I really like popcorn. I was totally psyched to use this popper, and the fact that it air-popped made me love it more. It's easy to use and easy to clean. However, from the first use the popcorn went flying everywhere! I placed a good-sized bowl underneath the slide/opening shoot and it caught about 3/4 of the popcorn. The second time, I balanced a very tall popcorn bucket underneath the shoot and still, popcorn and unpopped kernels were flying everywhere. There are a lot more unpopped kernels being thrown than actual popcorn, which is a pain to find and clean up and to get hit with. After the money I spent, I won't give it up, but I think this is the most disappointing thing I bought all year. The popcorn that does land in the bowl is good, I think it has a slight staleness to it, but my friends think it tastes especially fresh. Maybe I'm a little bitter by the time I get to eating it. Also, on the second use, the machine just suddenly stopped. I wasn't sure if it overheated or what (the popper gets extremely hot) but it did begin working again.
I bought this trying to save money and calories versus the microwave kind. I think I might keep an Orville bag of Natural around just in case.
This little popper got my wife all excited . . . and it does look very nice. We enjoyed quite a few batches of popcorn out of it - when you do exactly what you are told, it does what it says it will.
Which is the problem. It has a teeny weeny capacity . . . a quarter cup of popcorn, if that. The rules are that the measuring cup be not overfilled or underfilled (which a few kernals would do). Which heightens the irritation with the following: When you dump the carefully measured popcorn in through the hole at the top, you simply can't do it without some raw popcorn missing the shoot and bouncing back out.
It was impossible to pump two batches through in succession as the heat sensor would kill it after the first, forcing a cool down. So with a large family (I have 11 kids) it can get frustrating.
Then . . . my 20 year old was asked to make a batch and, unbeknownst to me, had never used a hot air popper before. She poured something like a cup of kernals in the shoot, ignoring the measuring cup, and promptly burnt up the blower - game over.
Went out and bought an ugly popper off the shelf - 1/2 cup capacity, multiple batches in rapid succession, hardly a kernal unpopped.
Having said all of that . . . I might buy another! My wife likes the way it looks, what can I say :-)
SO . . . if you want a pretty little appliance sitting in your kitchen, have a small group to service and are patient, this little popper is great. If not, you will get very frustrated.
Bought this model at a brick & mortar retailer before seeing all the negative reviews here on Amazon-- won't do THAT again!! Never got a chance to plug the popper in: As the instructions directed, I was wiping it off before using it for the first time, and the red paint started to come off!! Kept rubbing, kept getting paint on my damp paper towel! Put it right back in the box and returned it to the store.
I was so excited to find this adorable popcorn popper and it was red to match my kitchen. I unpacked the unit, placed it in an honorable corner on my counter top and couldn't wait to savor the magnificent popcorn. I felt like the little boy and his Red Rider BB gun at Christmas. I read all the directions. I carefully measured the popcorn leveling the cap as stated in the directions. I called my husband in to watch the performance and boy did it perform! Hot unpopped kernels went all over the place. The popped corn bounced out of the bowl and onto the counter and floor. You couldn't get close to the unit to turn it off because of the hot kernels. Less than half of the corn popped. I couldn't help but laugh at the situation. It was like Jane Fonda at the copier in 9 To 5. There is a reason the instructions say to stand back at least 36" and they mean it. Needless to say, I put it back in the box and returned it for the old dependable Presto corn popper. Recommended for entertainment and massive cleanup, not popcorn.
I can't believe someone actually designed, tooled up and mass produced this as an operational popcorn popper. What a pile. The popcorn exit spout is not very deep but real wide so a round bowl only catches about half the popcorn that exits and the rest goes on the countertop. Doesn't matter, as it turns out, because only about half the kernals you put in the machine get popped and the rest just spin around in the machine until the thing overheats and shuts itself off. Before I take this POS to the dump I'm going to run over it with a truck so no one else will be tempted to try to use it!
I do not have much to add that has not already been said! For years I had the basic Presto hot air poppers and it worked very well. When that popper finally died after many many years of service, my husband wanted one of these nostalgic ones for looks. My son and I tried it out this evening and I was so dissapointed. There was barely enough popcorn for the two of us, partly due to the small capacity, and partly due to the large amount of unpopped kernels. I did not want to wait the required 15 minutes to pop another batch. I should have packed it back up and taken it back as soon as I read that in the manual, but thought it would surely pop enough for our small family. I was wrong!!! The reviewer who thought the kernels tasted stale was right on the money. I used a brand new container of Orville Redenbacher kernels, so I know it had to be the popper and not the corn! As others mentioned despite the giant bowl I had underneath kernels were flying everywhere. Needless to say this was twice the price of the old faithful Presto. I plan to take it back as it is basically useless. I have never reviewed a product good or bad before, but am so tired of buying things that don't work right, that I had to add my voice to the chorus. Do not buy this!! - Popcorn Popper - Retro - Popcorn Maker - Avoid - Not Recommended - Horrible'
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