I am The Kernel, and I LOOOOVE popcorn, and you should too!

In fact, if you don't love popcorn, then you can just get your lily-livered tuchus right-on out of our little popcorn army.

Popcorn is the greatest snack that ever was. In my camp it is breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and no one ever complains. From the sweet flavors of breakfast popcorn to the savory tastes of dinner popcorn. They are all DEEE-licious.I have fought wars on 46 different continents, all for the glory of popcorn. I see myself as quite the popcorn connoisseur, and that is why I decided redirect my army's energy into the ultimate weapon of popcorn domination, this website: PopcornBistro.com

Is it pronounced OPOpop or opoPOP?

Contents show

There has been a surge in new gourmet popcorn brands in recent years. In fact, there has been a surge in gourmet EVERYTHING in recent years! But is it worth the cost and effort? A member of our Facebook Group: Popcorn Recipes recently asked if anyone had tried Opopop.com, (witty name!) and so, I, The Kernel, your fearless leader in all things popcorn, decided to order their microwave popper and all the flavors I could get my hands on and try it out!

We all know that more opinions are ALWAYS better, so I signed up The Kernel Kiddos and Mrs. Kernel and we did an ol’ fashioned taste test. For each flavor, we each gave an opinion and a rating out of 10.

Stick around to the end of the article for an Opopop FAQ, and even a discount code for your next order!

(The links on this page are affiliate links. So.. if you purchase from Opopop, they will send us a small commission, which we will probably spend on more popcorn to try!)

TL:DR

Now, I know some of you are just here for the short version. If so,, here it is. We really liked the Opopop experiment. Mrs. Kernel said a few times, “this would be a really fun gift to send to someone”, and the Kernel Kiddos loved having a small bowl of savory popcorn in the morning for breakfast and a small bowl of sweet popcorn for dessert. So, if you are considering trying Opopop, we would heartily recommend it! We LOVED some of the flavors, liked a few of them, and decidedly did NOT go for a couple, but all in all, it was a super fun treat. The whole package was high quality, and we all felt like it was worth it. Now, all you TL:DR’ers skedaddle, Ya’ll can skip to the end, grab your coupon code, and we will get to the deets for all those who are interested!

The Opopop Variety Show Package Arrives

The package arrived and we were pleasantly surprised to find that the internal box was inside thermal packing, which kept the interior fairly cool. It was a warm day, so the fact that the box was cool kept all of the coating on the kernels and not floating around, melted in the bag.

The branded packaging was pro and on-point. The box is printed with bright colors, the popper was wrapped in a plastic bag, and all the different flavors were packaged inside a box with a slide off top, perfect for neatly stashing in the pantry. The kernel packets are all clearly labeled, with easy tear off tops for opening.

The Flavors

The sampler we ordered is called “Flavor Wrapped Kernels Discovery Kit”. It included 6 flavors, and 1 unflavored test batch. (sidebar… we loved the experiment so much that after we popped all the pouches, we ordered the rest of the flavors… that review will come later!)

Test Launch

Opopop recommends that you start with the test launch to get familiar with how to pop in their microwave popcorn bowl. So, we followed instructions, put the Test Launch kernels in the bowl, (right about a ½ cup of kernels), set the micro for a 4 minute max, and then listened…

Their instructions said between 2 and 4 minutes, but to stop when the popping slows down. At 2:30 we pulled it out, and unfortunately some of the kernels were almost burnt, and there were 74 unpopped kernels in the bowl… it takes some getting used to. We popped the unpopped kernels back in the micro and nearly all popped. ½ cup of kernels made enough for the 4 of us each to have a small bowl to sample.

This became our standard popping procedure for all of the Opopop pouches and cups. We put it all in the popper, popped for about 2:30, pulled it out and scooped the popped kernels into a bowl, and then put it back in for about 1:45 more to pop the rest. This seemed to leave us with the fewest “old maids”.

Here is a photo of the Test Launch packet in the bowl before popping.

