Image from Anthemic Tangle
Ok, yeah, I know: Halloween was so yesterday and we’re looking forward to Thanksgiving already. But I just grabbed my last bag of Halloween-themed sale candy. I couldn’t resist: it’s a big bag of Willy Wonka goodness AND it was on sale. Plus, there’s extra Halloween-themed silliness involved. What’s a Candy Addict to do but dive right in?

Image from Anthemic Tangle
First up, Willy Wonka Laffy Taffy Ear Wax. Maybe all the Harry Potter ear-wax-flavored jelly bean references are to blame, but for some reason I had to try these first. Fortunately, these do not look or taste like ear wax. This cheery yellow Laffy Taffy tastes like banana. Granted, it’s that fake, candy banana taste, but it’s mellow enough that I enjoyed it. These were surprisingly sweet, but in a good way. And, as I chewed, I got that nice, underlying taffy flavor. The texture was good, too - nice and chewy, but it didn’t stick to my teeth. Between the fun, gross out factor and the taffy goodness, I’d have these again.

Read More »

Share This

As Monica correctly alluded to in her love ‘em or hate ‘em candies, taffy is definitely a divisive confection. I happen to be a lover of this candy, ever since the days I journeyed to Catalina and discovered what taffy is.

As a product, taffy doesn’t really have a large niche in the candy aisle. Most people only know it in its small, saltwater form. There are, however, a few big logo names out there. Yes, both Airheads and Starburst are forms of taffy (a lot of people have an “oh yeah” moment when they hear this). But even if it might not be as popular as these other two forms, the most recognized brand of taffy out there is probably Wonka’s Laffy Taffy.

Most people identify Laffy Taffy with the small little pieces purchased as penny candy or in bulk that contain jokes (which I tend to find not funny) on the back. The small ones come in a variety of single flavors. This product also has two other forms. One is a taffy rope, which is essentially the small pieces just in a longer, rope format. The second is a spinoff product called Stretchy and Tangy Laffy Taffy.

The stretchy and tangy variety consists of about an eight-inch bar of taffy. I have seen it at various gas stations mostly, which is where I bought mine, and was curious about them to see if the stretchy and tangy part made them taste any different from their smaller counterparts. Since most of the seven flavors this product offers are duplicates of the smaller product, I chose the strawberry-banana bar, as it had no equivalent mini form.

Read More »

Share This

I am a big believer in the idea that candy should, above all things, be fun. And there is perhaps no candy on earth as fun as the candy with Fun right in its name - the legendary Lik-M-Aid itself: Fun Dip.

If you’ve never had Fun Dip before, you are missing out on one of the greatest candy experiences of all time. There’s nothing particularly fancy or high class about Fun Dip; it’s the kind of candy you fall in love with when you’re in elementary school and never quite grow out of, the kind of candy that is both simple and wonderfully ridiculous, the kind of candy that makes dentists cringe and kids flip out with sugar-induced happiness. Fun Dip is candy at its best: sour, sweet sugar that tastes great and is super fun to eat.

The taste of Fun Dip is extremely similar in taste and texture to that of Pixy Stix. In fact, eating a packet of Fun Dip is a bit like eating a bowl of Pixy Stix sugar, which, I must say, is pretty awesome.

Fun Dip currently comes in three flavors: RazzApple Magic, Cherry-Yum-Diddly, and Grape-Yumptious:

Read More »

Share This

Wonka’s Nerds have always impressed me because of their sheer boldness as a candy. With the exception of Pixy Stix and possibly Fun Dip (both Wonka products), few candies out there are as reckless about their conception as Nerds. They’re not trying to be molded into a particular shape, and they don’t look like a cute animal; they’re asymmetrical lumps of sugar and artificial flavorings that don’t apologize for their appearance.

Many people were never a fan of the candy, and I think it’s because of the premise of the candy itself. There aren’t complex flavors and multiple textures (unlike the Giant Chewy Nerds) and they do little to disguise their ingredients. Most of the people who do like them are children of the eighties and nineties, when candy was re-conceptualized to become more about sugar, sourness, and gimmick than true quality and simplicity.

As a teenager, I stopped buying these because, frankly, I had to start using my own money to buy candy since my parents wanted me to become a responsible adult. That wasn’t to say that I didn’t like them, but I didn’t want to waste my allowance on fruity aquarium pebbles when I could get something better with my money.

Recently, the Nerds line has reinvented itself by adding Nerds Rope and Giant Chewy Nerds to the market. Both spinoffs are great candies in my opinion, and so when I spotted Sour Nerds in the sale bin at my local H.E.B., I thought they could be the third great of a Nerds triumvirate.

Read More »

Share This

Chewy Sprees can do no wrong in my book, but I am a little suspicious of this new Mix’d Berry flavor. None of the flavors are identified on the package, so who knows what could be, you know, mix’d (yeah, the cutesy spelling kind of gets me). The package says, “It’s a kick in the mouth!” What does that mean? Are they going to be sour? Overpowering? What? I guess there is only one way to find out.

