Does Fancy Packaging Mean Better Flavor?

On today’s episode of Good Mythical Morning, Rhett & Link determine whether fancy food packaging is an indicator of better flavor. Each round, the guys picked their favorite packaging from a lineup of four brands. Then, they did a blind taste test to determine which tasted best. So, does fancy packaging mean better flavor, or are aesthetics deceiving? Here’s what Rhett & Link decided.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Candidates: Carlini, Brightland “Alive”, Frantoi Cutrera, & Lucini

Best Packaging: Brightland (Rhett, Link, & Mythical Crew)

The trendy and most expensive option presented to the guys was Brightland “Alive” Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Rhett immediately recognized its quality, saying, “This is a top-shelf one and it’s from California and it’s in a completely opaque bottle, which means a lot when you’re dealing with oil.” Link agreed with Rhett, saying, “I just think it’s cool, it’s like it looks modern but yet rustic at the same time.” Italian luxury brand Frantoi Cutrera was a close second in terms of price and seemed “super authentic” to Rhett, but he didn’t like how light the bottle was.

Best Flavor: Brightland (Rhett) & Carlini (Link)

If you’ve watched enough of Good Mythical Morning, then you know that Rhett’s a fancy boi, and Link is, well, a simple man. Link even admitted, “I don’t even know what good olive oil is supposed to taste like,” and ended up picking the cheapest option, Carlini, because it tasted “mild.” Rhett, as expected, picked the fancy option, saying that it was “fresh” and “very fruity.” Rhett thought Lucini had a weird aftertaste, while Link thought Frantoi Cutrera was very olivey.

Final Consensus: Fancy olive oil packaging does mean better taste… if you’re an olive oil connoisseur like Rhett.

Coffee Blend

Candidates: Community Ground Coffee Breakfast, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Nantucket, Wunderground “Time to Rise”, & Allegro Early Bird

Best Packaging: Wunderground (Rhett, Link, & Mythical Crew)

Before the episode was filmed, the Mythical Crew voted on their favorite packaging. Out of all the rounds, this was the first where one product—Community—received no votes. Rhett said that the packaging looked like Folgers, and Link thought the bag was too big. As for Allegro, Link described its packaging as, “Straight down the middle. Very Starbucks-esque.” The trendy packaging from Wunderground was a hit with Rhett, Link, and the Mythical Crew. The cute bear and matte finish won them over.

Best Flavor: Green Mountain (Rhett & Link)

Wunderground was a close second in terms of taste, with a “mild, nutty” flavor that left Link desiring a bit of “boldness.” (The company traditionally brews their coffee with mushrooms, but the version the guys tried was the classic, mushroom-free blend.) While Rhett & Link thought that Allegro was bad, they really cracked down on Community’s coffee. Rhett said, “It’s got a stronger taste but bad taste,” and Link specified that it “tastes like cardboard.” Yikes. Keurig’s Green Mountain won, but not by a huge margin. It was only after tasting Allegro and Community that the guys were able to decide.

Final Consensus: Fancy coffee packaging sort of lines up with taste. But never underestimate the power of Keurig coffee.

Crackers

Candidates: Terrapin Ridge Sea Salt, Stonewall Kitchen Sea Salt, Jovial Organic Sourdough Einkorn, & Moonshot

Best Packaging: Stonewall (Rhett), Terrapin (Link), & Moonshot (Mythical Crew)

Neither Rhett nor Link found Moonshot—the trendy, environmentally friendly company that the Mythical Crew picked—to be visually appealing. While Link initially thought the packaging was cool, he said, “They’re really pushing the climate stuff instead of the taste. That scares me… Maybe they’re trying too hard.” Both of them hated Jovial’s packaging. “Ooh. This is bad,” Link said. “There’s a lot of stuff happening,” Rhett piped in. He read the packaging, “Easy to digest?… Is that for old people?” Rhett liked the Stonewall packaging’s subtlety, but Link thought it was “too boring” and went with Terrapin.

Best Flavor: Stonewall (Rhett & Link)

The fancy boi struck again. While Moonshot was the trendy option, Stonewall was the most expensive, and turned out to be Rhett and Link’s favorite. “Ya’ll doin’ it right over there in the Stonewall Kitchen,” Rhett said. “See, look. All they care about? Crackers. They don’t care about the world, they just care about crackers.” They loved how buttery, crispy, and airy the cracker was. While Stonewall was the clear winner of the taste test, Moonshot did better than expected. Rhett & Link agreed that it had a nice flavor, and said that the trendy packaging was not at all deceiving. Jovial’s crackers, however, didn’t go over well with the guys. “Imma tell you right now, Rhett, this is tasteless,” Link said. Rhett shot back, “You’re right. You don’t have to tell me twice.” Terrapin was also a flavor disappointment. It lacked salt, and Rhett described it as “if Pringles made a cracker, and not in a good way.”

Final Consensus: Sure, there might be cuter packaging out there, but stick to Stonewall.

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Candidates: Signature Select, Alec’s Ice Cream, Straus Family Creamery, & Aplenty

Best Packaging: Alec’s Ice Cream (Rhett & Mythical Crew) & Straus (Link)

In the final round, Signature Select’s packaging stuck out like a sore thumb. It was the only packaging that Link didn’t find enticing. Rhett said, “This is for children…kids with no taste. Get ‘em, Signature Select!” Rhett picked Alec’s Ice Cream—the trendy option—because he loved the aesthetic. Link thought that the packaging was a distraction from the flavor: “I think they’re saying, ‘It’s all about our vibe!’” He preferred Straus’s farm-centric packaging, which he saw as a pleasant reminder that “it comes from a cow.” He also thought that the red, white, and blue colors were “nostalgic.” Rhett & Link agreed that Amazon’s Aplenty packaging gave off the wrong message. “Something about it feels like it might not be made from real milk. You know what I’m saying? Sometimes, you can send it a little too far,” Rhett said.

Best Flavor: Alec’s Ice Cream (Rhett) & Signature Select (Link)

Aplenty lost the taste battle. Link thought it tasted cheap. Straus was Rhett & Link’s second favorite option. Alec’s, on the other hand, evoked strong reactions from both of the guys. Link recoiled when he tried it, saying something was wrong, “Something naughty happened in there… could it be a Tahitian bean?” Though he had no way of knowing for sure at the time, Link was correct. When Rhett went back and tried all of the ice creams, he came to like the Tahitian bean flavor and picked it as his favorite. Link picked Signature Select, the creamy and cheap option… As predictable as ever, Link!

Final Consensus: As Rhett put it, “It’s just vanilla ice cream, you know? It can only be so good and it can only be so bad.” Ice cream just needs to taste good. Packaging doesn’t mean a thing.

Check out today’s Good Mythical More, where Rhett & Link try toothpick flavors.