Pop Karma Popcorn

I really love popcorn, but I was just disappointed (and/​or confused) by this place. I generally love the smell of popcorn, so I was a little thrown off when I walked in, and was put off by the smell of the place. For a place that solely sells popcorn, their flavor selection is pretty limited (and there was no kettle corn option). The only reason that I gave this place a 3 instead of a 2 is because their salt and vinegar popcorn was odd, but surprisingly good. Overall, I hope this place expands their selection, but for now I will stick to Kettle Corn NYC.

Appreciate the organic kernels, good service and tasty flavors — zen cheddar and white truffle cheddar in particular. However, the popcorn itself was not fresh. The texture reminded me of the bags of pre-​popped popcorn I’d buy from the grocery store. Stale.
I guess for $ 5 a (small) bag, I was hoping the popcorn would at least be warm, or recently popped.

Kyoto mix, salty sweet savory umami popcorn… they should serve it in every movie theater!

I love how we can sample the popcorns here. They have 6 different flavors (3 classic and 3 seasonal) and I tried 3. They all have a soft crunchy texture but differ in taste.
— White Truffle Cheddar (seasonal) — tastes exactly as it sounds, very strong truffle flavor but too strong for me.
— Sweet Cinnamon (seasonal) — tastes like cinnamon toast crunch but with a sugar overload
— Mediterranean (classic) — this one is like a «healthy» non-​buttery version of your movie popcorn with a subtle dash of sea salt. I couldn’t taste the olive oil. I wished THIS flavor was stronger.
Their Karma Shot (smallest size) was $ 2 for classic and $ 2.25 for seasonal. I guess that’s not too bad for organic popcorn (I didn’t know that even existed) but still pricey in my book.

The popcorn is great and the price is fair considering it’s a niche food, with organic ingredients (as in, they have to be pricier to turn a profit since people aren’t going to be lining up around the block for popcorn).
That being said, the owner left a pretty bad taste in my mouth.
On my second visit, I had the great displeasure of being helped by her. I walk in with someone, and there are 4 people ahead of us and one person walks in behind us. So imagine a store with 7 people in it, then 3 people walk out without buying a thing… and of the 4 people who are paying customers, you mouth off to 2… No lady.
To reiterate what the owner likes to say on Unilocal: I want small business to offer incentives for repeat customers as long as the incentive is financially feasible for the small business.
If two people walk in and buy two bags of popcorn: that’s two customers. Don’t refuse to stamp their punch card… If you can’t afford to offer these incentives, then don’t offer them until your shop is turning a profit. No need to start making up arbitrary rules (I paid cash, so we weren’t combining orders to meet a minimum credit card limit or anything, it was purely a combined purchase for the convenience of the ladies behind the counter).

Too overrated, the popcorn is a bit overpriced but I guess that’s what you get for «gourmet popcorn.» I expected the taste to be a lot better or more exotic with the popcorn flavors but it was just a pretty normal popcorn fast, I was given a lot of popcorn for a small mix bag though, somewhat disappointed as I specifically made a trip back down to LES just to check out the shop.

I can’t believe I didn’t know this stuff existed. Perfectly popped with rich complex flavors. Something for everyone.

I’ve never been in the physical store itself, but I was gifted some of their popcorn before and it’s AWESOME! Very creative flavors that sound gimmicky but actually taste great. I particularly love the pumpkin spice caramel. But the other flavors I had were also amazing. Definitely check this place out!

i LOVE Pop Karma! They supplied 6 different flavors for a holiday party I attended this winter and I couldn’t stop eating them all! Each flavor is unique and amazingly delicious — I honestly can’t pick a favorite, but I especially loved the caramel.
Also love that the ingredients are organic and non-​GMO!

The best popcorn I’ve ever experienced! and it’s organic, non-​GMO. I have ordered large bins of my favorite Cheddar & Truffle flavors in addition to sending many tins to family members. Delivery is timely, warm, and first class. Pop Karma is GREAT Karma!

DELICIOUS popcorn! Super as a gift!

Really delicious popcorn. Bought this for my clients and they loved it! It makes a super cool gift idea too.
Try the caramel flavor! It’s my favorite!

Great quality popcorn with unique flavors.
I tried many different flavors and still like the kyoto mix the most which is a savory seaweed mix — totally unique. The normal flavors like sea salt, cheddar, caramel are good, but I would go for their seasonal mixes as it’s more unique.
Service is friendly, but a little slow. Price is more on the bougie side costing about 5 – 6 $ for a small can. *Cans are very pretty and can be reused for a lot of purposes ;)

Tasty and unique popcorn but pricey!!! For ~$ 5 – 6, you will get less popcorn than you would get with a small at the movie theater. However, I’d still purchase as a treat, especially for the special flavors, which they change up regularly.
Got a mix of the kyoto mix and cheddar, which were delicious together.
Service was great — they let us try pretty much every single flavor they had available.

