The new Taiwan-imported product was launched just today (June 25). Each 45g resealable pack comes in Tiger Sugar’s distinctive black and gold packaging, and the popcorn kernels are flavoured with Taiwanese black sugar. It’s slightly different from traditional refined brown sugar, though. Black sugar is stronger-tasting and unrefined with molasses and minerals, while brown sugar has had its molasses removed and re-added via processing. 

For a limited period, the popcorn will cost a promotional price of $3.90 a pack (and $4.90 after that). But you can get the popcorn at $3.50 a pack if you buy a Tiger Sugar drink or ice cream bars along with it.

At first glance, Tiger Sugar’s popcorn reminds us of Garrett Popcorn’s CaramelCrisp offering, with the same round, crusty kernels coated with a sticky layer of caramelised brown sugar (though Tiger Sugar’s popcorn is a pale golden yellow while Garrett’s is a darker burnished brown).

Taste-wise, Tiger Sugar’s popcorn makes a good first impression on us. We pop a morsel in our mouth and it crunches pleasingly to the bite with toasty corn flavour. The toffee coating is nice and buttery, and the black sugar fragrance is reminiscent of the BBT chain’s Brown Sugar Boba Milk. According to its ingredients list, the popcorn is also apparently spiked with a bit of cocoa powder, though we couldn’t really detect any chocolate-y whiff. Still, it’s decent enough that we greedily polish off the whole pack in a single sitting.

But which is the superior caramel popcorn? If we compare both Tiger Sugar and Garrett Popcorn, we’d say Garrett’s is the one worthier of a calorie splurge. It has that strong, caramelly hit we personally prefer (Tiger Sugar’s is more buttery), though Garrett is a tad pricier at $5 for a similar portion (about 30g for its small bag).

Available now at all Tiger Sugar outlets. www.facebook.com/pg/tigersugarSGofficial.

PHOTOS: YIP JIEYING