If you’ve ever walked in the halls of our school, you’re guaranteed to have seen Takis. Takis were developed and released in Mexico by a company called Barcel in 1999. Nowadays, Takis have reached their target audience: high schoolers at McDaniel.
Although I can respect the original Takis, I always gravitate towards Trader Joe’s Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips. The Trader Joe’s version tastes far more complex than the original Fuego Takis. They have a subtle spice that allows them to incorporate a balanced palette of flavors, like the citrusy lime flavor and a slow constant build-up of chili. The chili powder left no residue on my hands, and I wanted to reach for more.
When I took a poll of 100 people at McDaniel, some survey responses that were in favor stated:
“Regular Takis taste a little radioactive to me. Plus I could eat a whole bag of the Trader Joe’s in one sitting if I wanted to because they won’t burn my tongue off like the regular ones would.”
“I eat like 20 bags a month. They are so top tier.”
“My stomach hurts less.”
“It has a flavor and doesn’t taste like food dye and doesn’t stain your fingers bright red!”
When I tried the regular Takis, they tasted overpowering with chili spice at the forefront of every chip. After each bite, the spice began to wear off and it left me with a bad aftertaste. They were messy, and I needed to wipe off the residue.
The original Takis are by far more colorful than their contender, but they come with consequences. Takis have Red 40 in them, a synthetic food coloring that has allegations of leading to certain medical harms.
Poll responders combatted this by stating:
“Red 40 tastes nice.”
“Trader Joe’s Takis are for vegans.”
“This is like comparing gods to mere mortals.”
“That Joe Cuddi ain’t got nothing on the og stepper.”
Trader Joe’s Takis meets all my criteria for a great snack. They are more affordable than the regular ones, at $2.99, compared to the original Takis, which are about $4 for the same bag size. They also have a more satisfying taste and don’t have Red 40.
I understand why some prefer the original, but I believe Trader Joe’s Takis are far superior to their contenders.
