Ghost Pepper Potato Chips (Lattice Cut Kettle Cooked)

The Ghost Pepper Potato Chip package says:

“If spicy flavors bring you joy,

More than any game or toy,

Then try these chips with loads of heat

find crunch that simply can’t be beat. 

We’ve used a chili called the ghost,

providing heat which we can boast

Is hotter ‘n jalapeno or habanero. 

And so we issue you a dare-o

To grab a bag and take a bite

Of chips packed full of ghostly fright.”

I mean - GET OUT…  Any product that has a great poem on the bag is off to a good start, no???  We tried this at the Fairfax, Virginia Trader Joe’s when they were sampling them and can I just say:  TRADER JOE’S FOR THE WIN!

After sampling, David is obviously happy to be snagging a bag of these chips!

This is an excellent new product.  I was a bit nervous about tasting them because the sample lady warned us that “These are the hottest peppers eveeeer.  They are hotter than JALAPENOS!”.  In my opinion, they are not super spicy.  I mean, they have a kick to them, they are hot, but they are not TOO spicy.  Normally when I eat spicy things I do not want to pair them with anything else because the spicy flavor “ruins” the taste of what you are pairing it with.  But for these chips we paired them with Trader Joe’s Onion Dip (to be reviewed at a later time) and the two worked really well together. 

These chips are GREAT to eat on their own and super to eat with a dip!  I have never eaten “lattice cut chips” (that I can recall) but they are a good invention!  They make grabbing and holding onto dip easy – you don’t get any of that “dip slide off” that you sometimes get with other chips.  These chips also do not bust when you plunge them in the dip, no chip bits plop off and mess up your dip.

These chips really "grip your dip" (that's a good thing)

Here is what David thought of this product: “I agree with a lot of what Susan said.  The taste is good.  These fill a niche for people who would like more taste with their potato chips – they are very nice!  The taste is light enough to not be overpowering, like some kinds of BBQ powder poured on chips.  They really go lovely with TJ’s Onion Dip.  The lattice cut thing is good, too.  They are great for dipping – they don’t SNAP OFF like regular potato chips."

Reasonably priced - not only do you get CHIPS, you get a POEM!

David continued, "The only thing is – I got ONE that was a “pile-on” of about 6 chips melded together.  That is a minor inconvenience, because they are so tasty, but it would be nice if their processing of making these allowed them all to dry separately so they were individual in the bag.  I would give these a 4.75.”

Susan here again with one more thing – these DO make your fingers a tiny bit dirty.  You might imagine they would make them RED (since they are “ghost pepper” and all) but they are not red.  And they do not coat you with a thick goo on your fingers like if you indulge in Cheetos.  Plus, the goo comes off if you LICK YOUR FINGERS.  J

David usually doesn’t like kettle chips, and he LIKES these!  So Trader Joe’s, I hope you don’t stop making these.  Don’t say these are just a summer product, ok?  These will taste yummy in the middle of winter, too.

Bonus photo - READ THE SIGNS David...

I agree with David – these chips are a 4.75.  GET SOME!

Price – $2.29 (well worth the price)

Rating – 4.75