The Opopop Silicone Popper Bowl

The bowl is pretty nice… That’s about all I can say about it. To take full advantage of Opopop’s product line, you need to have a silicone microwave popping bowl with a lid.

There are approximately 1 bazillion “different but the same” bowls on Amazon.com for $10-$15. If you only buy the bowl from Opopop you will be paying a premium at $23.99, but we didn’t have one (we are air poppers!) and the price for the bundles seems reasonable.

And, I guess it is a premium bowl compared to some of the generic versions, but if you already have a silicone popcorn bowl, you can use it.

Yeah, But What Does Opopop Taste Like?

Here goes… Hopefully the breakdown below is easy to digest…Pun INTENDED!

Test Launch Taste Results

Kernel Kiddo 1: “Every kernel tastes magnificently delicious” “How did you make every bite so salty?”
- Rating: 10 out of 10 Kernels

Kernel Kiddo 2: “There should be more popcorn in each pouch, but I think it tastes perfect. It is better than our regular air popped popcorn.”
- Rating: 10 out of 10 Kernels

Mrs. Kernel: “Every single kernel is seasoned exactly the same and perfectly, I’m kind of freaked out”
- Rating: 10 out of 10 Kernels

The Kernel: “It IS delicious!, but there isn’t much”
- Rating: 10 out of 10 Kernels

To sum it up, it was perfectly delicious… not a single kernel had too much or too little seasoning… I could eat it all day. Light, crunchy, salty, buttery… perfect. I could go on and on about this, and in fact, we did! For the rest of that day we were all talking about how perfect each kernel was. It was almost odd how each kernel was perfectly popped, and perfectly seasoned, and perfectly flavored. Their patent pending process seems to have some merit!

Chedapeno Taste Results

Kernel Kiddo 1: “I don’t like Jalepeno flavor that much.” (He does like spicy chips though!) “I don’t like it.”
- Rating: 2 out of 10 Kernels

Kernel Kiddo 2: “It didn’t mix evenly, but it’s kind of growing on me. I get a tiny bit of cheddar. Very spicy.”
- Rating: 3 out of 10 Kernels
Mrs. Kernel: “I don’t like it… it’s trying too hard. The Test Launch was so fresh and light and effortlessly flavored, and this feels a little chalky and fake.”
- Rating: 1 out of 10 Kernels

The Kernel: “It is an interesting flavor, pretty spicy, not nearly as cheesy as it is spicy. I don’t prefer it.”
- Rating: 4 out of 10 Kernels

To sum it up, we did not prefer this flavor. It was intense, and just not in our wheelhouse… Also, I don’t think any of us would have called it Cheddar/Jalapeno if we had to guess. It was nearly cruel to try this flavor right after the Test Batch. I suppose if you develop a technology to encapsulate every kernel in whatever flavors you can dream up, you have to reach a bit. This was the only flavor that was universally disliked.

Fancy Butter Taste Results

Kernel Kiddo 1: “Delicious, I really like this. Thumbs up.”
- Rating: 9 out of 10 Kernels

Kernel Kiddo 2:”Tastes super buttery, but my hand’s aren’t greasy. It is super delicious.”
- Rating: 9 out of 10 Kernels

Mrs. Kernel:This is really good, very evenly coated, it’s not “punch you in the face.”
- Rating: 10 out of 10 Kernels

The Kernel: “Well salted, delicious, totally yummy popcorn. My hands have hardly any grease after eating a whole bowl.”
- Rating: 10 out of 10 Kernels

To sum it up, this was delicious… perfectly seasoned, light, crunchy, exactly what you would expect from a gourmet popcorn. Again, hard to overstate how uniform it was. I am starting to think that the superpower of Opopop is the consistency of seasoning and flavor!

