this bacon butter and smoked salt in combination with chocolate again, in the next few days.

ChocolateBet: July 5, 2012

Chocolate of the Day:

FunkyChunky, Inc.
FixMix Popcorn
Good
Weight: 4 oz. (113 g.) / 5 oz. (140 g.)
Calories: 520 calories in 4/5 package
Cost: $3.99 total package
Purchased from: Cost Plus World Market, in Mountain View, CA

In honor of Day #8 of Chocolate and Backyard Barbeque and Bacon Theme Week, I made a popcorn parfait jar with three different kinds of popcorn. The bottom layer was made up of FixMix Popcorn from FunkyChunky, Inc. (Edina, MN) -- caramel popcorn drizzled with dark, milk and white chocolate.

The middle layer in this glass parfait jar was olive oil popcorn with a hint of barbeque sauce. And the top layer was BaconPOP, bacon-flavored, gluten-free popcorn from Justin and David (J and D's Foods, Inc.). Too bad we had to eat through the first two layers to get to the bottom layer with the chocolate, as we were stuffed after we ate the very rich and sweet FixMix blend.

We also sampled some BLT (bacon, lettuce and tomato flavored) potato chips from Lay's. Summer fresh fruits and nuts made up the rest of this backyard barbeque snack and dessert buffet.

ChocolateBet: March 26, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:
7 oz.
Popcornopolis
Chocolate Kettle Popcorn
Good +
Weight: 7 oz. (198 g.)/ 8.75 oz. (248 g.) total package
Calories: 770 calories
Cost: $2.49 (going out of business sale price)
Purchased from: Blockbuster, in Palo Alto, CA

For those who want a combination candy and popcorn treat, Popcornopolis offers different flavors of kettlecorn and flavored popcorn items. Today's choice: Chocolate Kettle Popcorn, that was gluten free with no trans fats. Unfortunately, I forgot I was eating fully loaded popcorn, and ate most of the package while watching a video. Now, I want to take a nap.

ChocolateBet: June 21, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
2 servings
Maw 'n Paw Kettlekorn
Peanut Butter Chocolate (popcorn)
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 2 oz. (56 g.) / 8 oz. (224 g.) total package
Calories: 300 calories
Cost: $
Purchased from: The Candy Baron, Pier 39, in San Francisco, CA

Maw 'n Paw did a pretty good job with this batch of chocolate and peanut butter kettlekorn. It was flavorful, without being too heavy or sweet.

Today was Day #1 of Chocolate and Peanut Butter Theme Week.

(Next week I will be focusing on single origin chocolates -- no zany combinations, just the pure stuff!)

ChocolateBet: July 10, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:
1 serving
Trail's End Company/Weaver Popcorn Co.
Chocolatey Caramel Crunch (chocolate-coated caramel popcorn)
Good +
Weight: ~ 2 oz. (56.6 grams)
Calories: ~ 250 calories (estimate)
Cost: $? (could have been a gift)
Purchased from: (was part of a popcorn gift tin); not sure where this came from

I am embarrassed to say that this round gift tin, packed with three different types of popcorn, dates back to a Christmas past. Fortunately, all three types of popcorn were nicely sealed in their own pouches, and this chocolate-coated popcorn still tasted reasonably fresh. Trail's End is part of Weaver Popcorn, a large U.S. manufacturer of popcorn. (In fact, according to Weaver Popcorn's website, they produce 30% of all popcorn sold.)

ChocolateBet: February 20, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:
1/2 bar
Harry & David
Moose Munch Chocolate Bar (Drk Choc.)
Good+ - Very Good
Wt.: 1 oz. (28.3 g.)/2 oz. (56 g.) total bar
Calories: 145 calories for 1/2 bar
Cost: $2.49
Purchased from: Walgreens, in Palo Alto, CA

Note: Entries were posted late this week due to international travel and lack of regular Internet access. This chocolate made the trip down to Costa Rica with me, and was eaten there. I have tried Harry & David's Moose Munch chocolate popcorn candy before. The combination of flavors is similar in this bar, however the popcorn plays more of a back seat to the chocolate.

