Trader Joe's Organic Buffalo Style Hummus

Welcome to part one of a two-part rant on the new-ish hummus selections at TJ's. I have spent the last decade eating a lot of store-bought hummus. It's suffice to say that I'm not an expert, I haven't tried all the hummus out there, but I've had enough to know what I like. 

1) Points for packaging! Modern retro vibes? I believe these are colors that belong on a sneaker. 

2) BTW, organic ingredients will cost you an extra $1, which brings this bad boy to $2.99 for 8 oz. Still cheaper than some non-organic counterparts at major supermarkets.

3) Somewhere in my mind, my expectation for this is to taste like the classic hummus mixed with some Frank's red hot sauce (the base of many buffalo sauces), meaning the base hummus hasn't changed but has been modified with buffalo flavoring. So why is white vinegar so high on the ingredient's list??

 Very typical numbers for a packaged hummus.

4) The first thing that hits you when you open this is the smell. This is probably entirely subjective. Mind you, I like sour foods but dang this smell is DANK. Like sour, moist, and funky, almost like there's supposed to be a hint of blue cheese or something but there isn't anything on the ingredients close to blue cheese. The only explanation is the white vinegar.

5) The consistency is pretty thin, which characterizes a lot of store-bought hummus but I sort of expected this to be a little thicker. Plus, you can tell from the picture that there are lumps in the hummus, which might be pieces of garlic or something. Fine but when a product claims to be smooth and creamy but is actually thin, watery, and lumpy? It's not a good thing.

6) It still doesn't taste very much like classic buffalo to me. It's mostly just sour, and while I did get used to the taste, it's just okay. There's a good kick of garlic, cayenne, and jalapeno, which would be great if the base of the hummus wasn't so sour. Not my first pick of hummus or in my top five picks of hummus to get from TJ's.

7) When you add "style" to the title of any product, you can pretty much get away with just about anything because it takes away the pressure and expectation of trying to match the original. But it doesn't mean that it's always good. :P

TL;DR: Trader Joe's Organic Buffalo Style Hummus. Sour, spicy, I wouldn't-have-guessed-this-is-buffalo-style hummus. 5 out of 10. Mantou Joe repurchase? Does not spark joy, next.