At this time last year, Potato Chip World was three words in a small notebook.
Over 12 months, we've managed to build a site, build a directory of chip brands, grow our site to hundreds of monthly visitors, obtain Twitter followers, and get referenced in news articles.
2014 was a great year for us. Thank you to everyone that's visited and supported our site.
But 2014 was great for other reasons. For example, I now have a daughter. And, more importantly, I ate many fantastic potato chips.
Below is my list of ten great chips that I had this year. It's isn't exclusive to chips that came out this year. It's also not in order. I had other great chips, but I'll just make sure to buy and report on those in 2015.
Here's the list, with links to our Chipography page. Don't forget that our Chipography includes links to the company website, as well as any Amazon listings (where available). Boulder Canyon - Totally Natural This plain kettle chip is available in Whole Foods Markets. Nothing too groundbreaking here, just a solid not-too-salty chip. The Garret Anderson of potato chips. Cape Cod - Original I buy Cape Cod chips when they go on sale. They're easy to find and come in a variety of flavors (sadly their "Robust Russet" chips were discontinued several years ago). The volume of fold-overs in the Cape Cod bag is worth a spot on the 2014 list. Deep River Snacks - Sweet Maui Onion These had the best onion taste of any chip I've encountered, and don't need any sour cream flavor to carry them. Festival Foods - In-Store Chips The Wisconsin grocery store chain Festival Foods carries a line of very brown potato chips. I haven't confirmed whether they're made on site, but their brown paper bag and choice in potatoes indicate that may be the case. If you made a really great batch of chips at home, this is what they would taste like. Plus, they're sturdy: these chips would hold up to being dipped in peanut butter. Herr's - Ketchup America has so few options for ketchup chips, so Herr's may have the market cornered. Fortunately, their offering is pretty tasty. I'm glad I can get these in Illinois. Let's hope this is a food trend that gains traction in 2015 and beyond. Kettle Brand - Maple Bacon Glomming onto the maple bacon food trend that has taken over the doughnut kingdom (is that where Princess Toadstool lives?), Kettle Brand's chips taste nothing like maple or bacon. But that doesn't make them bad. If you were to change the name to "sweet and salty," they'd be a runaway hit. Lay's - Kettle Cooked Wasabi Ginger I was so wrong on my Cappuccino prognostication. The 2014 Do Us a Flavor winner could be viewed as not spicy enough for wasabi lovers, or misleading for those that see them in a bowl (they look exactly like a sour cream and onion chip). Judge them for what they are: an innovative flavor from a big brand, and the proper winner for the national contest. Martin's - Bar-B-Q Waffle Sweet fancy Moses these are good. They're a wavy thick chip with a Vitner's-esque barbecue tang. The perfect blend of sweet, smoky, and potato flavor. I wish these were available in more markets, but their limited distribution makes them all the more special. The crown jewel of my Pennsylvania shipment so far. Route 11 - Mama Zuma's Revenge These were almost uncomfortably spicy. The habanero-based flavor is about as far as you can take a chip yet expect to sell bags beyond the Scoville-hunters. I couldn't stop eating them. Tyrrell's - Worcestershire Sauce & Sun-Dried Tomato This bespoke chip brand from across the pond can be found in some finer food shops. Since there's so little seasoning, Tyrrell's English Crisps may be too subtle for some American palates. But what seasoning is there counts. The tomato spice is a cousin to ketchup, and taste great on their crispy brown chips.