Reviews, Chews & How-Tos: Review: KuKuRuZa Gourmet Popcorn

KuKuRuZa is a family owned and run, Seattle, Washington based company that makes fresh gourmet popcorn in a plethora of flavors. They use high quality ingredients and popcorn that is freshly made just before it is shipped to you. They not only have traditional flavors such as caramel, kettle, or buttery popcorn, but they have quite a few “not so traditional” gourmet flavors that are sure to please!

I recently had the pleasure of getting to sample some of their greatest flavors. The only thing that I can say is “WOW!” They shipped me a flight of popcorn which consisted of 7 unique flavors in 1.5 cup portions.

This box can be purchased from their website for just $19 plus shipping. They chose to send me Cinnamon Bun, Coconut Macaroon, and Jalapeño White Cheddar and asked me to choose the rest. From their list of over 20 flavors I chose Rainbow Fruit, S'mores, Buffalo Blue Cheese and Maple Bacon. I was not at all disappointed.

When the flight box arrived I was quite happy to see the family photo graphics on the box. I feel that this helps to convey the type of people that own and operate the business, as well as the way they treat their customers. They end their statement on the bottom of the box by asking the customer to let them know if there is anything else they can do to fully satisfy your experience and keep a smile on their face. You can tell that they genuinely care about the customer’s experience!

The first flavor I want to talk about is the Maple Bacon. This was absolutely divine! Bacon is good in everything, right? Why not popcorn? They combined maple syrup and thick-cut hickory-smoked bacon and created a masterpiece. No, this isn’t just bacon flavoring. There are literally bits of bacon floating among pillows of maple covered popcorn. Yea! It’s that good.

Rainbow Fruit is such a fun and colorful mix of fruity flavors that tastes just as good as it looks. My 4-year-old daughter went crazy as soon as she saw this one. She just couldn’t get enough. “Daddy, can we eat more of the colored one?” To me the flavor was reminiscent of Fruity Pebbles cereal!

I remember as child when my Grandmother would bake fresh home-made Cinnamon Buns. The smell would fill the entire house. There’s nothing like a fresh hot cinnamon bun, but KuKuRuZa brought all of those memories back to the front of my mind with their Cinnamon Bun popcorn. The warm flavor of cinnamon couple with a white chocolate drizzle icing was excellent.

Coconut Macaroons are one of my favorite cookies in the world and they hit the nail on the head with this one. The bits of coconut strewn about the bag with the caramel covered popcorn and nutty notes was perfect. I couldn't put it down. I almost didn’t share any with my family! It was easily my wife's favorite as well.

The Buffalo Blue Cheese was great as well. I only wish that there was more of a spice going on here. It was quite mild but still absolutely delicious. This would be great for any game day snack or just having a beer with your friends.

Jalapeno White Cheddar was one of my favorites in this box (I will not apologize for overusing that phrase in this review!) After eating one piece I thought to myself “Hey…this is kind of spicy.” After eating a few more I noticed that it was really starting to heat up. It wasn’t face melting hot but it was definitely a satisfying heat with the wonderful flavor of jalapeño peppers.

And finally was the Smores’. HOLY COW, SMORES’! This one was by far my favorite flavor. It was absolute perfection. They added bits of graham crackers, and mini marshmallows and then bathed it in chocolate drizzle. I can’t possibly convey the smile that was plastered on my face as I ate my first handful. If you only get one flavor from them, this is the one!

KuKuRuZa was an absolutely amazing experience. They really have a great product here. On their website you will find other sizes of variety packs, gift tins, even seasonal and monthly subscription boxes! While there are a lot of different brands and styles of popcorn out there they have certainly separated themselves from the competition by leaps and bounds. I urge you all to check them out. You won't be sorry you did!

KuKuRuza can (and I repeat- SHOULD!) be reached at the following links:

KuKuRuZa on Facebook
KuKuRuza Website