Monthly Archives: January 2008

Candy Review: BitterSweets

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BitterSweets Dumped - Green Tin

Two years ago this time, Brian was bringing you news of a new Valentine’s candy made just for the dejected singles among us, BitterSweets. Being a dejected single myself, I jumped at the chance to sample this year’s batch.

Now, I know you’ve seen those little heart-shaped candies imprinted with messages that always seem to circulate around Valentine’s Day. In fact, you may even have hazarded to taste one. If you’re like most of the universe, you learned your lesson then and there. It turns out candies with sweet sayings on them tend to have little flavor in them.

This is where I have to admit that I actually like conversation hearts. Yes, that’s right world, I have bought them simply to consume rather than to share. It seems that I once got a strange batch that was, for some unknown but likely toxic reason, easy to chew. Ever since then, I’ve been seeking out that elusive texture. Unable to find it again, I guess I just learned to enjoy the tooth-breaking snap of the regular hearts. Of course, that’s only if I can manage not to gag on the cutesy little sayings stamped on each one. Now, finally, I have an option that allows me to enjoy the hearts while staying well within my comfort zone of sarcasm and general anti-Valentine’s Day-ness.

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PEZ? More Like Pfeffzz…

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classic_pez_peppermint(buy this cute sign at AllPosters.com)

Quick – when you were a kid, what was your favorite Austrian candy? Few kids – or adults for that matter – know the true origins of one of their most beloved sweets. Here’s a hint: you probably found this candy under Davy Crockett’s head. Or Wonder Woman’s. Or Chewbacca’s.

That’s right, Candy Addicts, I’m speaking of everyone’s favorite little blocks of sugary goodness, PEZ! Are you all as shocked as I was to discover that PEZ comes from the land of coffee and Schwarzenegger? Well, believe it: PEZ is Austrian. In fact, the name PEZ is an abbreviation of the German word for peppermint: PfeffErminZ. Say that five times fast!

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Just in Time For Valentine’s Day: All-Green M&M’s

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all-green m&m's
Now that the Christmas decorations are finally back in storage, it’s getting to be that time of year where we’re bombarded with the next Big Holiday theme: roses, lips, hearts, and an overabundance of EVERYTHING pink and red. And while some people find pink and red to be inspiration to get amorous, there are also those of us who’ll be inspired to get, well, nauseous. Let’s be honest, here. Love is a pretty complicated emotion, right? So, why is it so difficult to find a way to celebrate love in a way that’s more inspiring than that same old, tired heart-shaped box of candy?

The people at M&M’s obviously feel the same way, because they have a refreshingly new take on Valentine’s Day. As we previewed back in October, M&M’s is proclaiming green to be the new color of romance. This Valentine’s season, we’ll be seeing all-green packs of M&M’s. This probably also means we can expect Ms. Green to appear in her sassy white boots all over billboards and on TV.

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Candy Review: Monster Candy Apples

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apple pie apple

Candy apples are one of those things that I really like, but I only actually eat once every 3 or 4 years. I get one every two or three times I go to the state fair and that’s about it. That’s a shame really, because a good candy/caramel apple is a thing of beauty – the combination of a crisp, juicy apple with some sweet caramel makes my mouth water just thinking about it. So naturally I was overjoyed when I was offered the chance to review candy apples from Monster Candy Apples.

They let me pick which four I wanted to try so I figured I’d go with two traditionals and two non-traditionals. I chose a Plain Caramel Apple, a Chocolate Toffee Apple, an Apple Pie Apple, and a Cheesecake Apple. They arrived professionally packed in clear individual containers with a layer of wax paper at the bottom and all four came out of their packages in perfect condition.

My wife helped me eat the apples since they are huge – way too big for one person to eat alone. We ate all of the apples after dinner over the space of about two weeks. So, how did they taste?

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Candy Review: BonBonBar Confections

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BonBon Bar
I can just hear some people out there saying “Why would I spend five bucks on this tiny candy bar when I could get a big bag of Whoppers for half the price?” This is a valid feeling, and we here at Candy Addict do try to eschew snobbery whenever possible. But if you’re the kind of person who turns up their nose at expensive candy, just go ahead and stop reading, because this review isn’t for you.

Still there? Good, because I have a marvelous discovery for all the die-hard Candy Addicts out there who simply need to know the best of what’s out there. BonBonBar Confections is a name you need to remember! This Los Angeles-based company specializes in luxury chocolate bars and hand-made marshmallows. They use a lot of locally-sourced, organic ingredients; corn syrup and artificial yucky stuff are not allowed. The packaging is humble, simple lettering on white labels, but trust me, the packaging isn’t the star of the show.

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