Salt and pepper sumseeds

Prehistoric Native Americans cultivated and consumed sunflower seeds many centuries ago. The seeds were ground into a fine meal or flour for cakes. Some cultures even used them for cures to snakebites, cuts and bruises. Nineteenth and early 20th century settlers also ate sunflower seeds, recognizing them as a tasty and nutritious food. Fortunately, we live in the 21st century, where they can also provide a caffeine buzz too!

Sumseeds sent me some of their deliciousness before, in the form of Pickle flavored, Honey BBQ and original flavored Sunflower seeds. Having tried all the other products from SumSeeds, I was eager to enjoy this one, but saved the best one for last - Salt and Pepper. They somehow get the caffeine and other energy ingredients past the shell and into the seed itself, so you don't have to worry about not sucking on the shell for too short a time.

These things are wonderful - a great idea carried out so well. While the rush is not over the top, the flavor and quality of the seeds themselves are impressive, and the caffeine is just the element for real snackish innovation.

Taste:9
This stuff makes Frito-Lay hide its face in shame. Even Spitz and David's Nuts are nothing when compared to this stuff from Dakota Valley. In all the bags I tried, there was not one Bad Seed or Burned bark-like stem in the whole bunch. This flavor was nice and strong too - fulfilling my craving for salty goodness. If you are a fan of Sunflower seeds, then you are in for a real treat.
The serious dose of caffeine does not seem to affect the flavor at all, as all I tasted was just salty pepper yummy.

Packaging:7
Like the other flavors, this one is a decent enough design, while nothing truly extraordinary. the bag does not list caffeine content, or have a resealable lid to it either.

I dunno who he is, but having this famous sports guy on the bag holding up a picture of another sumseeds bag has a weird M.C Escher quality to it. It was easy enough to rip in and grab a handful - and there was just a little powder residue at the bottom of the bag - which I had to use my finger and lick up. While better, it is still pretty decent.

Buzz:9
It takes a while to get through the whole 1.75 oz plastic bag, so the 140mg of caffeine is spread out longer - making the effects be more mellow and longer lasting as well. It is impossible to slam this like you could an espresso or small energy drink. Even the 1.75 ounce pack takes a while to work through, so you are going to have your 140mg caffeine intake spread over the course of at least an hour. This makes the buzz you get last a super long time, and there is no spike and crash. Expect to just get a little more clear headed and alert over an hour or two, and it should maintain for hours as well.

This also has some Taurine Lysine and Ginseng. Like the other flavors, there is 160 calories in the bag, a healthy 7 grams of protein and super low sugar content. I love that the ingredients list is also so healthy, using the stuff you can find around your local supermarket, like garlic and onion powder, regualr salt and pepper.