Snack #216- Chester’s Puffcorn Flamin’ Hot Puffed Corn Snacks

Chester’s Puffcorn Flamin’ Hot Puffed Corn Snacks

So we can’t really give this snack a fair assessment because these were sitting around too long and were incredibly stale (meaning mushy).  The texture at peak freshness would probably be crispier but at least the flavor was still there.  The Flamin’ Hot line of Cheetos products tends to be on the spicier end of convenience store snack options and these are no exception. We only ate a few each because of the textural problems but we could feel the fiery red powder heat. The heat doesn’t last too long but it is pretty sharp so these live up the their name.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 6/10

Bottom Line: Another Flamin’ Hot snack.

Snack #215- Cheetos Cheddar Jalapeño Crunchy Snacks

These Cheetos are the classic cheddar flavor crunchy corn snack but kicked up a notch with the addition of some jalapeño flavor.  While the combination isn’t anything new, Cheetos balances the flavors well and the heat is present but not overwhelming so the whole bag can be enjoyed without the spice level building too much.  A decent snack to grab when you’re feeling like nacho cheese and jalapeño in crunchy stick form.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 3/10

Bottom Line: Basic Cheetos amped up a bit.

Snack #211- Perri Hot Lips Nice ‘N’ Spicy Flavour

Perri Hot Lips Nice ‘N’ Spicy Flavour

These baked corn puffs were brought to us by a Hot Chick associate who traveled to Ireland.  They are low-calorie and baked instead of fried but the positives pretty much end there.  They are packing peanut consistency and melt in your mouth with no crispiness.  The flavor is extremely mild and there is only the barest hint of tomato and paprika seasonings.  The corn flavor is also dull so this snack basically takes like nothing.  We always enjoy trying international spicy snacks but this one certainly fell flat!

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 0/10

Bottom Line: Lip-shaped packing peanuts.

Snack #208- Herr’s Jalapeño Poppers Flavored Cheese Curls

Herr’s Jalapeño Poppers Flavored Cheese Curls

These cheese curls taste overwhelmingly like dusty, old cardboard.  Once that taste melts into your mouth there is a moderate flavor of fake cheese and jalapeño and they are definitely a little hot.  It’s just so hard to get past the sensation that you are eating cardboard flavored Styrofoam that these are not an appealing snack.  They definitely take the standard cheese curl and kick it up though so for a cheese curl fan these are a good spicy option.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 4/10

Bottom Line: Spicy cardboard flavored Styrofoam.

Snack # 186 - Chip'ins Hot Buffalo Wing

The second Chip'ins flavor I tried was, despite its name, not hot by any stretch of the imagination. They were, however, one of the more successful buffalo wing-flavored chips I've tried. Normally,  buffalo wing-flavored chips ends up tasting really vinegary - which is not my thing, but these managed to capture the non-vinegar flavors of a wing. However, any heat that they might have had was cut by a ranch flavor. The bag doesn't say anything about ranch flavor, and the only thing I could find in the ingredients that was remotely close was butter. So who knows. Maybe I'm so used to dipping wings in ranch or blue cheese that my brain created the flavor itself.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 0/10

Bottom Line:[not] Hot Buffalo Wing flavor

Buy them here: Popcorn Indiana Hot Buffalo Wing Chip`ins-Popcorn Chips ( 48/1 OZ)

Snack # 185 - Chip'ins Jalapeño Ranch

Jalapeño and ranch go together like peanut butter and jelly, or as the makers of Chip'ins say: "combining outgoing jalapeño with laid-back ranch is right up there with putting wheels on luggage." While that might be a bit of an overstatement, it's definitely a flavor combination I can get behind. Unfortunately, these did not quite live up to the hype. The "chips" are actually made out of popcorn, and the corn flavor really overpowers anything they could sprinkle onto it. It did however give the chip a nice light and crunchy texture. Despite the corniness, I definitely got some ranch flavor, and eventually a pretty substantial heat built up. There wasn't really any flavor to the heat though, just hotness.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 5/10

