How I Score
Products
One person. One methodology. Every jar gets the same treatment so you know what to expect every time. No panels, no rotating writers, just me.
This page exists so you can calibrate what my tiers actually mean and decide whether my palate and priorities match yours. If they do, the recommendations will track. If they don’t, at least you’ll know exactly why I landed where I did.
The Five Tiers
I don’t use numerical scores. A 7.4 out of 10 tells you nothing useful — it just sounds precise. These five tiers mean something specific, and I use them the same way every time.
Strong across the board with no significant weakness. If a friend asked right now whether to buy it, I’d say yes without caveats. These are the products I actually go back to purchase again.
Strong across most criteria with minor weaknesses. I’d repurchase without hesitation and recommend it with enthusiasm. Not quite best-in-class, but clearly above the pack.
Solid product. Does the important things well. There’s a reason to hesitate — one real weakness, or a price-to-value issue — but in the right context or for the right person, this is an easy recommendation.
Nothing actively wrong. Nothing worth chasing. It’s technically functional and honest about what it is — it just doesn’t do anything interesting enough to pick over better options at the same price.
Fails on enough criteria — or on one critical criterion badly enough — that I actively recommend against buying it. Specific reasons always given. I don’t SKIP something just because it’s not my style.
What I’m Actually Evaluating
Eight criteria. Each one matters, but they don’t matter equally. The weights below are for chili crisp — see Section 04 for how they shift for salsa macha and chili oil.
| Criterion | What I look at | Weight |
|---|---|---|
Texture / Crunch | Oil-to-solids ratio. Volume of crispy bits. Crunch quality — distinct, not mushy. Particle size. Whether the crunch holds up or dissolves on warm rice. And critically: what is crunchy. Fried garlic and shallot are the real thing. Soybeans stuffed in to fake volume are not. | Critical |
Flavor Complexity | Does it have layers, or does it hit and fade? Does the sweetness-heat-savory balance feel intentional? A complex product develops on the palate. The secondary seasonings — MSG, sugar, salt — are often where complexity lives or dies. | Critical |
Ingredient Quality | I read the label before I open the jar. What oil is used, and how high on the list? Are the first three or four ingredients things you’d recognize in a kitchen? Does the product taste like what’s on the label? | High |
Heat Character | Not just how hot, but what kind. Sichuan tingly-numb is a completely different experience from a front-hit burn, which is different from a slow build. Heat that kills all other flavor is a problem regardless of level. | High |
Aroma | What hits when you pull the lid? A good chili crisp smells like what it is. Off-notes (burned, stale, chemical) get flagged. Absence of aroma isn’t necessarily a problem, but it’s a signal. | Medium |
Appearance | Before opening, I read the settlement. Target: roughly 25% or less visible oil layer on top. Solids should clearly dominate. Essentially flavored oil with a few bits at the bottom is a problem. | Medium |
Versatility | Where does this actually work — and where doesn’t it? I test on plain white rice because that’s the most honest read on the product itself. I’m not penalizing specialization — I’m penalizing a condiment that only works in one direction. | Medium |
Packaging / Practicality | Can you get a spoon in? Is the jar size reasonable? What’s the value per ounce versus similar products? A great product in a frustrating jar loses something — and I’ll say so. | Low–Med |
The Rules That Actually Matter
The Soybean Problem
The single most common quality problem in commercial chili crisp: soybeans used to inflate the crispy bits beyond what the quality aromatics justify.
You get volume, but it’s filler crunch — the kind that dissolves into nothing the second it hits warm rice. When soybeans show up in the first four ingredients, they’re there to bulk up the jar on the cheap. It’s not automatically a SKIP, but it’s always noted, and it blocks an EXCELLENT tier.
The actual crispy things worth paying for: fried garlic, fried shallot, sesame seeds, chili pieces, fermented black beans.
On Heat Level
I have a medium spice tolerance. I say this so you can calibrate, not so you can dismiss the heat evaluations.
A product I describe as “genuinely hot” will land somewhere between mild and medium for someone with a high tolerance. A product I describe as “approachable heat” is probably mild for anyone who eats hot sauce regularly.
What I always describe is type of heat, not just level. Tingly-numbing Sichuan heat and front-hit habanero burn are fundamentally different experiences. The heat types guide breaks down the full spectrum.
Heat Types I Look For
| Type | What it feels like | When it’s a problem |
|---|---|---|
| Sichuan / Numbing | Tingly, lip-numbing. The vibration-like effect (mala) from Sichuan peppercorn. Not burning — buzzing. | When the numbness is so heavy it kills everything else. |
| Front / Immediate | Hits on entry, exits cleanly before you swallow. No build, no tingle. | When it’s all front and no flavor. Hits and leaves nothing interesting behind. |
| Slow Build | Mild on entry. Develops mid-palate and into the finish. | When the build never resolves and lingers past the meal. |
| Heat for its own sake | — | Always a problem. Any product where heat is the only story is not a condiment, it’s a stunt. |
“Style doesn’t affect the score. Execution does. A well-made Japanese-style rayu and a well-made Sichuan chili crisp can both be EXCELLENT — they’re just excellent at different things.”
