KarateParty.org - Corn Chip Taste Test

Our expert panel of chip slammers got through 37 brands of corn chips available in New Zealand supermarkets. It was such a tough challenge that we had to split it over two nights, and only two of us (Latin Rhythm and Mandroid3000) managed to sample all of them. For some the mental strain was so great that they couldn’t bring themselves to revisit their notes (e.g. were too lazy).

	Karate Party's Top 5 Corn Chips
1	Signature Range Guacamole	74.6%
2	Mexicano Natural	73.9%
3	Mexicano Cheese	68.1%
4	Eta Salsa 'n' Cheese	65.4%
5	Bluebird Party Cornchips Lime & Chilli	58.1%

The general consensus seemed to be mild disappointment. The average score of 40.4% isn’t indicative of a healthy snack market (if Claude the Labrador could write the score might be higher). It’s quite fitting that the highest-rated chip was a bright green novelty flavour (Signature Range Guacamole) which none of us have since purchased. Actually, I doubt any of us have bought corn chips since, sort of like smoking until you puke.

	Karate Party's Bottom 5 Corn Chips
33	Signature Range Double Cheese	16.5%
34	Basics Spicy Flavour	16.3%
35	Krispa Salt & Vinegar	13.3%
36	Krispa Chicken	5.5%
37	Old El Paso	5.2%

While we sampled 37 chips, two of the bigger brands aren’t for sale here in New Zealand; Doritos and Tostitos. Are they the mythic Pringles of corn chips that we failed to find on our shelves? What we did find on our shelves ranged from the awful (Old El Paso), to the foolish (Garden’ of Eatin’ Organic Chilli and Lime), to the ominous (Basics Spicy), to the forgettable (the majority).

	Best chip for each common flavour
Flavour	Brand	Rating
Barbeque	Sancho Big Dipper	55.1%
Cheese	Mexicano	68.1%
Lime & Chilli	Bluebird Party Cornchips	58.1%
Plain	Mexicano	73.9%
Salsa	Pams	57.5%

What follows for your amusement and information is comments and statistics on all 37 of these corn chips. We provide both a percentage score, and the score divided by the price of the chips per 100 grams. You can also see how much the reviewers disagreed on each chip (sometimes it was a hell of a lot). While we didn't make any conclusive findings, we had an amusing time (ignoring the frequent toilet trips the next day).

Enjoy.

Quality Rank	Overall Standings	Quality Rating	Quality/Price Ratio	Quality/Price Rank
1	Signature Range Guacamole	74.6%	66.6	2
2	Mexicano Natural	73.9%	59.1	6
3	Mexicano Cheese	68.1%	54.5	9
4	Eta Salsa 'n' Cheese	65.4%	71.0	1
5	Bluebird Party Cornchips Lime & Chilli	58.1%	59.9	5
6	Pams Cheese	57.5%	60.6	4
7	Sancho Big Dipper Double Cheese	57.1%	55.9	8
8	Signature Range Chilli & Lime	56.3%	50.3	13
9	Sancho Big Dipper Barbeque	55.1%	54.0	10
10	Pams Salsa	54.9%	57.8	7
11	CC's Tasty Cheese	52.1%	38.3	19
12	Bluebird Party Cornchips Cheese	51.0%	52.6	11
13	Bluebird Party Cornchips Double Cheese	50.1%	51.6	12
14	Aztec Tasty Cheese	49.6%	62.5	3
15	CC's Zingy Salsa	47.7%	35.0	22
16	Sancho Big Dipper Original	47.0%	46.1	15
17	CC's Tangy BBQ	43.9%	32.3	23
18	Bluebird Party Nachos Tasty Cheese	43.3%	44.7	17
19	Eta Salsa	41.8%	45.4	16
20	Mexicano Jalapeno	39.5%	31.6	26
21	Bluebird Party Cornchips Salsa	39.0%	40.2	18
22	Bluebird Party Cornchips BBQ	37.1%	38.2	20
23	Signature Range Tangy Salsa	36.1%	32.2	24=
24	Basics Salted	33.7%	46.9	14
25	Signature Range Mesquite BBQ	32.3%	28.8	27
26	Pams Double Cheese	30.6%	32.2	24=
27	Aztec Mild Salsa	30.1%	37.6	21
28	Pams BBQ	24.4%	25.6	28
29	Eta Cheese	23.4%	25.4	29
30	Sancho Big Dipper Tomato Salsa	23.0%	22.6	30=
31	CC's Mexican Sour Cream	22.8%	16.7	32
32	Garden of Eatin' Organic Chilli & Lime	19.4%	7.1	34
33	Signature Range Double Cheese	16.5%	14.7	33
34	Basics Spicy Flavour	16.3%	22.6	30=
35	Krispa Salt & Vinegar	13.3%	5.9	35
36	Krispa Chicken	5.5%	2.4	37
37	Old El Paso	5.2%	4.1	36
	AVERAGE	40.4%	38.7

Prev - Next >>