A comprehensive taste test has crowned the 'tingliest' salt and vinegar crisps in Britain, with Marks & Spencer taking the top spot. Food enthusiast Liv Newman spent eight months and £80 evaluating 40 different packets to find the most potent version of the classic British snack.
The Top Contenders
M&S Salt & Double Vinegar Extreme Ridge Cut Crisps secured first place, closely followed by Golden Wonder's Fully Flavoured Salt and Vinegar Crisps in second. Third place went to Exceptional By Asda Hand Cooked Sea Salt and Chardonnay Wine Vinegar Crisps. Discos Salt & Vinegar crisps came fourth, while Co-op Irresistible Hand Cooked Sea Salt & Chardonnay Wine Vinegar Crisps rounded out the top five.
For those seeking a milder kick, Jack's Salt & Vinegar Twirls and Seabrook Trebles' offering languished at the bottom of the list. Pomsticks, Squares Crisps, and Burton's also failed to impress in terms of tingle factor.
The Quest for Flavour
Liv, 28, began her taste test in August 2025 after returning from a 12-month backpacking trip across Southeast Asia, where she claims salt and vinegar crisps 'didn't exist.' Craving the tangy snack, she embarked on a mission to find the most flavoursome packet.
Her methodology involved trying a few of each crisp and scoring them on her phone based on the strength and sharpness of the taste. To narrow down the top seven, she hosted a crisp party where friends blind taste-tested and ranked their favourites.
Surprising Results
After revealing the top three online, Liv noted that people were shocked that Co-op's Irresistible Hand Cooked Sea Salt and Chardonnay Wine Vinegar crisps only ranked fifth, as many consider it an 'elite' offering. Despite differing opinions, Liv believes she has done the investigation 'justice' and is ready to explore other flavours.
'I wasn't necessarily rating them on the best flavour, but the most salt and vinegar-ist. The ones that made your mouth tingle and hurt your tongue,' she explained. 'Some were really nice to taste but quite weak. We were going for a pure tingle factor.'
The M&S crisps were described as building in intensity, offering a really intense vinegar flavour. Golden Wonder, however, was a 'fan favourite from the start,' while the Asda crisps were Liv's personal favourite due to their nice sweet flavour and good amount of tingle.
Honourable Mentions and Tips
Liv also gave honourable mentions to some Irish crisps and Halloween fright bites, which were excluded due to limited availability. She noted that Simply Roasted crisps, from a small company, packed a surprising zing despite their unassuming appearance.
On the flip side, she disliked Jack's salt and vinegar twirls and several others at the bottom for lacking flavour. She observed that thick crisps often dulled the flavour, while thin crispy ones carried it better.
Liv also shared tips to enhance flavour, such as freezing the crisps or opening the packet upside down to gather the seasoning. 'I feel like I've done it justice,' she admitted. 'And I don't need to try any more salt and vinegar crisps. My tongue is burnt.'
Full Ranking of Top 40 Salt and Vinegar Crisps
Here is the complete list of Liv's ranking:
- M&S Salt & Double Vinegar Extreme Ridge Cut Crisps - 7.6/10
- Golden Wonder Fully Flavoured Salt and Vinegar Crisps - 7.6/10
- Exceptional By Asda Hand Cooked Sea Salt and Chardonnay Wine Vinegar Crisps - 7.4/10
- Discos Salt & Vinegar crisps - 7.2/10
- Co-op Irresistible Hand Cooked Sea Salt & Chardonnay Wine Vinegar Crisps - 7.2/10
- Simply Roasted - Sea Salt & Vinegar Crisps - 7.2/10
- M&S Sea Salt and Vinegar Popped Chips - 7/10
- Tayto Fright Bites Salt 'N Vinegar Flavour Corn Snacks - 7.1/10
- Golden Wonder Chippies Salt & Vinegar Potato Sticks - 6.9/10
- Tayto Hunky Dory Salt & Vinegar Crisps - 6.9/10
- Popchips Sea Salt & Vinegar Crisps - 6.8/10
- Morrisons The Best Sea Salt & Vinegar Crisps - 6.8/10
- Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Sea Salt & Cider Vinegar Crisps - 6.8/10
- Greggs Sea Salt & Cider Vinegar Hand-Cooked Crisps - 6.7/10
- Tayto Golden Wonder Rough Cut Salt and Vinegar Crisps - 6.7/10
- Kettle Potato Chips Sea Salt & Balsamic Vinegar - 6.6/10
- Doritos Minecraft Movie THE CREEPER VINEGAR Limited Edition - 6.5/10
- Smiths Chipsticks Salt & Vinegar Crisps - 6.7/10
- M&S Hand Cooked Sea Salt & Balsamic Vinegar Crisps - 6.5/10
- Walkers Max Zingy Salt & Malt Vinegar Crisps - 6.5/10
- Real Sea Salt and Cider Vinegar Crisps - 6.4/10
- Aldi Salt & Vinegar Flavour Potato Hoops - 6.4/10
- Tayto Salt & Vinegar Flavour Potato Crisps - 6.3/10
- Asda Extra Special Sea Salt and Chardonnay Wine Vinegar Hand Cooked Crisps - 6.2/10
- Bobby's Salt and Vinegar Flavour Spirals - 6/10
- Tyrells Sea Salt & Cider Vinegar - 5.8/10
- Yorkshire Crisps Chardonnay Wine & Vinegar - 5.7/10
- M&S Basic Salt and Vinegar Crisps - 5.7/10
- Salt and Vinegar Pringles - 5.6/10
- Aldi Specially Selected Sea Salt & Chardonnay Vinegar Hand Cooked Crisps - 5.5/10
- McCoy's Salt and Vinegar Crisps - 5.5/10
- M&S Salt and Vinegar Star Crisps - 5.4/10
- Hula Hoops Big Hoops Salt & Vinegar Crisps - 5/10
- Aldi Salt and Vinegar Pringles - 4.4/10
- Pomsticks Salt and Vinegar- 4/10
- Salt and Vinegar Squares Crisps - 3.5/10
- Burton's 5 Fish'n Chips Lashings of Salt & Vinegar Flavour Baked Snacks - 3/10
- M&S Salt & Vinegar Combo Mix - 2/10
- Seabrook Trebles Salt & Cider Vinegar Crisps - 1/10
- Jack's Salt & Vinegar Twirls - 1/10
