The Good: Inexpensive, Inoffensive flavor
The Bad: Virtually flavorless, Not great on the health front
The Basics: Lay’s Cappuccino potato chips remind me exactly why I do not usually go for impulse purchases as they are closer to flavorless than anything reminiscent of coffee!
Despite getting a pretty significant number of products for the purpose of reviews, there are actually very few impulse buys that I indulge in. However, the other day, my wife and I were out at Target and near the register, they had cunningly placed bags of the new, limited edition, flavors of Lay’s potato chips. Well, Chad Scott deserves some kudos: he got me to buy on impulse! Chad Scott is the creator of the Cappuccino flavored Lay’s potato chips and seeing them in the brightly lit position near the register at Target did exactly what an impulse buy is supposed to do. I was intrigued and excited.
Unfortunately for Chad Scott and Lay’s, the excitement and enthusiasm for the new chips diminished when I started eating the Cappuccino Lay’s potato chips. The Cappuccino chips are not bad, but they are not as robust as one (who loves coffee) might want.
Basics
Cappuccino Lay’s, are a potato chip made from one of the world’s dominant salty snack producers, Frito-Lay. The Cappuccino Lay’s features a dusting of barely-flavored powder on each and every (otherwise white) potato chip. This might have been an audacious potato chip flavor, but it was executed exceptionally poorly; many of the chips in the bag I bought were not overly dusted with flavor.
Cappuccino Lay’s come in a 9.5 oz. bag and are available for a limited time as fans vote to keep them around (or, more likely, not). At a regular price in the $4.29 range, they are tragically overpriced for what they are.
Ease Of Preparation
Lay’s Cappuccino are simple to consume; all you need do it open the bag and remove the potato chips from it! There is no trick to eating Cappuccino Lay’s; they are a snack that is ready to go from the bag to the mouth.
Taste
Cappuccino Lay’s smell more like cocoa and cinnamon than anything even remotely coffee flavored. The scent is strong enough to be intriguing and sticking one’s nose to the bag, there is definitely an inviting aroma for the first few moments after the bag is opened. However, as an enthusiast of (most) all things coffee, the Cappuccino flavored Lay’s do not sell consumers on the promised flavor by their aroma.
On the tongue, the Cappuccino Lay’s potato chips taste like potatoes and salt. The light dusting of cappuccino flavored powder on the chips is not enough to hold its own against the generic flavor of potato chips. In fact, taking the most-coated chips in the bag I picked up and placing them directly on my tongue, the best I got was a slightly sweeter potato chip. There was nothing that truly screamed “cappuccino!” much less “coffee!” or even anything other than “potato chip!” on the flavor front.
The Cappuccino Lay’s have a greasy aftertaste, not a salty or sweet one. The flavor barely lingers on the tongue for a minute after these chips are consumed.
Nutrition
Cappuccino Lay’s are a fairly natural snack, with, surprisingly, none of the ingredients being unrecognizable! The primary ingredients are potatoes, vegetable oil, and Cappuccino seasoning. This has a shelf life of only a few months, so it is not the ideal salty snack to stock up on.
Each 1 oz., 15 chip, serving of Lay’s Cappuccino has 160 calories, ninety of which come from fat. There is a single gram of dietary fiber. While there are only 10 grams of fat and 2 grams of protein, the Cappuccino Lay’s potato chips are somewhat surprising in that they have only 40 mg of sodium, which represents 2% of one's RDA of sodium. There is a smattering of Vitamin C and Iron, but few other vitamins or minerals. This is not a health snack. There is a dietary note that the Cappuccino includes milk ingredients, which prevents them from being Vegan compliant, at the very least.
Storage/Clean-up
Kept in their bag, Cappuccino Lay’s will remain fresh for only a few months – the bag I bought on Wednesday had an expiration date of September 23 – so this is not an ideal flavor to stock up on. Once the bag is opened, it must be resealed, lest they get stale. I've never had to deal with issues of freshness for my Lay’s potato chips because usually once they are opened, I consume them fairly fast!
Cleanup is simple as well. Cappuccino Lay’s are a dry food, but because they are salty, greasy, and easily broken, they will require one to wash their hands afterward and should be wiped up to clean up.
Overall
Cappuccino Lay’s are an unfortunately underwhelming and those who love coffee, coffee-flavored products or even delightfully salty potato chips are likely to be much more disappointed than thrilled by the limited edition flavor.
For other Frito-Lay snacks, check out my reviews of:
Lays Chicken & Waffle Potato Chips
Ruffles Max Loaded Bacon And Cheddar Potato Skins potato chips
Tostitos Hint Of Lime chips
2.5/10
For other food and drink reviews, please visit my Food And Drink Index Page for an organized listing!
© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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