Salted Umami Taste Results

Kernel Kiddo 1: “The flavor is kind of weird, I can’t really…It’s weird, I can’t describe it. I like it but…?”
- Rating: 5 out of 10 Kernels

Kernel Kiddo 2: “I kind of like it. It has a bit of an aftertaste of the Teriaki Seaweed I like.”
- Rating: 7.5 out of 10 Kernels

Mrs. Kernel: “If this was mixed with one of the plain flavors, it would be great. Kind of tastes like it has some bullion mixed in. Not over flavored.”
- Rating: 6 out of 10 Kernels

The Kernel: “This is strange… I don’t actually know what I am tasting. I both want to stop eating it, and I feel like I could accidentally eat a whole bowl!”
- Rating: 7 out of 10 Kernels

This was an odd one. We probably shouldn’t have read up on what “umami” is before we tried it. It sure is novel! Not a strong taste… almost someone with boullion perfume just walked through the room while we were eating plain salted popcorn. The flavor on this one was so subtle that it was hard to pin down. We can’t speak to how well they nailed the umami flavor, but in general, it was ok.

Vanilla Cake Pop Taste Results

Kernel Kiddo 1:” I think it is very delicious, but it is sweeter than I thought it would be. I really like it.”
- Rating: 10 out of 10 Kernels

Kernel Kiddo 2: “I think you shouldn’t eat a bowl of this, you should mix it with plain.”
- Rating: 6 out of 10 Kernels

Mrs. Kernel: “The vanilla is getting me…it’s pretty sweet, and it tastes too coated. I was ready not to like it. It is what it says it is. Totally tastes like cake, if I mixed it with salted popcorn, it would be great.”
- Rating: 6 out of 10 Kernels

The Kernel: “Not as sweet as I thought it would be. Kettle Corn level sweetness but a different kind of sweet. I really like it, but I could see how some people wouldn’t like it.”
- Rating: 7 out of 10 Kernels

To sum it up, this flavor was right on point. The name was exactly what it tastes like. The sweet -toothers among us liked it, and the less sugar oriented thought it was good, but not their favorite. The vanilla was strong and Mrs. Kernel always has her “fake flavor” radar on, and this one skated too close to the line for her, but the rest of us weren’t offended by it.

Maui Heat Taste Test

Kernel Kiddo 1: “I really don’t like it, I think it is sweet and hot, and I don’t like those flavors together.”
- Rating: 3 out of 10 Kernels

Kernel Kiddo 2: “Not my favorite, and I didn’t think I would like it, but this is exactly what it says it is, Pineapple popcorn plus heat.”
- Rating: 5 out of 10 Kernels

Mrs. Kernel: “I’m going to surprise you guys.. I like it! I think it nails the heat, and the hint of sweet is pretty good. I like it.”
- Rating: 8 out of 10 Kernels

The Kernel: “Yeah, it’s nailing the flavor. I think it’s good. I don’t want a whole bowl of it, but I could see myself mindlessly eating it until it’s gone.”
- Rating: 9 out of 10 Kernels

To sum it up, Perfect flavor… If you like sweet + hot, you might love it. If you don’t, you won’t. This one is the best of the “out there” flavors in this batch. You should really try it. It sure is something to get both of those flavors on your tongue without it being overwhelming.

Cinnalicious Taste Test

Kernel Kiddo 1:” I think it’s good. It tastes like cinnamon.”
- Rating: 8 out of 10 Kernels

Kernel Kiddo 2: “I like it. It’s way better than normal cinnamon popcorn.”.
- Rating: 10 out of 10 Kernels

Mrs. Kernel: “I thought this would be more natural than normal fire-red cinnamon popcorn, and this is delicious. It’s really great. It’s my favorite flavored version.”
- Rating: 9 out of 10 Kernels

The Kernel: “So good. Tastes like pralined pecans. I could eat a whole bowl of this. Perfect dessert popcorn.”
- Rating: 10 out of 10 Kernels

To sum it up, This was a nice departure from normal “candy cinnamon” popcorn. It wasn’t overwhelming, and really tasted a lot like sweet roasted cinnamon nuts from a stand at a fair. I think they did themselves a disservice naming this “cinna”. We were all expecting candy cinnamon popcorn, and this was so much better…So. Much. Better.

Here is where we would have put an image of the Cinnalicious package if yours truly hadn’t thrown it out!

So… Is Opopop Good?