ChocolateBet: December 3, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1.5 servings (3/4 cup)
Hershey's (branded)/Houston Harvest, Inc.
Hershey's Chocolate Drizzled Popcorn
Good +
Wt.: 3/4 cup (43.5 grams)/6 oz. (170 g.) in total pkg.
Calories: ~ 180 calories for 3/4 cup
Cost: $4.99 for total package
Purchased from: OfficeMax, in Mountain View, CA

I found this chocolate while shopping for office supplies.

ChocolateBet: October 15, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 serving
The Nutty Chocolatier
Chocolate Popcorn
Good + - heavy milk chocolate coating over individual popcorn pieces
Wt.: ~ 1.5 oz. /8 oz. total in bulk plastic bag/pkg.
Calories: ~ 160 calories (estim.)
Cost: $4.99 total package
Purchased from: The Nutty Chocolatier, in Toronto, Canada

This is a fun local chocolatier in the beach(es) area of Toronto. Thank you to eyeon Software for the introduction to this place next door to their office.

ChocolateBet: October 6, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

2 srvgs. (1 cup)
ConAgra Foods
Poppycock - Peanut Butter and Chocolate
Very Good
Wt.: 60 grams in 1 cup/ 8.5 oz. (240 grams) in total package
Calories: ~ 280 in 2 servings (1 cup)
Cost: $? (need to find receipt)
Purchased from: ? (need to find receipt)

Poppycock indeed. These peanut butter glazed popcorn clusters were drizzled with milk chocolate; and they were somewhat addictive the same way that so many other sweet and salty snacks are. The nutty flavor only increased the appeal.

ChocolateBet: October 2, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

2 servings
Lincoln Snacks Company
Poppycock Chocolate Lovers (glazed popcorn clusters with almonds, pecans, chocolate drizzles)
Very Good - (pkg states that there are 0 grams of trans fat which is nice)
Wt.: ~ 1 cup (64 grams)/8 oz. (226 grams) in total package
Calories: 320 calories (estimate) in 2 servings
Cost: $ ? (need to find receipt)
Purchased from: ? (need to find receipt)

I bought two different kinds of Poppycock (both with chocolate) to add to the "just-in-case-I-ran-out-of-chocolates" stash bag at home. I had almost forgotten I had them. The company name is The Lincoln Snacks Company. Their headquarters looks like it is in Chicago; however, it appears that these hail from (or at least are made in) Lincoln, Nebraska. So, Nebraska, I am adding you to my list of U.S. states (& countries) that I'm keeping -- where I list the geographic origin of different chocolate I have eaten. Yes, people, there will probably be a wacky chocolate map someday if I can figure out how to get this created and posted.

*Note added later: Poppycock is now owned by ConAgra foods (along with the Fiddle Faddle brand). As kids in the U.S., we grew up eating these two sweet glazed popcorn snacks and - another related brand, Screaming Yellow Zonkers. It looks like Ubiquity Foods owned all three of these brands in 2007, but, in the $24 billion snack food business, who can keep track.

According to a story that ran in September 2007, in the Chicago Sun-Times:

---------------------
ConAgra Foods Inc. is the new owner of Fiddle Faddle and Poppycock snacks, having acquired the brands' owner, Lincoln Snacks, from Chicago-based Ubiquity Brands last week for an undisclosed price.
Lincoln's manufacturing facility in Lincoln, Neb., will continue to produce the glazed popcorn snacks, which will report to ConAgra Food's Snack Foods division headquarters in Edina, Minn.
Lincoln had about 120 employees. Several office and sales employees who did not want to move with the brand will lose their jobs, said Kris Makowlski, Ubiquity's chief marketing officer.
Lincoln Snacks had about $45 million in sales last year.
Omaha-based ConAgra already owns a similar popcorn product -- ...
-----------------
OK, the point of all this is that I probably bought these bags of Poppycock awhile back (ahem), and they still tasted nice and relatively fresh, even after all these changes have taken place. And more important, I can keep Nebraska on my chocolate sources and states list. Hurray Nebraska. You're still on the wacky chocolate map.

ChocolateBet: November 9, 2006

Chocolate of the Day:

LesserEvil Brand Snack Co.
Black and White
Good
Weight: 3.65 oz. (103 g.) in 1 package
Calories: 420 calories (per label) in 1 package
Cost: $?
Purchased from: work cafeteria, Sunnyvale, CA

Clever packaging and some fun twists on traditional kettle corn and other candy. I tried their "chocolaty kettle corn" black and white mix. It was good.