The King of Pops Least Greatest Hits

Identifying the worst pops we've ever made at King of Pops has been more of a journey than I expected. Honestly, there are a few reasons why I didn’t have a list of our least successful flavors ready to go:

⏳ Time – It was never a priority to dwell on the flops.
🦁 Ego – I’d like to think we only make amazing pops.
😅 Coping mechanism – Our brains are beautifully wired to forget the things that bring us pain.

But after sifting through old Facebook menus from the early 2010s, polling past and current team members, and giving it some thought over the past couple of weeks, here it is!

The least greatest hits—ranked from bad to very bad:

10. Raspberry Rosewater
    A lovely, maybe too lovely floral flavor. From day one, it was polarizing. Fans loved it, others said it tasted like soap. We did sell a lot of these, though, so we must have done something right... for some people.

9. Focus Pocus – Mango Black Tea
   The goal: create a functional pop using fancy tea from a remote mountainside in China that would enhance productivity. The reality: it just didn’t taste great. Nice idea, though.

8. Octane Black Coffee
   I was thrilled to collaborate with my favorite coffee shop, Octane (RIP). The honor was real, but the pop was just too icy and didn’t hit the mark. Thankfully, our coffee pop game has improved dramatically since then. 👋 Coffee & Donuts with Coffee Man.

7. Guava Lemonade
   This could have been a winner, but our guava was way too ripe, and the flavor was simply too bitter. Guava and popsicles weren’t meant to be—at least not back then.

6. Herbs de Provence Lemonade
   Some flavor blends don’t belong in desserts. This one was too... interesting, more like an Italian dish than a refreshing treat.

5. Cucumber Lime
   A delicate flavor, but too light. It mainly tasted like ice, and let’s be honest—any pop with a vegetable is fighting an uphill battle.

4. Beet, Apple, Ginger
   Earthy. Too earthy. While one unexpected ingredient can work, beet and ginger together was a bit much. A prime example of when boundaries are pushed too far.

3. Fig Goat Cheese
   This didn’t just taste off—it felt like you’d eaten an entire meal. Popsicles shouldn’t make you feel full, and this one left you stuffed.

2. Grapefruit Fennel
   Why? Just why? The flavor bible said it would work, but no one really thought this one would set the world on fire.

1. Hot Dog Water
   Yep, we actually made this. My friend James at Doggy Dogg convinced me it could work—for both humans and dogs. After tasting the first one, we handed the rest out to a few dogs... then promptly threw away the entire batch.

I’m hopeful we’ll continue experimenting with new flavors. And if we’re doing it right, we’ll make some truly terrible ones along the way.