— Phil, Flavor Index LabHow Criteria Shift by Category
The five tiers and the basic criteria apply to all three categories F.I.L. covers. But what I’m looking at changes depending on what’s in the jar.
The baseline category — everything else compares to this.
The criteria weights listed in Section 02 are for chili crisp. Texture/Crunch and Flavor Complexity are the two critical criteria because they’re the defining characteristics of the category. The “crisp” in chili crisp is a promise — every jar has to deliver on it.
The oil-to-solids ratio is the single most visible quality signal before the jar is even opened. Target: roughly 25% or less visible oil layer when settled. A jar that’s essentially flavored oil with some bits at the bottom is misrepresenting itself.
Quality signals
- Fried garlic, shallot, sesame in the crispy bits
- Solids dominate the jar when settled
- Soybean oil or better as the base
- Heat type distinct and purposeful
- Flavor develops, doesn’t just hit once
Red flags
- Soybeans in the first four ingredients
- Oil layer exceeding visible solids
- Crunch that dissolves immediately on rice
- Heat that kills all other flavor
- Ingredient list that reads like a mystery
Salsa macha is built differently — and gets evaluated differently.
Same tier system, same general criteria, but key differences apply. Nuts replace aromatics The crunch in salsa macha comes from peanuts, pepitas, sesame seeds, and almonds — not fried garlic and shallot. The quality of the nut crunch (whole vs. crushed dust, variety, distribution) is what I’m evaluating under Texture.
Vinegar is a positive In chili crisp, vinegar presence is unusual and often a problem. In salsa macha, tanginess from vinegar or dried fruit is expected — it balances the oil richness. Its absence isn’t disqualifying, but its presence signals thoughtful production. The salsa macha ingredient guide covers what each component signals.
Smokiness is the identity Salsa macha is made with dried chilies — morita, guajillo, ancho, chipotle — and the smoky depth that comes from those ingredients is a category hallmark. A salsa macha that isn’t smoky is missing its personality.
Chili oil is a different product. It needs different criteria.
No crunch criterion Chili oil is primarily oil — there are no substantial solids. Texture/Crunch drops from Critical to Not Applicable. A small amount of sediment at the bottom is normal. Heavy solids means it’s actually a chili crisp, not a chili oil.
Oil quality becomes Critical When you remove the crunch, the oil has to carry the whole product. Base oil flavor and clarity, infusion depth, and smoke point for cooking become the primary evaluation criteria.
Cookability is High weight For chili oil, cooking versatility is central. Can you heat this in a wok or pan without burning it? A chili oil that only works as a cold drizzle is limited in a way that a chili crisp is not. The cooking with chili oil guide covers which base oils survive high heat.
The chili oil / chili crisp line: if a product has substantial crunchy solids, it gets evaluated as a chili crisp. If it’s primarily oil with minor sediment, it’s evaluated as a chili oil. I follow the product, not the label.
How Every Testing Session Works
Full ingredient list. Oil type, first four ingredients, anything unfamiliar. Jar size and format. Country of manufacture. Suggested pairings. Serving size and sodium. I want to know what’s inside before I form any impression from tasting — because the ingredient list often explains exactly why something tastes the way it does.
How much visible oil versus solids? I note the estimate before the jar gets touched. The ratio visible from outside the glass is the same ratio you’re getting in every scoop.
First aroma impression. Does it smell like what it claims? Are there off-notes — burned, stale, chemical? A strong, clean smell is a positive signal.
Dip, don’t drench. What does the base oil actually taste like? Could you cook with it? This gives me a read on oil quality before the other ingredients cloud the picture.
Fork out a few pieces from the solids. What’s the crunch? Can I identify what I’m eating — garlic, shallot, chili, soybean? Size, quality, distribution. This is where filler reveals itself.
Oil and bits together — full product read. Then on warm plain white rice, because that’s the most honest read on the product as a condiment. Rice is neutral. It doesn’t flatter. Does the product hold up when it has to perform on its own?
I take voice memos during the tasting — first impressions before I have time to overthink them. Then I write up notes immediately after. The combination of in-the-moment reaction and post-tasting reflection is what goes into the review.
What This Isn’t
Not a panel
Every review on this site is one person — me — applying the same criteria the same way every time. You can calibrate to my palate. Panel-based reviews can’t offer that consistency.
Not pay-to-play
I don’t accept free product in exchange for guaranteed positive coverage. Some products I bought myself. Some were sent for review. Either way: my score is never influenced by how I got the jar.
Not a recipe site
I’m evaluating products as condiments, not as ingredients in a dish. The question is whether the thing in the jar is worth buying, not whether it improves a specific recipe.
Not a heat-tolerance test
Heat is one criterion among seven. A product that’s extremely hot but one-dimensional in every other respect doesn’t earn a higher tier just because it’s impressive in a narrow way.