There are just so many gums on the market right now that it’s hard to make any kind of decision on what you wanna chew. There must be at least 4 or 5 different mint flavors per brand from what I see in the checkout lines, not to mention all the fruit or combination flavors. I’ve even seen gum that’s supposed to taste like desserts. Now Stridehas come out with a new Wintermint gum sponsored by snowboarder Shaun White.

Unfortunately, this is just another one of those gimmicks. If you love snowboarding or you’re a Shaun White fan, Stride knows you’ll buy this gum. On the outside of the white package you can see there’s a partial face shot of Shaun White with his blazing red hair. On the inside of the package there’s all kinds of drawings of Shaun with comic book like talking “bubbles” along with some quotes from Shaun. Beyond that, this is just another mint gum.

The sticks are a decent size, as seems to be the standard with Stride gum and they are pure white. There’s nothing exciting or different about this “Wintermint” flavor. It really just tastes like peppermint. I’m a big fan of mint gum just because I’m always paranoid about my breath so that’s the flavor I’m always chewing. I tend to lean towards the softer mint flavored gums, that’s the mint I like. The really sharp mint gums just end up making me thirsty instead of feeling refreshed. This Wintermint is more of those sharper mint gums and even though it was a good strong flavor, it ended up making me thirsty.

As far as how long the flavor lasts, I’d say 30-45 minutes. That’s a decent amount of time, especially with a sugarless gum. And, we know Stride prides itself on its long lasting gum flavors. It does keep the breath fresh and I really didn’t have any stinky breath for awhile after throwing the gum out so it does have that going for it.

As for whether or not you should buy it, well I will leave it up to you. If you want to give it a try you’re welcome to it but I will warn you that this Shaun White gum will cost you more just because his face is on the package. I was at Wal-mart the other day and saw both regular Stride mint gum and the Shaun White Wintermint at the checkout line. The regular Stride flavors only cost 96 cents while the Shaun White Stride gum was $1.28. Must be more because Sean’s mug is on there, right?

• Stride Gum Website
• Shaun White’s Website
• Buy Stride Gum Online

Candy Addict received this product as a sample from the manufacturer. No payment was received for this review and all opinions represent an unbiased view of the product.

Do you have a little “Candy Addict” of your own at home? Would you like them to start learning their numbers in a way they’ll love? If you answered yes to both of these questions, then I’ve found the perfect book for you. Check out this new board book from Laurie Wolf called “Candy 1 to 20″. Every page contains the numbers from 1 to 20 but they numbers are laid out using various candies to make the shapes. For example, there’s a candy stick for number 1 and candy corn for number 20. Each number is made up of different candies, so your little “Candy Addict” will be so crazy to learn how to count. It’s a very cute board book that seems to be great for any pre-schooler. As a grown up “Candy Addict”, I just wish every page had real candy made into numbers so I could eat them as I counted to twenty! Retail price: $8.99.

• Buy the book “Counting With Candy” at Amazon
• Buy actual candy numbers

Candy Addict received this product as a sample from the manufacturer. No payment was received for this review and all opinions represent an unbiased view of the product.

Nintendo continues to cash in on its classic video game character, the Italian plumber – Mario!. This time they’ve come up with sour and non-sour gummy candies called Super Mario 3-Dees. I tried the sour version because I love sour candy! The gimmick here is the fact that the gummy candies are actually three dimensional figures, like gummi bears. They come in four flavors and four shapes. The flavors are: orange, watermelon, strawberry and mixed berry. The shapes are: Mario, Yoshi, Diddy Kong and Donkey Kong. The shapes do not denote the flavor as some candies do, but rather you could get say 3 Mario shapes in your bag but they can be all different flavors.

The candies are all brightly colored with pretty much standard colors denoting the flavors (ie: blue for the mixed berry, orange for orange, etc.) The texture is that of a pretty standard gummy and of course they have the nice sour coating on top that gives a little crunch if you bite into it right away. As for the flavors, they are pretty much standard fruit flavors, there is nothing really outstanding about them.

