I remember that when I first lived in New Zealand I was always experiencing cultural differences that the native Kiwis failed to comprehend about American culture. I mean, they didn’t eat staples like peanut butter and questioned the point of ketchup.

But by far the one thing that drove my Kiwi friends bonkers was my love for cherry. I adore it – ice cream, candy, soda… you name it and cherry makes it better. For some unknown reason, cherry just wasn’t popular down there.

Well, it’s a good thing then that my friends didn’t attend the All Candy Expo and amble by the Gimbal’s Fine Candy booth. Gimbal’s is an interesting small candy manufacturer. They produce a variety of products from jelly beans to Lavaballs, with their factory being certified Kosher and gluten, nut, dairy, egg, soy, gelatin, and transfat free (not all of these products are vegan since some contain bee’s wax).

But of all their products, the one that blew me away the most was their Cherry Lovers. Cherry Lovers is a bag of heart-shaped chews consisting of nine different flavors of cherry. That’s right, nine! Think that’s impossible? See for yourself….

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Welcome, fair readers, to the fourth installment of the Great Chocolate Experiment, in which I and my Research Assistant attempt to further the cause of Science by determining which ingredients taste good coated in chocolate, and which do not. In The Great Chocolate Experiment Part 3, we botched chocolate-coated ham, discovered that chocolate-covered rice cakes still taste like cardboard, and had our tongues twisted by the unspeakable combination of chocolate and pickles. What new surprises await in Part 4? (The astute reader will notice that we are using more of the reader suggestions from The Great Chocolate Experiment Part 2. Thanks, everybody!)

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Ok, confession time: I’m not into the whole organic/natural food thing, for two main reasons. One, I don’t believe in quick-fix solutions to the complex health, environmental and sociological issues that plague today’s food industry; and two, I just love my artificial flavors and colors too darn much. After all, the candy aisle would be a pretty boring place without them.

Still, the idea of a candy that’s truly guilt-free (I’m talking eco-guilt, not calorie-guilt) remains a tempting one, even if it’s just an illusion. So when I noticed a display of products from Shopper’s Drug Mart’s new organic line, Nativa, it was naturally the candy that jumped out at me. Though Nativa also makes organic gummy bears and fruit gummies with natural flavors and colors, it was the cola bottles (or “soda bottles,” as they’re called on the bag) that grabbed me.

Now, gummy cola bottles are among my all-time favorite candies, especially the sour variety. (Confession number two: I once ate an entire industrial-sized tub of sour cherry cola bottles from Costco – AND I’D DO IT AGAIN.) So I was very curious as to how the organic variety would stack up to the real thing. At $2.99 for a 100 g bag, they were pricey (a common problem with organic foods), but I decided to give them a try.

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In my Candy Addict staff profile, I joke that I adhere to a strict organic, vegan diet to balance my rabid candy consumption. Though that’s not entirely true, if it were I could find sweet organic, vegan refuge in Zootons. What are Zootons, you ask? Well Zootons are beings hailing from Zootopia, of course! And they are here to save Earthling children and adults alike from bad candy.

And how do they do that, you ask? Why, by generously sharing their homeland’s chemical-free, fertilizer-free, gelatin-free, organic, vegan candy with “out of this world taste” of the same name. Naturally! And in the spirit of promoting healthy habits and practicing what they preach, Zootons also donate a percentage of their profits to Healthy Child, Healthy World, a non-profit organization campaigning for healthy environments for children.

And while these are all excellent reasons for both vegan and omnivorous Addicts to give Zootons a try, we all know that when it comes to candy it really just comes down to taste (I mean, if it tastes like organic dirt it still tastes like dirt, right?), so let’s get to the important stuff. Zootons come in four varieties: Gummies, Colas, Jellies, and Sours. And here’s my breakdown:

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Here at Candy Addict, we’ve already determined that when it comes to sour candy, there is sour, and then there is sour. I had pretty much given up my search for anything which would satisfy my sour-deprived taste buds, until I came across X-Treme Sour Candy. It had the picture of someone’s head being blown up, the “Caution: X-Tremely Sour” warning and it even came in a cute little rocket-shaped container.

The thing which made me buy it was actually the health warning, in small print, on the label: “CAUTION: Eating multiple pieces at the same time or within a short time of each other may cause an irritation to sensitive tongues and mouth. This may vary from a slight irritation to a severe reaction depending on the individual.” Yippee! Candy eating as an extreme sport? I’m in! As you can imagine, I wasted no time on these, especially as the flavor mix included cola, strawberry, apple, and blue raspberry.

The candies are individually wrapped, with the color of wrapper relevant to the flavor inside. Each candy is about the size of a nickel – so fairly substantial, really. The first sensation you get is of extreme sourness (similar to a WarHead) – the kind which makes your tongue curl and your hair straighten.

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