I open up the package, and I must say the colors are stunning. Bright and cheerful, these little candies are calling out to me, and it’s all I can do to keep myself from shoving them all into my mouth. There are four flavors in the Mix’d Berry Chewy Spree package: purple, pink, red, and turquoise. Wikipedia claims that the turquoise (okay, so they call it aqua) is blueberry. I am still confused as to whether Mix’d Berry means there is more than one berry flavor per color (you know, like cranberry-raspberry flavor) or if it just means there are four berry flavors in a package. I am not confident I will be able to determine this by tasting them, but I’ll give it a try!

Read More »

Share This

My absolute favorite candy from this year’s All Candy Expo has to be the new Wonka Tinglerz, malted pieces of crisped rice covered in Nestle’s milk chocolate and pumped with a carbon dioxide blast to give them some serious popping power. Tinglerz won’t be hitting stores until September, but I was lucky enough to score a pack at the Expo - in prototype packaging, no less. The real packaging hasn’t been unveiled yet, but we’ll be sure to bring you a picture as soon as we can.

You could easily classify Wonka Tinglerz as a sort of wacky cousin to Nestle’s Buncha Crunch, as both candies are alike in taste and appearance, with one notable exception. While the Tinglerz retain the pellet-like shape and the crispy, milk chocolate taste of Buncha Crunch, the Tinglerz offer an experience that Buncha Crunch can’t match: a popping, fizzing sensation that hits the mouth as the chocolatey bits dissolve.

Read More »

Share This

Today’s guest review comes from a true gumball lover blogging at Maison de Gumball….

For sugar lovers everywhere, the search for sugar nirvana has come to a sudden and crunchy close. Yes, that’s right – I’ve found the answer to the age long question of how much sugar can be crammed into a single piece of candy. The answer: too much.

Allow me to introduce you to the Nerds Filled Gumballs. This seizure-inducing treat has a number of unique characteristics previously unknown to the extended chew industry. The sheer quantity of sugar was once believed to be impossible, yet some deranged candy maker has produced the Nerds Filled Gumball. Personally, I enjoy nothing more than settling into a lasting and fulfilling chew of a gumball. Nothing satisfies the molars like the pleasurable elasticity of that sugar coated orb known as the gumball.

Read More »

Share This

Want to find candy from your childhood that’s still in production? Aside from Candy Addict links, try the very bottom shelf in the candy aisle at your supermarket. The bottom shelf usually has the less popular comestibles, or maybe it’s for the customers who know what they want and where to get it. Either way, that’s where I noticed a fun candy from my childhood: original Spree. (I said “fun,” not “delicious.”)

So, what’s so fun about Spree? Well, you have to know what these candies do when they get wet. That’s right: they bleed off their super bright colors like you’ve got your own personal dye factory. Apparently, some girls used them for makeup before they were allowed such stuff, but of course we boys had a much “better” idea. We systematically collected all the red ones and made fake gun-shot wounds on our white t-shirts. Obviously.

Read More »

Share This

Nestle/Wonka doesn’t have a lot on the way for us in 2008, but what they do have packs a punch:

• Wonka Giant Chewy Nerds - we reviewed Giant Chewy Nerds already and they are fan-freakin-tastic. In stores now for $0.69-$0.89.
• Wonka Tinglerz - Remember Nestle Buncha Crunch? They were small, bite-sized pieces (globs) of Nestle chocolate and crisped rice. Imagine those but now add in popping candy and you have Wonka Tinglerz. We tried them at the All Candy Expo and they were quite good. Look for a full review from us soon (we have pre-release bags of them in hand) and look for them in stores around the end of September, 2008 at a price of $0.69-$0.89 fro a 1.8 oz bag.
• Nestle Chunky Dark Giant - A 4.5 oz dark chocolate bar with peanuts and raisins and scored into four pieces. “Great to share.” Available end of September, 2008 for a retail price of about $1.29.

• Wonka at Candy Addict
• Nestle at Candy Addict
• nestle.com
• wonka.com

Share This

If I had a business card that stated the adjectives most appropriate for describing me, the first one would definitely be “Candy Addict.” The second? Nerd. I love sci-fi and computers almost as much as I love candy. Come to think of it, I’m happiest camped out in front of the TV watching Star Trek reruns and eating bonbons than I am anywhere else. Now, there’s a shirt that embraces both primary aspects of my personality.

From NerdyShirts comes the Nerds Rule T-Shirt. Featuring a nerd holding a box of Nerds, the shirt’s a great way to proclaim your or your loved one’s candy addicted nerdiness. At $20, though, I know I don’t have enough cash left over from my post-Easter purchases to buy one for myself. Ah well, at least my birthday is coming up soon…

• Nerds Rule T-Shirt at NerdyShirts

More candy articles about: shirt, Nerds

Share This