It’s pretty obvious that these Nintendo candies will appeal more to kids who just love Nintendo games or the Nintendo collectors out there. The Super Mario 3-Dees really have two things going for them: one is the fact that these are three dimensional candies, not flat like Sour Patch Kids, and two that they are Super Mario characters. Otherwise, they don’t stand out as any better than other similar candies on the market today. If you’re buying them for the flavors, I think you’ll be disappointed but if you love Nintendo stuff or have kids that love Mario, these are great!

• 3-Dees Website
• Buy Nintendo Candy Online
• Huge list of Nintendo candy

Everybody knows the name Hershey and everyone out there has probably had a Hershey bar. After all, they aren’t called the “Great American Chocolate Bar” for nothing ya know. Now they’ve come out with this new chocolate bar called Hershey’s Air Delight. It’s essentially a regular Hershey bar full of air holes which is sort of like the Nestle Aero bars or even the Bubble Chocolate.

I’ve had the Aero bars and they have air pockets more like a honeycomb. The air holes are large and very noticeable. I was never impressed by that feature, it really never added or took away from the flavor, and it just added a weird texture. The Hershey’s Air Delight has really tiny air holes – it looks a lot like the middle of the bar got kind of melted and smooshed. You have to look really really close to even see the tiny air pockets.

The texture is just a softer version of a Hershey Bar. The air holes don’t really add anything except to make it feel softer inside, almost like there should be some sort of filling in it, but there isn’t any filling. As far as taste, it takes just like a regular Hershey bar, just with that soft texture on the inside. It seems to be a new gimmick that Hershey is trying out in their bars and their Kisses too, like they’re trying to dip their feet in the water. I like Hershey’s chocolate and it always brings back childhood memories, but this Air Delight is nothing phenomenal. I’ll eat it if you give me one but I’d be fine with just a plain good old regular Hershey bar.

• Hershey’s Website
• Buy Hershey’s Candy Online

I’m just a HUGE chocolate and mint addict. I’m always on the lookout for something new that deals with chocolate mint and I will always try any candy that has that yummy combination no matter what. This time I found these Dark Chocolate (63% cocoa) Thin Mints from Haviland which is a sub-brand of Necco I found at my local CVS.

The first thing I noticed is that these are really thin mints. The photos on the box show something more along the lines of miniature York Peppermint patties with a thick mint center. That is not the case. The mint center is very thin and so is its dark chocolate coating. Luckily you get a lot of mints in the package which makes this a great deal for the money I paid.

These chocolate mints are actually very good. The flavors work in harmony together so that neither one overpowers the other. I’ve had some chocolate mints where there was way too much mint compared to the chocolate. Thin as these layers are, they work together extremely well. It’s a refreshing mint that’s complemented by the dark chocolate.

Another nice thing about these mints is that they are labeled “all natural” which can be misleading from time to time. Looking at the package the ingredient list is small and contains all the things I would hope to find in a product like this. These Haviland Mints were a pleasant surprise tucked away in the candy aisle at CVS. I love when I just pick something up for the heck of it and it ends up being really good.

• Necco Haviland Brand Website
• Buy Chocolate Mints Online

As I was waiting in CVS one day for a prescription to be filled I wandered around the store. I had about 20 minutes to kill and there’s not much else to do in CVS but look around. That’s when I found this little six pack of Soda Can Frizzy Candy. The six-pack is a cute little novelty and there are four flavors: lemon-lime, cola, orange and grape.

There’s actually a little plastic pop top on each can that you have to pop open to get the candy, which is kind of neat. The candies look like Tart N Tinys (remember those?) but in paler colors based on the flavor. They have almost the same texture too but are softer to chew.

These are not fizzy like pop rocks or some of the powdered candy that’s out there but they do pack a punch. The Lemon-Lime flavor was almost too tart and too strong on the fizziness. You don’t get the fizzy feeling until you start to chew the candy but it’s there trust me. The grape reminded me exactly of grape soda flavor. The fizz in the grape flavor is there but not as pronounced as with the lemon-lime. The orange was not a great flavor but this one fizzed on contact in my mouth. The cola honestly didn’t taste much like cola, it was actually kind of gross. I’ve certainly tasted much better cola flavored candies.