Bottom Line: a pretty tasty popped-corn chip

Buy them here: Popcorn Indiana Popcorn Chips Jalapeno Ranch Flavor, 7.25-Ounce Bags (Pack of 12)

Snack #178- Cheetos Crunchy Fiery Fusion Sizzlin’ Cayenne & Cheese Flavored Snacks

Cheetos Crunchy Fiery Fusion Sizzlin’ Cayenne & Cheese Flavored Snacks

These snacks are kind of a weird dull orange color and they are strangely flavored.  At first they taste like a spiceless, boring cheese Cheeto but then after a few seconds they start to burn in the back of the throat.  The burn doesn’t have a lot of strong cayenne or jalapeño flavor as the bag claims.  Mostly these just taste like poorly flavored cheese Cheetos with some generic spice throat burn.  They have a lot of odd ingredients like brown sugar and butter and I think the addition of the sweet flavors and multiple ‘cheese’ flavors muddles the overall taste and hides the flavors of the spices.  Not nearly as successful as some of the other spicy cheese and corn snacks we’ve tasted.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 4/10

Bottom Line: Dull cheese flavor with surprise burn at the end.

Snack #177- Cheetos Flamin’ Hot Limón Crunchy Cheese Flavored Snacks

Cheetos Flamin’ Hot Limón Crunchy Cheese Flavored Snacks

These Cheetos are similar to the other lime and chile snacks but this time on a Cheeto base.  The lime hits first and then the heat comes in but it is more of a throat burn than a mouth burn.  They certainly aren’t as hot as the Flamas chips but overall they have the same spicy lime effect which seems to be very popular these days.  These snacks are all made by Frito-Lay so it’s likely that the seasoning blend is pretty consistent between snacks even if they aren’t labeled the same way. 

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 5/10

Bottom Line: Lime and chile…on a Cheeto!

Available here:Cheetos Crunchy Flamin' Hot Limon, 9.75oz Bags (8pk)

Snack #174- Cheetos XXTRA Flamin’ Hot Crunchy Cheese Flavored Snacks

Cheetos XXTRA Flamin’ Hot Crunchy Cheese Flavored Snacks

It’s been a while since we had a real, honest, spicy snack but I am pleased to report that these “twice as hot” Flamin’ Hot Cheetos are definitely hot!  The Hot Chicks rated the original Flamin’ Hot Cheetos a 6.5/10 and said there was ‘hot hot heat’ building with these and the Xxtra hot version only magnifies that feature.  The initial flavor is vinegary and standard Cheeto but it doesn’t take long for the tongue and throat burn to start and they are the kind of hot snack that makes you open your mouth and take deep breaths to cut through the heat.  And the heat lasts pretty long  The cheese flavor is pretty much completely overpowered by the heat and the main enjoyment from these is found more in the crunch and the heat than the flavor.  But that’s probably the point!

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 8.5/10

Bottom Line: Hottest Cheetos on the market. 

Snack #173- Wise Hot ‘n Honey Cheese Flavored Cheez Doodles

Wise Hot ‘n Honey Cheese Flavored Cheez Doodles

These Cheez Doodles are an update on the classic and have paprika and honey flavors to give the standard cheddar a sweet-hot punch.  They are still the basic orange cheese puff but the honey does add a good amount of sweetness and the paprika gives a mild throat burn after eating them.  In terms of cheese curls they are a unique take on the flavor profile but I do find them a little sweeter than I generally like in a salty snack.  Also they were definitely more sweet than hot but the honey flavor melds well with the ‘melt in your mouth’ characteristic of cheese curls.  Definitely an interesting update on the original cheese and the new flavors work well.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 3/10

Bottom Line: Sweet and slightly burny cheese curls.

