Bottom Line: Gold Emblem Extreme Hot Cheese Popcorn is a surprisingly spicy and tasty snack find that also counts as healthy.
Your local CVS pharmacy may not be the place that you have as a go-to for spicy snacks, but if you happen to be in there picking up a prescription or getting a bottle of Tylenol (or these days getting a COVID test) be sure to check out the munchie aisle on your way out. I tend to find items there that I can’t always locate at my local HEB (like the Blue Diamond Extreme Almonds). And recently I stumbled across the Gold Emblem Extreme Hot Cheese Popcorn, which is the CVS house brand so you can only find those there.
I happened to have $5 in CVS bucks on that mile-long receipt I got from the Pharmacy and decided I would actually use it for once (I always say I will come back and use it, but never do). Needed to pick up some snacks for the weekend and I decided to see what tasty and fiery options they had on the shelf. They had the Tostitos Salsa Verde flavor which is a particular favorite (not too spicy, but good taste) and I rarely see those at HEB. (They were priced rather high at $3.99 a bag, but that’s free after the CVS bucks!) I also saw the Extreme Hot Cheese Popcorn and was intrigued. (It was only two bucks, so I got two bags of snacks for a buck and change after tax.)
Here’s what it says on the back of the bag:
Gold Emblem Extreme Hot Cheese Popcorn is the answer to your cheesy, spicy prayers. Cheddar coated popcorn ignites with a generous kick of hot pepper seasoning for an unforgettably spicy burn. Think you can handle the fire? There’s only one way to find out!
After reading that, I decided to take up the challenge.
When you pop a few pieces of popcorn in your mouth, you immediately taste a sweetness, though not like kettle corn. And that is offset quickly by the peppery spices that deliver a nice explosion of flavor. They have some saltiness to them, and the cheese mentioned in the title is almost an afterthought, but it is still there for a nice, sharp finish.
The little chili pepper scale on the bag places these at the Hot heat level, and I would not disagree. The first bit of heat hits pretty quickly and after a few handfuls, your mouth is on fire. But these are so addicting you will find it hard to stop eating them, so be sure to have something close by to douse the flames. Chiliheads will certainly gobble these up while the average mortal should proceed with caution.
As an added bonus, you can count these as a healthy snack. One serving is 160 calories and that is a full two cups of popcorn. That is certainly more satisfying than the meager handful of chips that counts as a serving, but this popcorn is addicting enough that you will probably end up going for a third cup (it only adds 80 more calories, though).
I will definitely be picking these up again next time I am at CVS while also keeping an eye out for other spicy snacks on the shelf. From now on, those CVS bucks will be spent on something that tips the heat scale! (Gold Emblem also offers Ghost Pepper Chips and Extreme Hot Fireballs.)
Tale of the Tape
Serving Size: 28g (About 2 Cups)
Calories: 160
Fat: 11g (2g Sat/0g Trans)
Protein: 2g
Carbs: 13g
Sodium: 280mg