Product Name: Paqui Tortilla Chips Haunted Ghost Pepper
Style: Mexican
Manufacturer: Paqui Tortillas
Country of Origin: USA
Website: http://hauntedghostpepper.com/
Ingredients: Stone Ground Corn, Canola Oil, Maltodextrin, Salt, Ghost Pepper Powder, Corn Starch, Cayenne Pepper, Dextrose, Chipotle Pepper Powder, Spice Extracts, Yeast Extract, Inactive Dry Yeast, Onion Powder, Citric Acid, Garlic Powder, Chili Powder
Label/Packaging: The bag itself is interesting enough. It is just black and white, but it contains a lot of reading material. It is a Limited Edition Product of Homemade Horror. It also comes with a warning: The contents of this bag are extremely frightening. Paqui is not responsible for any injuries that may result from ingesting this delicious terror. The use of gloves and safety goggles is encouraged. Common side effects include addiction to burning pain, blurred vision, and unquenchable thirst. Enjoy with caution and consider yourself warned.
Okay I have been warned. Now to check these out.
Appearance/Aroma: The appearance is not quite what I expected. Reading the description and ingredients I expected to see some blazing red chips absolutely coated in pepper powder. These look unassuming enough. The smell is mostly the corn of the tortilla chips, though I do get the aroma of the powders.
Paqui Tortilla Chips promises these are the hottest tortilla chips ever made. Let's see if I can handle the heat.
Body of Review:
Paqui contacted me about these a while back and sent two bags. This is my first time reviewing a tortilla chip, so go easy on me. I am a little out of my element here, but will give it my best effort. I have had Blair's chips so I have that to compare to, I guess. I also like tortilla chips with my salsa and queso, so I have had a lot of tortilla chips too. Well enough about that, let's get to the chips!
As I said I am surprised at the amount of seasoning on the chips. After one bite I can see why, less is more. I get the taste of the stone ground corn right away, then the combination of the pepper powders. It has a very nice flavor. The ghost pepper stands out the most, but you can tell the others are there. They round it out to a nice warm flavor that does not completely overpower the natural flavor of the chip.
The texture of the chip is nice and crunchy, not too thick, and very light. I am not seeing any with the bubbles in them that I like, but that is nit picking.
Let's face it, the heat is what I am here for. These chips, while not blowing my head off, are some of the hottest tortilla chips I have ever had, and the hottest I have seen commercially in years. I could feel it with the first bite. The cayenne hits you on the tip and top of your tongue almost immediately. The ghost pepper hits you more slowly, and at least for me, is providing a burn around the sides of my tongue and a little in the throat. Don't get me wrong, these are by no means too hot. I find myself looking for the chips with some more red color and seasoning on them just like I always do with any hot chips. That being said, after several handfuls, probably 12 chips or so, I have a little bit of sweat going and my nose is running just a bit. For a chilehead these have a nice warm building heat, but for Joe Public, I would say these would have them running for the milk.
Heat Level: 7.5
Applications: I actually like these plain, but I could see them being good for making nachos, eating with salsa or queso, or even crumbled up over tacos.
Appearance Score: 4.5
Aroma Score: 4
Taste Score: 5
Mouthfeel Score: 4
Heat Accuracy Score: 4
Overall Score: 4.3
Notes: I thoroughly enjoyed my first tortilla chip review. I think this is an excellent product and would like to see it be readily available. My only real complaint would be that the bag is not big enough!
Style: Mexican
Manufacturer: Paqui Tortillas
Country of Origin: USA
Website: http://hauntedghostpepper.com/
Ingredients: Stone Ground Corn, Canola Oil, Maltodextrin, Salt, Ghost Pepper Powder, Corn Starch, Cayenne Pepper, Dextrose, Chipotle Pepper Powder, Spice Extracts, Yeast Extract, Inactive Dry Yeast, Onion Powder, Citric Acid, Garlic Powder, Chili Powder
Label/Packaging: The bag itself is interesting enough. It is just black and white, but it contains a lot of reading material. It is a Limited Edition Product of Homemade Horror. It also comes with a warning: The contents of this bag are extremely frightening. Paqui is not responsible for any injuries that may result from ingesting this delicious terror. The use of gloves and safety goggles is encouraged. Common side effects include addiction to burning pain, blurred vision, and unquenchable thirst. Enjoy with caution and consider yourself warned.
Okay I have been warned. Now to check these out.
Appearance/Aroma: The appearance is not quite what I expected. Reading the description and ingredients I expected to see some blazing red chips absolutely coated in pepper powder. These look unassuming enough. The smell is mostly the corn of the tortilla chips, though I do get the aroma of the powders.
Paqui Tortilla Chips promises these are the hottest tortilla chips ever made. Let's see if I can handle the heat.
Body of Review:
Paqui contacted me about these a while back and sent two bags. This is my first time reviewing a tortilla chip, so go easy on me. I am a little out of my element here, but will give it my best effort. I have had Blair's chips so I have that to compare to, I guess. I also like tortilla chips with my salsa and queso, so I have had a lot of tortilla chips too. Well enough about that, let's get to the chips!
As I said I am surprised at the amount of seasoning on the chips. After one bite I can see why, less is more. I get the taste of the stone ground corn right away, then the combination of the pepper powders. It has a very nice flavor. The ghost pepper stands out the most, but you can tell the others are there. They round it out to a nice warm flavor that does not completely overpower the natural flavor of the chip.
The texture of the chip is nice and crunchy, not too thick, and very light. I am not seeing any with the bubbles in them that I like, but that is nit picking.
Let's face it, the heat is what I am here for. These chips, while not blowing my head off, are some of the hottest tortilla chips I have ever had, and the hottest I have seen commercially in years. I could feel it with the first bite. The cayenne hits you on the tip and top of your tongue almost immediately. The ghost pepper hits you more slowly, and at least for me, is providing a burn around the sides of my tongue and a little in the throat. Don't get me wrong, these are by no means too hot. I find myself looking for the chips with some more red color and seasoning on them just like I always do with any hot chips. That being said, after several handfuls, probably 12 chips or so, I have a little bit of sweat going and my nose is running just a bit. For a chilehead these have a nice warm building heat, but for Joe Public, I would say these would have them running for the milk.
Heat Level: 7.5
Applications: I actually like these plain, but I could see them being good for making nachos, eating with salsa or queso, or even crumbled up over tacos.
Appearance Score: 4.5
Aroma Score: 4
Taste Score: 5
Mouthfeel Score: 4
Heat Accuracy Score: 4
Overall Score: 4.3
Notes: I thoroughly enjoyed my first tortilla chip review. I think this is an excellent product and would like to see it be readily available. My only real complaint would be that the bag is not big enough!