This six-pack of Soda Can Fizzy Candy is cute, but definitely not a worthwhile soda flavored candy (though the cans are cute and worth keeping). It’s a great little novelty item, but the flavors need to be improved and the fizz needs to be consistent. Seriously, don’t waste your money on this one. If you really love your soda flavored candy, I recommend sticking to Wonka Bottlecaps (which I LOVE)!

• Kidsmania Candy Website
• Huge list of cola candy
• Buy Soda Candy Online

Right before Father’s Day, I had posted about Beercandy and how it would make a great gift for Dads everywhere. I mentioned in that post that I was planning to order some of their products for my beer loving husband for Father’s Day. After all, what could be better for a beer-loving guy? Well, I spoke true and now I can tell you all about their Beer Taffy. I would have also reviewed the Beer Caramels, but sadly, since it was a Father’s Day gift after all, they were consumed before I could taste the. I had asked him for some details that I could include in the review but all he could tell me was that they were the best caramels he ever had.

If you are expecting that the Beer Taffy is going to be a sweet piece of chewy taffy with just a hint of beer flavor, like I did, then you’ll be in for a surprise. It’s nothing at all like I expected. If you like your taffy thick and chewy, then you’ll be very pleased. It literally took me 5 minutes to chew one of these. Your mouth will definitely get some exercise.

If you like the taste beer, then you’re going to love this candy. There are only two beers used to make the taffies, IPA and Stout. Both the IPA and the Stout taffy were equally strong in flavor, even though Stout is a normally a much stronger beer. There’s not much sweetness to this taffy, just enough to qualify them as candy, but the main flavor is beer. The best way I can describe this candy is “chewable beer”.

So, if you’re a beer lover and a taffy lover, you’ll really enjoy this candy. It’s a great combination of both handcrafted beers and candy. I like a good beer myself every now or then but to me it was strange to chew some beer rather than drinking it down. Then again, there’s no cans or bottles to worry about, you won’t need a beer cozy to keep it cool, and you sure don’t need a bottle opener!

• Beercandy Website

With a name like “Firecracker,” you would assume the marketing team just chose a word that sounded exciting to make you think their chocolate bar was also exciting. Turns out, Firecracker is the perfect way to describe this chocolate! No, there aren’t literal fireworks, but the closest thing you can get and still ingest it: popping candy. The bar also boasts dark chocolate, chipotle, and salt.

So imagine if you will: a smooth bar of dark chocolate. You bite into it and taste an above average chocolate flavor, and then you’re hit with the warming sensation of chipotle pepper (it’s not overwhelmingly spicy in this bar, but rather subtle). Your tongue next detects that this candy is slightly salty, and then *POP* goes the popping candy. The popping distracts you for several seconds, and then you remember there are other things for you to taste here. You will yourself to ignore the popping and focus on the salty chocolate flavor.

Mmm, it’s pretty good!

Verdict: This candy bar is definitely worth a try. It’s tasty, and highly entertaining. Definitely a good one to share with friends.

Pros: Lots going on, something for everyone, good amount of spiciness and salt, the entertainment of popping candy in your chocolate. Non-GMO ingredients.

Cons: These cost a bit less than $4, so they are high on the spendy scale. Depending on your personality type, there might be too much going on in one bar of chocolate.

• Buy Chuao Chocolatier’s Firecracker bar at Wal-Mart stores

I’m a huge fan of Lindt chocolates. I could eat Lindt chocolate all day long if I could. There used to be a Lindt outlet store near my home when I lived in Virginia and I used to stock up there once a month. So, I gladly “volunteered” to review these three Lindt chocolate bars that Candy Addict was sent. All three of these bars are made with 70% cocoa, which basically means that they are 70% dark chocolate and 30% other delectable ingredients.