Snack #149- Cheetos Mighty Zingers Crazy Cheddar & Wicked Picante

Cheetos Mighty Zingers Crazy Cheddar & Wicked Picante

These LIMITED EDITION Cheetos are so original….cheese flavored!  The orange ‘crazy cheddar’ Cheetos in this mix taste exactly like original Cheetos.  The ‘wicked picante’ Cheetos are green which is bizarre and taste a little tangier than the orange ones but they don’t have a very exciting or unique flavor.  Also neither of the flavors are spicy at all.  They don’t taste bad, but they don’t taste special and I am not sure why Cheetos bothered to make this a limited edition flavor combination.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 0.5/10

Bottom Line: Cheetos.

Snack #139- Parlee Farms Spicy Cheese Nuggets

Parlee Farms Spicy Cheese Nuggets

These nuggets come from a local farm in northeastern Massachusetts that also grows a variety of pick-your-own crops including fall favorites apples and pumpkins. I was not expecting a spicy snack to show up at a farmstand but it isn’t the first time these treats have appeared in unexpected locations! They are basically little cheese curls with an extra flavorful coating. They taste a little smoky with onion and blue cheese flavors underneath the spice. Not the hottest snack we’ve had but certainly well developed flavors, particularly for a cheese puff.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 3/10

Bottom Line: Not super spicy but pretty tasty cheese nuggets

Snack #118- Cheetos Mighty Zingers Ragin’ Cajun & Tangy Ranch

Cheetos Mighty Zingers Ragin’ Cajun & Tangy Ranch

The two flavors in these Cheetos are pretty distinct and pretty tasty. The milder ones are ranch flavored and the ranch is pretty sweet but only a little tangy. They are super onion flavored though. The ‘Cajun’ zinger tastes more the buffalo flavor than what we think of as classic Cajun flavor. These are mostly just buffalo and blue cheese flavored Cheetos but with a jazzed up name. They are flavorful and crunchy though and the combination goes well together although the Cajun Cheetos overpower the ranch ones in a mouthful. The ranch snacks aren’t spicy but the Cajun ones packed a bit of a tongue punch and induced nose-watering. Overall, these are more exciting than the other Zingers combo we tested and a pretty satisfying snack.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 4.5/10

Bottom Line: Tasty hot and cool snack combo.

Snack #117- Cheetos Mighty Zingers Sharp Cheddar & Salsa Picante

Cheetos Mighty Zingers Sharp Cheddar & Salsa Picante
These are pretty boring. They are essentially a basic Cheeto combined with a slightly spicier Cheeto in one bag. The spicier Cheeto is really just a basic Cheeto with a drop of hot sauce on top. One other complaint is that this bag is full of tiny pellets of Cheeto that are about 1/3 of the size of normal Cheetos so you have to eat a lot more of them. I guess the idea is that if you eat a little handful instead of just one at a time you will get both of the flavors combined. But really it’s just weird.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 1/10
Bottom Line: Cheetos.

Snack #116- Wise Cheez Doodles Crunchy Jalapeño Cheddar Cheese Flavored Corn Snacks

Wise Cheez Doodles Crunchy Jalapeño Cheddar Cheese Flavored Corn Snacks

At first we were confused about why the package said ‘crunchy’ but it turns out that these are more of what we’ve categorized as a corn ‘crunchie’ than a ‘doodle’- meaning thinner and crunchier than the average corn puff. The flavor is pretty sweet with a distinct artificial cheese flavor and a slight jalapeño flavor. The pepper flavor is pretty authentic and there is a slight kick but overall they are not too impressive. Two boys who helped rate these said they would buy them at the store but any person with discerning taste would recognize a run-of-the-mill fake cheese puffed corn snack.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 1/10

Bottom Line: Standard gross crunchies.