Overall we were really impressed. Each of us liked and disliked according to our own personal taste preferences, but all the popcorn was quality. There was only one flavor that was universally disliked. Some of the flavors were really surprising, both in the flavor combos, and in the execution. Each batch had light and crunchy popcorn as its base, and most of the flavors nailed their name. Opopop really has elevated popcorn with these flavors.

We are already planning to give the Flavor Wrapped Kernel Discovery Kit as a gift to a few people. The flavor experiment is just too fun not to share.

We aren’t throwing away our air popper just yet, but the kiddos have already asked when we can order some flavors again. I think we will be repeat customers of Opopop. We probably won’t keep it stocked in the pantry, but mostly that is because if it is in the house, it is getting eaten today.

And now, since you have made it to the bottom of the review, you get the bonus of 10% off your next order of Opopop! Enjoy.

Opopop FAQ

How to make Opopop Popcorn?
1. Uh… this one is pretty easy… put it in the bowl, put the bowl in the micro, turn it on, wait for the pops to slow down, take it out. Eat it.

Do you need to refrigerate Opopop Popcorn?
1. Nope. They Ship them cool to keep the flavor wrapping from melting, but if they are in your house and not in the back of a hot USPS van, they will be fine.

Where can you buy Opopop Popcorn?
1. Right now, only on their site, LINK. But in the future they are planning on being in stores.

Can you pop Opopop without their bowl.
1. Yes, all you need is a microwave popping bowl. Silicone preferably, as it will be easier to clean.

Where is Opopop made?
1. Opopop is made and headquartered in Denver, Colorado. It was founded in 2018.

What is the best way to get in touch with Opopop’s Customer Service?
1. Their contact form on the website works pretty well, and usually is responded to in less than 24 hours, but if you need the email and phone, here it is! Hello@opopop.com (720) 297-9729 Also, they do have a Facebook page: www.facebook.com/opopopco/

Is Opopop’s bowl Dishwasher safe?
1. Good question! Yes, it is. Silicone is pretty durable, and we have already run ours through the dishwasher 5 times, with no ill effects.

Is Opopop’s bowl BPA free?
1. Yepperdoodle, it sure it!

Is Opopop Gluten Free?
1. Well, popcorn is gluten free, and they say that all of their flavors are gluten free. They mention that they aren’t certified yet because they haven’t been in business long enough… this is cutting edge stuff!

Is Opopop Dairy free?
1. Three flavors DO contain dairy, Chedepeno, Like Buddah, and Fancy Butter. The rest do not, however all of them are packaged in the same facility, so if you have a dairy allergy, you should steer clear.

Is Opopop Non-GMO?
1. Yes. But ya’ll should really let this one go… Extensive testing and lots of data show that GMO’s are safe, and aren’t solely a tool used by huge multinational’s to squish the little guy…(…steps down off soapbox)

Is Opopop nut free?
1. Yes, the company says all their products are nut-free. So, I guess you could say they are nutless?

Does Opopop use Responsibly sourced palm oil?
1. Yes, this made my 13 year old animal lover happy. What does it mean? Look here.

Is Opopop Vegan?
1. No, not really…But maybe? Depends on your angle. Some of the flavors contain dairy: Chedepeno, Like Buddah, and Fancy Butter. The other flavors don’t explicitly contain animal ingredients, but are packaged in the same facility.

Where can I find Opopop’s nutritional information?
1. You can find it all here! Nutritional Information

How many Weight Watcher’s points does Opopop Count for? We did the math:

Pouches: Salted Umami, Chedapeno, Maui Heat, Fancy Butter, Vanilla Cake Pop, Cinnalicious and Salted Caramel. All of these are 2.8 Weight Watchers Points per serving and 8.4 points per pouch.

Bags: Salty Caramel and Gingersnap. Both of these are 2.8 Weight Watchers points per serving and 16.8 points per bag.
Pop Cups: Lightly Salted, Like Buddah, Salty Caramel, and Vanilla Vanilla. All of these are 4.6 Weight Watchers points per cup