We tried it: Mellow Vibes Potcorn Review

I grew up using an electric popcorn popper as a home appliance. It was used almost every day, sometimes twice when it was a blockbuster night. My mom didn’t stick to microwave variations and packaged popcorn was blasphemy. I’ve inherited their awe for air-popped kernels by using my own vintage stove popper at least once a day. I also inherited their penchant for premium cannabis and chill vibes, which is why I took the opportunity to review the three cannabis-infused popcorns from Mellow Vibes.

The Portland-based edible company, known for its gums and elixirs, has modeled its newly released White Cheddar, Jalapeño White Cheddar, and Kettle Corn Infused Potcorn after favorites at the state fair. This is evidenced by the packaging inspired by the Big-Top and thus a vacuum is filled everywhere in the pharmacies. Mellow Vibes’ Potcorn is a hearty, divisible, infused snack that’s as potluck-ready as a six-pack of seltzer.

We auditioned all three varieties of Mellow Vibes’ infused potcorn and examined each bite as we calculated the ideal dose as we worked out, ran errands for days, and settled in sturdy creative mind spaces.

First impression

Each potcorn flavor is packed in brightly striped, white bags that are the weight of a typical chip bag for one serving. Jalapeño White Cheddar is indicated by green stripes, White Cheddar is blue, and Kettle Corn is red. The 1970s font appeals to a wide variety of nostalgic people, and the dosage of 50 milligrams per sachet is simply printed on the front.

The nutritional information is easily accessible, showing less than ten ingredients for each flavor, and even the required cannabis disclaimer information is plain and unobtrusive to the overall packaging. Dosages are easy to analyze at ten.5 milligram doses per sachet – consumers can shake out a handful for a bold, edible high, or simply shred a kernel for a microdose.

At $ 9 a bag and with dosages down the line, this popcorn edible for parties, pantries, or just to share with a homie during a sunset picnic feels extraordinary for any edible, even if you are are not total popcorn freaks.

Jalapeño White Cheddar

I was immediately impressed by the freshness of the jalapeño taste. I was expecting to see some sort of green flake, but the popcorn had the homogeneous, powdery appearance of any other flavored popcorn sold in the store. However, the dusty appearance belies a lively touch of garden-fresh pepper over a pillow-shaped, creamy blanket of white cheddar powder. This popcorn is super snackable, especially for those who appreciate a bit of authentic flavor.

I ate about 25 milligrams of Jalapeño White Cheddar Potcorn by Mellow Vibes, and when the activation of the edible began to ooze about 25 minutes later, I had just got to the gym, masked and ready to marginally hyperventilate on a stair climber.

The head high came in a bit soupy and left me awkward. The previous body high was approaching a throbbing jiggle, so I turned and dropped into the high as I worked through a basic yoga flow. For me, the dizzying head high and the sparkling body high were perfect for supporting my asanas and keeping my mind clear. As soon as my flow activated its own consciously clear mood boost, I hiked to the free weights, where I stretched out until the sweat came to my eyes.

The buzz not only supported my training and my limits, but also my physical recovery. The jalapeño flavor stayed in my mouth throughout the workout, but that could be a mistake or a feature depending on your perspective. I choose the latter.

White cheddar

The flavor profile of this potcorn gave me loud mac-n’-cheese vibes that created a complex sense of sentimentality, probably because the mouthfeel is in equal parts childhood nostalgia and mature sodium phobia, two oral emotions that are difficult to reconcile. My partner agreed – the White Cheddar option is designed for cheese heads that work at a level we are not entirely familiar with.

After my tongue got used to the intensity of the cheese powder, I could see the nuance. Neither of these Mellow Vibes products tasted like cannabis at all, but I thought a skunky strand of grassy terpenes would be a nice way to offset the velvety weight of that particular flavor. Hardcore cheeseheads may disagree, and I respect that.

The 25-30 milligrams I was chewing on had unfolded while I was in the grocery store and was already wandering the aisles like a space cadet. Again, the head high was a bit cloudy, but could be shaken off with a little physicality. The high body enhanced my walking game and made my shuffling more meaningful. Overall, the high felt kind of practical. It kept me detached enough to remove the temptation of nicely packaged trash and motivated enough to focus on the task of bulk grocery shopping. Plus, it made me want to ride a very gentle atmosphere.

Kettle corn

Kettle corn was hands down my favorite. Jalapeño White Cheddar and White Cheddar both have appeal, but I could always reach into a bag of kettle corn potcorn.

This kettle corn is a perfect image for the carnival kettle corn, both in the savory taste and in the sweetness. The kernels are coated lightly enough to be easily chewed without having to worry about the caramel pulling out a filling – the formula is straightforward and clear. I make kettle corn from scratch at home quite a lot, and I really enjoyed this version, and not just because it got me high.

The 20-25 milligrams I ate before engaging in heavy creative work bubbled out of my extremities in a manner appropriate for my evening. I felt significantly less alive than going out to the gym or shopping at the Zen grocery store, but the high found its groove easy enough, the hum of the head felt less fluffy and more dreamy. I was not so separated from my thoughts, but rather felt connected to them through pink tinted glasses. The body high was a faded bubble that made it easy to bend over to a project for an extended period of time.

All in all, this high, when enjoyed in the evening, produced a hugely enjoyable creative experience. As with the other two strains, the high tapered off without any fanfare, leaving just a pleasant smugness.

Bottom line

Popcorn is already a great source of fiber and polyphenols, but when supplemented with a similarly age-old human food source, it turns into something even my popcorn snob mom would love to nibble on during the movie night.

The highs from these infused popcorns were completely responsive to my resting state. In the morning it added to my natural oomph. In the afternoon it was a mood boom that carried me through the midday lull, and in the evening its effectiveness felt on my own complacency.

Whether for a personal outing or just to share, I absolutely found the Potcorn by Mellow Vibes to be a snack worth digging into, regardless of your carnival nostalgia or corn snobbish.