When the long school day was over, the afternoon bus seemed like a sanctuary. True, there were always spit balls to dodge, boys to avoid, and backpacks to trip over. Despite these hazards, I welcomed the world of the school bus for one particular reason: it was prime candy trading time.
Once we settled in for the drive home, my bus companions and I would whip out our respective stashes and embark on a journey through a smörgåsbord of sweets. The candies that would appear most frequently from our backpacks were Fireballs, Red Hots, Jolly Ranchers, Warheads and Blow Pops.
Blow Pops were always a favorite because they combined lollipops with gum, which was forbidden both in school and on the bus. We would consume the Blow Pops with gusto, giddy with our secret rebellion. It was with this same excitement that I approached a bag of Blow Pop Minis – the “Blow Pop with NO Stick.†How would my Blow Pop experience fare now that I was no longer encumbered with a stick?
Well, fellow Candy Addicts, it was a strange experience. Each Blow Pop Mini is a small oval, roughly the size of a dime. The bag contains Watermelon, Cherry, Sour Apple and Blue Razz flavors. The Blow Pop Minis have the same familiar taste and consistency as their lollipop counterparts – sweetly sour hard candy. This is fine by me. It is fun to have such tiny, portable versions of a childhood favorite.
The hard candy exterior is gone relatively quickly. This is not such a bad thing, since I often had to stop eating my Blow Pops and wrap them back up in their wrapper. This frequently led to a messy extraction later. Then I encountered a roadblock. The gum center of the Blow Pop Mini is very small, as small as a pea. So small that you cannot chew it so much as get it stuck between your teeth.
The gum inside a Blow Pop was never especially flavorful, nor did it last long. However, there was at least enough to chew. In order to get a reasonable sized wad of gum to chew, I would have to put five or six Blow Pop Minis in my mouth at one time. That would either be a choking hazard, or an amazing feat of oral juggling.
Blow Pop Minis are fun for the nostalgia factor, but be forewarned. When you start to reach the gum, I suggest you spit it out and start over again. Otherwise, you may find yourself mining gum fragments from your teeth for weeks.
Buy Blow Pop Minis online:
- at Candy Direct
- at Amazon
What a well-written article! Thanks for that as well as an honest appraisal of the teeny gumball dilemma. I love blow pops and really enjoy them while reading a good book, but yeah, the gum has always been a good thing to look forward to. Hmmm, time for a bit of candy now that I’m all primed! Just bought some Violet Crumbles (a favorite) so off I go…
September 5th, 2007 at 2:52 pm“Otherwise, you may find yourself mining gum fragments from your teeth for weeks.”
That was exactly how I felt about the candy. I went through the whole bag pretty fast treating it more like candy than gum.
September 6th, 2007 at 2:05 pmMy new favorite candy. I seek out the Speedway (I only ever seem to be able to find them there) gas stations that carry these and buy them three bags at a time.
It is more candy than gum though, and it’s particularly sticky gum too, that tends to stick to my teeth.
Still love ‘em.
November 30th, 2008 at 12:53 amI LOVE THEM TELL HOW YOU MAKE IT
August 6th, 2009 at 2:54 pmMy 4 children did not like them at all and they said they are too easy to swollow (or choke on), I tried them and i agree and so do several of my co-workers. This candy gets a thumps down!!
September 9th, 2011 at 2:37 pmomg! i agree. i love blowpop but blowpop minis are the worst. they are too small and the gum is so annoying.
March 18th, 2012 at 8:31 pm“Otherwise, you may find yourself mining gum fragments from your teeth for weeks.â€
i hope the makers fix this soon