Takis has been doing this thing recently where they introduce “non-spicy” flavors. Prior to the release of non-spicy Intense Nacho Takis, I firmly believed “non-spicy Takis” was an oxymoron. But I guess we are the real oxymorons, because Takis just released another non-spicy flavor: Buckin’ Ranch Takis. Now, the Sporked team thought the nacho flavor was pretty solid, if a bit less intense than they wanted it to be (ironic given the name). So let’s dive in and see if these ranch Takis are as Buckin’ as they claim to be.
- Buckin’ Ranch Takis
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First impression: These Takis smell like nothing with a hint of corn chip—not bad, but certainly not a smack-you-in-the-face ranch aroma. It’s also worth noting that the flavoring powder is the exact color of the corn chips themselves. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing since flavor is what really counts, but I can’t say I don’t love a wildly pigmented flavor dust. I still had hope though, as a lover of all things Takis and a fan of ranch-flavored…well…anything, it was time to finally buck up and taste these things.
Pros: If you lick the ranch flavoring off of these chips (my favorite way to approach any Taki), it is quite good. It is accurately ranch-like—garlicky, oniony, salty, savory, and slightly tangy. Let me be clear: These taste good. If you like corn chips and ranch, you may like them. The garlic, onion, and corn chip combo almost makes it taste like chips and guac. But I do have a couple notes…
Cons: Some of you will call me insane for what I am about to suggest, but hear me out: These Takis are not quite sour, salty, or umami enough. “But Jessica, you just said the powder was good on its own!” I know. It is. But when you eat these Takis whole (as Chef Taki intended), the taste of the powder is so subtle that the unsalted corn chip flavor actually overpowers the ranch. These were almost, dare I say it, bland? I go to Takis to get punched in the face with flavor so hard I break my metaphorical nose, but here I stand, metaphorical nose intact. Non-metaphorical tongue undestroyed. These bad boys were far from buckin’. They were swayin’ at best.
Bottom line? These were not bad. In fact, they were good. I could still eat a whole bag of them, and you know what? I likely will. But in the kingdom of ranch-flavored corn chips, I do believe garlicky, tangy, peppery Cool Ranch Doritos still reign supreme.