70% Cocoa

This bar is the “plain” version in the bunch. In my opinion, this is probably one of Lindt’s best chocolate bars. I’m a dark chocolate fan, something I inherited from my Mother and luckily did not pass on to my kids (no sharing!). This bar has a nice smooth texture and just melts in your mouth. It’s not bitter like some dark chocolate bars. The 70% Cocoa chocolate bar is sweet and easy going. Even if you’re not a dark chocolate fan, I think you’ll enjoy this bar and appreciate its flavor.

70% Cocoa with Almond Brittle

I’ve had the Lindt Toffee bar before, the one with the Milk Chocolate and full of toffee bits so I figured this might be the dark chocolate version. The Almond Brittle is scattered throughout the bar and is not as prevalent as the toffee bits are in the other bar. The texture is smooth and you get the crunch of the almond brittle every now and then. The only downside (if there is a downside to any Lindt chocolate) is that the dark chocolate overwhelms this chocolate bar. The dark chocolate and the almond brittle almost work against each other rather than together. I would love there to be a lot more of the almond brittle mixed in with the chocolate so that there’s the joining of the flavors, each complementing the other. Instead you get the great flavor of the 70%, but with a little crunch.

70% Cocoa Nut Crunch

I really have the same opinion about this Nut Crunch bar as I do for the Almond Brittle bar. There are really not enough of the nuts (caramelized walnuts and hazelnuts) to even out the flavor. The nuts give a slight crunchiness to the bar but the dark chocolate flavor just takes control taste wise. As with the Almond Brittle bar, when I bite into this chocolate bar, all I taste it the dark chocolate with a little crunchiness. There needs to be more of the caramelized nuts added to tone down the 70% cocoa and so that the flavors complement each other.

As much as I love dark chocolate, I will just stick to the plain 70% Cocoa bar. The Almond Brittle and the Nut Crunch bars are honestly lacking in any other flavor other than the chocolate. The additions just add a small amount of crunch and truly no flavor. I was slightly disappointed, but still consider Lindt one of my favorite chocolate makers.

• Lindt’s Website
• Buy Lindt Chocolates Online

Candy Addict received this product as a sample from the manufacturer. No payment was received for this review and all opinions represent an unbiased view of the product.

I grew up spending ten cents a pop on Jolly Rancher candies at my small town news stand. Those hard little rectangles (especially the watermelon flavor) were a favorite among me and my elementary school crowd. I still love a good Jolly Rancher today. When I saw these Jolly Rancher Fruit Chews at the Five Below store near me, I thought I’d give them a shot.

The box is a compact size so it’ll fit easily in your purse or pocket should you desire to bring them with you everywhere. There are only four flavors: blue raspberry, watermelon, green apple and cherry. I had an overabundance of blue raspberry in my box but thankfully I did have at least one of each flavor in there to give a good review.

Each piece is a small rectangle, about ¾ of an inch long. These are a real easy candy to chew. The only other candy I could really compare these too are Starburst, but these are much softer and easier to chew. They’re more of that powdery type of chewy candy rather than a taffy type of chewiness. Jolly Rancher Fruit Chews are a quick easy chew, but they’re packed with flavor.

The blue raspberry pieces are bright blue and have that distinct blue raspberry taste. The candy is not sour but rather a true basic blue raspberry, a little tart mixed with sweet. The watermelon is a deep pink colored candy and is that watermelon flavor I loved as a kid. The green apple is a bright, neon green color and the flavor is a good basic apple flavor, not a green apple in particular. The cherry is a good red color and the flavor is a basic candy cherry flavor. These are not a true fruit flavor but more like what you would expect a fruit flavor candy to be like. It’s that almost “too good to be true” taste. I wish fruit really tasted like these Jolly Ranchers.

I’m always a bit skeptical when a candy company tries to come up with a new product based on an old one. I’m an “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” type of girl. But, these fruit chews are honestly really good. The flavors stay 100% true to the classic Jolly Rancher hard candy I loved as a kid. Each time I ate a piece it took me back to the good old days.

• Buy Jolly Rancher Candy Online
• Jolly Rancher Website