Cilantro-Flavored Snacks Are Big in Taiwan, Here Are 5 We NEED to Try

If you didn’t know (I didn’t myself until five minutes ago), Taiwan has a huge love for cilantro snacks. If you walk the aisles of a convenience or grocery store in the country, you’ll find a seemingly endless array of snacks infused with the bright, vegetal flavor of cilantro.

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The herb is used as a garnish on a lot of Taiwanese street food, which may be a reason it’s made its way into their packaged snacks. Whatever the reason, we’re into it—and so are huge brands like Lay’s and Lipton. It’s worth noting that coriander (the plant’s dried seeds) and cilantro (the plant’s leaves) will be used interchangeably…toh-may-toh / toh-mah-toh. 

Unfortunately, if you think cilantro tastes like soap, this list is NOT for you.

Lipton Coriander Peanut Milk Tea

This is a nod to the famous peanut ice cream roll that you’ll find at night markets in Taiwan. Does this milk tea successfully recreate that flavor? Well, that’s up for debate. Either way, we’re up for the taste test, so hopefully it makes its way to the U.S. sometime soon.

Coriander Lay’s

My Costco doesn’t have these Lay’s in stock (boooo), but in Taiwan and other Asian countries, you can snag big bags of this unique flavor. Are you enough of a coriander fan to get through a Costco-sized bag of these chips before they get stale? If you’re looking for something a little more manageable, these also come in single-serve pouches that are available on some global snack sites.

Coriander Doritos

It’s critical to take some time on any international trip to find the local Doritos flavor. If you’re in Taiwan, naturally, you’ll find vibrant green coriander flavored Doritos. Imagine the green fingertips you’ll have after a snack session with these bad boys!

Calbee Coriander Potato Chips

These Calbee chips promise “four times more coriander flavor” than a previous version the brand released in 2017. You better like ’em bold!

Coriander Lemon Tea

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Now, I can’t give you too many specifics about this one with the language barrier and all, but this coriander-infused tea from a Taipei tea shop sure looks good. In addition to cilantro and lemon, there’s also a combination of bitter melon and cucumber in this drink. This will be a toughie to find in the U.S., so just start saving up for that trip to Taiwan.

Bonus: Caramel Kettle Coriander Lime Popcorn

By some miracle, there’s a popcorn maker here in the U.S. that sells online and actually makes cilantro lime popcorn. How did they know we were after it?