Categories: Candy,Candy Reviews,Foreign (non-US) Candy,Holiday Candy,Licorice Candy
(All pictures courtesy of Licorice International)
Today I was quite shocked to find not one, but two unexpected packages containing delicious candy treats. One was from Jelly Belly (look for that review coming soon) and the other was from our friends at Licorice International (who, by the way, have a beautiful new site). Intrigued, I ripped open the box to see what treasures it might contain.
Inside I found two packages of Australian Waldov Liquorice, one raspberry flavored and one black, as well as two “Irish Potatoes” and a nice note informing me that these were newly stocked items. Well, I’m always up for a new kind of licorice to try, so I immediately tore open the black licorice bag.
I could smell the delicious scent of black licorice even before the bag was fully open. Gingerly pulling out a piece from the bag, I noted that they were sticky but soooooo soft. I’m talking butter soft here, people. No, seriously, softer than you’re imagining. Firm enough to hold their shape, but just barely. These are arguably the softest licorice bits I’ve ever tried. In my book, that’s a good thing.
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Categories: Candy,Classic and Retro Candy,Licorice Candy,Soft Candy

At beginning of each new year, I like to spend some time devoted to thinking “deep thoughts” and pondering important philosophical matters. So my question to you is: Twizzlers or Red Vines?
When I first developed my love of licorice, I was living on the East Coast. I grew up eating Twizzlers. No funky flavors like they have now, mind you, just yummy, plain old strawberry Twizzlers.
Then, I moved to the West Coast. I was a bit perplexed because, at the time, I couldn’t find any Twizzlers. All I could see were these things called Red Vines. I asked a friend where the Twizzlers were, and she was horrified. Our conversation went something like this:
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Categories: Candy,Candy Reviews,Licorice Candy,Soft Candy

Photo by Anthemic Tangle
I love licorice. So when I came across a value pack of mixed Twizzlers flavors it was like Christmas came early. The bag had a bunch of flavors I’d never heard of, along with some that were more familiar. Each flavor is wrapped in its own cellophane pouch so you can take your time making your way through the bag and you can open as many or as few as you like at any given time. Very convenient and a good way to make the bag last!
Strawberry Twists: The most familiar in the bunch were the strawberry twists. These come two to a pack and are about 1/3 the size of a regular Twizzler. These have an artificial strawberry flavor and are a little softer and less waxy than regular Twizzlers. I don’t mind a bit of waxiness in my licorice so I didn’t find the wax factor off-putting in any of the flavors.
The rest of the bag consisted of different Pull-n-Peel flavors. These bits of licorice pull apart into licorice ropes like I used to eat when I was a kid, except these have way more flavor. I have to confess that I love to play with my food. So playing with the Pull-n-Peel flavors was almost as much fun as eating them!
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Categories: Candy,Candy Reviews,Chocolate Candy,Gourmet Candy,Licorice Candy,Soft Candy

I did something recently that I swore I’d never do: I moved to a place with no Trader Joe’s. To the TJ uninitiated, this may seem like no big deal. But for those of you who have enjoyed TJ’s amazing food, drink, and CANDY (at even more amazing low prices), you understand my loss and dismay. So please join me in bidding a fond farewell to three of my all time favorite TJ candies.

Image by Anthemic Tangle
Milk Chocolate Clouds: Behold the
chocolate, caramel, pecan glory that is the Trader Joe’s Milk Chocolate Cloud. Honestly, these are better than any other
turtles I’ve ever had. The
caramel is buttery and chewy, but doesn’t stick to your teeth. You can fully taste the sweet
pecans and somehow they still retain some of their crunch. And, to top it all off: the
milk chocolate is sooooo good. Unlike some milk chocolate, it’s not too sweet and is plenty chocolaty. And they don’t skimp on anything: each cloud is jam-packed with chocolate, caramel, nutty gooey goodness. Ah bliss!
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Categories: Candy,Candy Reviews,Foreign (non-US) Candy,Licorice Candy,Soft Candy

Our good friends over at Licorice International recently sent me a little licorice care package containing, among other things, a sample of Dutch company Katja’s Apekoppen. Needless to say, I was overjoyed to get the chance to try a new kind of licorice!
Apekoppen, translated as Apeheads, are half brown/half white ape-shaped candies. I briefly skimmed an explanation of the confection and saw that they were actually a melding of banana and licorice flavors – the white part was banana, the black traditional black licorice. I immediately thought they were going to taste, well… disgusting. But, being the brave soul I am, I bravely forged ahead. Happily, I was rewarded with one of the most interesting licorice candies I’ve had in quite some time.
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