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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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I know, I know, more jellybeans (I just reviewed the Starburst Sour Jellybeans), but can you blame me? When you find the right jellybean, it’s the perfect combination of crunch and chew and sugary goodness! So, when Candy Addict’s very own Brian professed that Nerds Bumpy Jellybeans are his favorite Easter candy this year, I knew I had to try them. First, if Brian says they are good, then the probability that this is true is extremely high. Second, I am a fan of Nerds, especially of Nerds rope, because you get that crunchy and chewy dual bang with the rope. Do you see where I am headed?

I won’t keep you in suspense - these Nerds Bumpy Jellybeans are keepers. They are kooky and bizarre and incredibly tasty! There are five flavors. The flavors aren’t listed on the packaging, but you can guess that they are the usual suspects: red (strawberry), yellow (lemon), orange (you guessed it, orange), green (watermelon), and purple (grape). As indicated by the descriptive title, these beans sport bumpy exteriors, which makes them a little odd looking and even a tad ugly, but who cares! They rock! The hard candy shell is crunchy but won’t break your teeth. The interior is chewy but smooth, and there’s a perfect balance between crunch and chew.

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There are many happy unions in the Candy World. Some candy pairs just seem made for each other: chocolate & peanut butter, chocolate & mint, hard candy & bubble gum, strawberry & banana, black licorice & the garbage can… the list goes on and on. Unfortunately, the new Wonka SweeTARTS Rope with Nerds filling is no such union. In fact, it seems to be a marriage of convenience in the Wonka family of products.

The Wonka SweeTARTS Rope consists of a red, chewy gummi tunnel filled with a blue liquid and rainbow Nerds candy. Each package contains two candy ropes, about seven inches long. In my packages of SweeTARTS Ropes, some of the blue liquid candy escaped from the gummy canal and leaked into the bag. This is likely because they came in the mail, but it is worth mentioning because it is rather messy situation.

Luckily, one of the packages is in good condition with not much escaped blue goo. The gummy rope of each SweeTARTS Rope candy is a thick, cherry-flavored tube. The blue liquid inside each one is the consistency of paste. Classics Nerds candy is embedded in the blue paste. I’ll now break down the flavors, part by part.

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As I was cleaning out my closet the other day, I came across a candy I had totally forgotten about - Dweebs. I found a sealed (yes, unopened and still sealed) box of Dweebs in my closet! Billed as the “Cousins of Nerds”, Dweebs were also made by Willy Wonka, just as Nerds still are.

Dweebs are both larger and more round than Nerds though. In fact, they look almost exactly like the 6mm Airsoft BBs (any other guys remember those?) that go into air pistols, right down to the bright colors. But instead of the hard consistency of Nerds, they’re soft and chewy.

Coming in a 3 flavor pack, Orange, Strawberry, and Punch, the 1.65 oz box had 3 separate (and closeable!) compartments to keep each of your flavors separate. Brad Kent also has a Dweebs package with Cherry listed so we know that Dweebs came in at least four different flavors.

My package has a copyright date of 1990, which means they’re 17 years old at this point, and I more than likely bought them from the general store at the summer camp I went to ever year. How do they taste? Yes readers, I actually tried my Dweebs that have been sitting in my closet for 17 years. Surprisingly, they were still soft. Good job, Willy Wonka! The consistency reminds me of Chiclets, but I don’t know if that’s how they were originally supposed to be. I can honestly say, that if these were a little fresher, I’d definitely eat them over regular Nerds.

Sadly, Dweebs were discontinued in the mid 90s, though they seem to still have a decent following. It seems CandyDirect still has them listed as available, but that must be an old, outdated webpage. No way they still sell them and if they did - wait - mine were still good. Maybe theirs would be too!

• Brad Kent’s Dweebs package (different than the one above)
• Dweebz at Wikipedia (spelled wrong)

More candy articles about: candy, sweets, retro, flashback, willy wonka, wonka, nestle, dweebs, nostalgia, 90s

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Looking for something new to drool over - or on, as the case may be? Look no further than Fun To Collect. This fun site offers so many different candy-themed goods it’s almost overwhelming. From candy-shaped pillows to vintage candy logo t-shirts to candy-themed messenger bags - you’re almost sure to find something featuring your favorite candy, past or present.

Be sure and check out their extensive collection of candy-themed t-shirts. You can find Wonka shirts with Nerds, Runts, or Laffy Taffy; classic candy like Butterfinger, Crunch, and Goobers; lots of Dubble Bubble clothing, and even “lesser” candies like Chupa Chups, Razzles, Bit-O-Honey, Fun Dip, and Wax Lips. Some of their shirts are really awesome!

• Candy Apparel

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Snoop Dogg loves Sour Nerds
(photo by WireImage - used with permission)
Let me just tell you how awesome yesterday was. First, I got an email from a Public Relations person representing Masterfoods’ candy brands (Masterfoods make M&Ms, Snickers, Twix, Skittles, etc.) and he was giving me a press release and introducing himself.

Then, a few hours later I got an email from a PR person from Nestle/WONKA doing much the same. WONKA! One of my favorite brands since I was a kid! She promised to send me samples of their latest candy too!

Do you know how cool it is to get emails from candy companies like that and to know that my little candy site is being noticed by the big boys of the candy biz? It’s like getting email from your favorite music group or your favorite movie star. Too cool.

Sorry, I didn’t mean to gush like that and I promise I won’t do that much, but I just had to share!

More candy articles about: candy, sweets, sour, nerds, wonka, nestle, masterfoods, snoop, snoop dogg, rap, rapper

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