Everyone knows that SunChips are the best. That’s no generalization; ask any person on this planet what their favorite chips are, and they’ll say SunChips. If they don’t, of course, they are persona non grata and you should probably defenestrate them with haste. What’s surprising to me that I only just realized is that Frito-Lay makes SunChips. I didn’t think Frito-Lay had it in them to create such an elegant, well-rounded chip (let alone an environmentally conscious, compostable bag), but here we are discussing their new 6 Grain Parmesan and Herb SunChips.

Back to that bag for a second. I thought it was a great idea when they put it out, and showed some progress on the green side of things. However, this is America, where complaining about trivial nonsense is the current national pastime. Even though the bag was beneficial in every other way, people created facebook groups and generally bitched about how loud it was, leading SunChips to pull it back and only use it for their few main flavors. We really are pathetic. We could find a cure for cancer but if it smelled bad or you couldn’t wear make-up while taking it, Americans would complain about it. Luckily, SunChips put out a newer version of the compostable bag, but hey, I’m sure that one’s just too loud, too.

Sorry about that. I am American, after all. Parmesan and Herb SunChips are one of two new flavors in the 6 Grain Medley line, the other being Onion and Thyme. I’m not sure why they call them 6 Grain Medley, because I thought SunChips were already multigrain. Maybe they were 5 Grain before. They’re both Target exclusives, unfortunately, which means they’re probably $5 more expensive than SunChips anywhere else.

Either way, the taste of these Parmesan and Herb SunChips caught me a bit off-guard. Rather than being dominated by the Parmesan and Herb flavor, they rely largely on, *gasp*, the natural taste of the chip! The Parmesan and Herb flavors are absolutely there, but at the perfect level. I want to call the flavor subtle, but that wouldn’t be giving it enough credit. The taste ratio is probably 60/40, in favor of the multigrain chip flavor. As soon as you bite into the chip, there’s a small blast of Italian flavor, which gracefully backs off to let the chip shine through. The Parmesan flavor is full bodied and rich, like a cheese made with whole milk. The Herb part of the flavor does well to stay away from overused flavors like oregano, and goes for a savory blend that is actually very satisfying. These chips are highly delicious and great if you want a chip that’s not going to dominate your mouth with some artificial flavor. The overall taste is a delicate balance of well-implement flavors that are true to their title. I would expect no less from SunChips.