I stumbled upon Pop Karma stand in an LES street fair and got to sample their classic and seasonal popcorn flavors.
HANDS DOWN, my FAVORITE was the KYOTO MIX. It tastes like one of those Japanese sweet salty nori snacks in popcorn form. Absolutely delicious and sooo addicting!!!
Every time I’m in LES, I stop by and buy a bag! It’s kind of $$ for popcorn but trust me, it’s worth every penny!

I had Pop Karma on my list of «try to find this place while you’re in New York» foodie type places and wonder of wonders, I ran across it completely by accident while visiting the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. Sure, it’s a little pricey when you compare to throwing a bag in the microwave, but it’s REALLY GOOD!
The girl who was working in there when we were there on the 17^th was very friendly and professional. They let you have a little taste, which I appreciated and I am still kicking myself for not trying more than one. I decided to buy a bag of the salt and vinegar and a bag of the caramel. I scarfed down the salt and vinegar the next day and I literally nibbled on the caramel for DAYS and it never tasted or felt stale at all,
If I lived in NYC, this would be one of my guilty pleasures. I am CRAVING it now! I think it’s time I learn how to make flavored popcorns.
I RECOMMEND!

Last Valentines Day, my fiancé took me on a little trip to the LES. This was one of our first stops.
This place used to be the lab (most amazing gelato ever) and he knew that it changed into this popcorn place, and wanted to check it out.
So yesterday, we were wandering and stumbled upon this place again. The woman who helped us out was a gem. And as much as she was lovely, I still feel like this place is kind of a ripoff. Yes, the popcorn is good and they have cool and inventive flavors, but a tiny bag is $ 5+.
The cases were empty yesterday. Early on a Wednesday. I’m now wondering if the popcorn I received is actually fresh. Better be for $ 7.25 for the large (that isn’t actually large at all.)
I ordered a small white truffle cheddar for the man, and a large miso seaweed for the entire family to share. Flavors were good, I’m not a huge fan of truffle so that definitely wasn’t their fault. It’s good popcorn, but I wouldn’t seek it out on the regular basis, it’s just not reasonable.

I stopped in one evening and was underwhelmed when I tried their Kyoto, whih didn’t warrant the price even with soon-​to-​expire Google Offer (Free Karma Shot (aka small) when you make a purchase), which I gladly never redeemed. A week or so later, received a free TableHopping deal for a Karma Shot, which I redeemed on their superb porcini cheddar (was unimpressed with both the unremarkable Mediterranean and the kick-​less Cajun). Two separate staffers were friendly on each visit.
Rent is likely not too exorbitant here, and they run what seems to be a brisk wholesale/​online biz, so we’ll see how much longer they last.
Tried the Jalapeño Lime and Zaatar and enjoyed both, but used their second TablehoppingNY freebie on a superb Cinnamon — nailed it.

Pop Karma offers a pop of inspiration for your taste buds organically. Started by Jean Tsia who left her corporate job with American Express to offer top quality and responsibly grown ingredients for her air-​popped organic popcorn. The perfect holiday or corporate gift!
Pop Karma offers classic flavors such as Zen cheddar, pure caramel way better than that blue box caramel with a century old toy, and Mediterranean. Seasonal flavors include white truffle chocolate. Gourmet flavors offered daily are the Kyoto mix, Porcini cheddar, and Pumpkin spice. Pop Karma sells at a starting price of $ 2.00 up to $ 75.00 for a 3 gallon gift size tin. Karma shot is $ 2.00, Karma bag is $ 4.00, and Karma big bag is $ 6.25.
Jean and Chef Stephane Lemagnen thought of our animal friends when creating Pop Karma. Karma offers a cheesy grain for dog in the cutest puppy sized bags. The snack You can’t ask for better customer service. Her team is poppin!

The popcorn here is delicious, no doubt about that. But $ 5 for what amounts to a couple of handfuls is a little silly.
I got the Karma Bag size, which came to about $ 5. As you can tell from my photo, this is a pretty minuscule bag of popcorn.
It is nice that they give out samples. I tried the caramel, which was pretty good but nothing mind-​blowing. The flavor I bought was the Mediterranean, which is closest to a regular classic type of popcorn. It was very good, with just the right amount of salt and oil.
For the reviewer that said we need a movie theater nearby to sneak this into, we already do — the Landmark Sunshine is a 5 minute walk away. It also just so happens that the Landmark pops their popcorn in a healthier variety of sunflower oil, which kind of negates the purpose of coming here for the supposedly healthier popcorn they offer.
I’ll stick with paying a dollar more at Landmark for a huge bag that also has free refills and is just as delicious (usually even better actually when it’s popped fresh). You also don’t need to buy a ticket there to get to the concession stand so you can stop by there if you are in the mood for some excellent popcorn that isn’t overpriced.