Snack #109- Brim’s Fire Balls Red Hot Cheese Flavored Balls

Brim’s Fire Balls Red Hot Cheese Flavored Balls

Well I will say the name of this snack is highly humorous. And when I opened the clever ball tube I was shocked to find that it was stuffed to the brim with puffy cheese balls. Nothing like those half-empty chip bags, so kudos to Brim’s for a satisfyingly full package. Now moving on to the actual fire balls: they are very light and crispy, fluffy almost, and definitely FIERY. The first few I had seemed so light that I couldn’t imagine the heat building but after a small handful of them I am feeling it in my throat like WHOA. The cheese flavor is mild and overshadowed by the spices. There are no spices listed in the ingredients so I can only describe the heat as basic hot from mixed artificial ingredients. It’s not a bad flavor, but it is extremely generic and doesn’t help these snacks stick out of the pack.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 5/10

Bottom Line: Fluffy, fiery, and filled to the brim.

Snack #94 - Michael Season’s Baked Cheese Curls Hot Chili Pepper

Michael Season’s Baked Cheese Curls Hot Chili Pepper

Wow…these are a flavor EXPLOSION. I am so incredibly surprised at how much flavor is packed into these wheat/gluten-free, reduced fat, all-natural cheese curls. The first thing that hits when biting into these is an intense, remarkably artificial tasting- despite claims of ‘nothing artificial’- cheese flavor. It might be the classic cheese curl combo of blue cheese and cheddar cheese flavors, but it just doesn’t strike me as a particularly natural taste. And while you are contemplating this overwhelming cheese flavor you will be blindsided by the intense hot chili pepper flavors, which clearly are a select combination of highly spicy peppers. The ingredients have a funny way of describing this pepper flavor; they state that ‘chile peppers (including habanero)’ are the source of the heat, and it definitely tastes like it. Any other savory flavors, such as onion, garlic, and parsley, are completely overshadowed by the cheesy peppery flavor blast. But overall, these are crunchy and crispy and everything a tasty cheese curl snack should be. Although I would probably be tempted to call them more of a cheese crunchie than really a curl…but that’s just my opinion.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 8/10
Bottom Line: Extremely cheesy and spicy crunchie.

Snack #89- Herr's Hot Cheese Curls

Snack #89- Herr's Hot Cheese Curls

These cheese curls are made with real cheese and have a smoky, bbq flavor as well. They are made of corn but taste like potatoes, strangely enough. They are fairly spicy, especially for a cheese curl, which often seem to be overwhelmingly cheesy but not so spicy. So congratulations, Herr's, you managed to make an extra cheesy cheese curl that also stands up to the spicy potato chip competition.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 6/10

Bottom Line: Surprise spice in a standard cheese curl.

Snack #88 - Wingers Fiery Buffalo Bleu

Snack #88 - Wingers Fiery Buffalo Bleu

Well these are pretty weird. Shaped like little chicken drumsticks, these wingers are crunchy, but surprisingly hollow when you bite in. They sort of have the consistency of a dried out biodegradable packing peanut (don't ask, I had a very weird middle school science teacher).

While not that fiery - this made even more disappointing given their 5 of 5 heat index rating - they manage to capture the tang of blue cheese better than any other buffalo wing flavored snack I've tried. Unfortunately, it ends up just tasting like bleu cheese with a kick.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 5/10

Bottom Line: blue cheese packing peanuts

Snack #85- Señorial Quesifritos Chilteado Expandido Frito de Maíz (spicy corn crunchies)

Señorial Quesifritos Chilteado Expandido Frito de Maíz (spicy corn crunchies)

I have no idea what Chilteado means but the packaging on these Guatemalan snacks looked spicy so I had to test them out. They look like Cheetos and taste strongly of smoke flavoring and spice. They also have sweet undertones that taste somehow like artificial tomato flavoring. The smoky flavor is overwhelming and fake but the bitter heat that comes through is fairly powerful. There is a surprising complexity to the flavor of these snacks but in my opinion they are not very delicious. Guatemala does seem to trump Costa Rica in levels of heat, however.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 4/10
Bottom Line: Spicy and smoky.