photos in this post by Anthemic Tangle

In the last installment of our Spring Jelly Bean Hunt, we looked at Necco’s entry in the field. Today, we’ll give the Jolly Rancher brand a shot and see how they measure up.

I love Jolly Ranchers. I had a good time eating Jolly Rancher lollipops. So I felt downright gleeful when I saw the Jolly Rancher Jelly Beans waiting patiently for me to buy them at the store.

As soon as I opened the bag, I knew I was in for a treat. This incredible fruity, sweet, candy smell leapt out of the bag enticing me to dive right in and get my jollies.

Just a general note here on how the Jolly jelly beans work: These guys don’t have a sugary outer shell to contend with. They all start out really sweet, and then get tarter as you chew them. I found that it was much better to eat at least two jelly beans at a time, rather than eating them singly.

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all photos in this post by Anthemic Tangle
For some reason, spring always seems like Jelly Bean Season to me. I think it’s because lots of good jelly beans show up around Easter and then hang around for some awesome post-Easter sales.

To me, jelly beans are fun. There’s just something about them that speaks to the kid in me and makes me want to hop and play. I don’t know if it’s the bright colors, the fun shape, or the fact that I can peg my siblings in the head with them. Or all of the above. I just know I want to share the fun. Thus begins my spring hunt for jelly bean goodness.

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Kit Kat isn’t the only Japanese chocolate that comes in interesting flavors that we don’t see much of in candy in this country. I got to sample two Meiji bars, one with a fairly traditional flavor combo, the other more intriguing.

Meiji Cho-Pan
These are little chocolate cups with a crunchy flaky praline filling. There’s supposed to be some cream between two layers of praline crunch, according to the picture on the box and the J-list catalog description. I don’t get much of a sense of cream, but that’s just as well, because I love the crunchy flaky thing they’ve got going here.

The only thing I have against this one is that the chocolate is a bit too mild for my taste. I do like milk chocolate, but I prefer it to be pretty dark milk chocolate. But if you’re the kind of person who likes milk chocolate for the very reason that it’s not dark chocolate, you probably will have no objection to these at all.

Meiji Grape Chocolate
I am a traditionalist about flavor combinations. No, not someone who is scared of new things. Someone who thinks that if chocolate-raspberry has stood the test of time, whereas no one makes anything chocolate-watermelon flavor, there is probably a good reason for that.

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Continuing from where I left off, here is my next tasting of Brach’s penny candy products. This review focuses on the the fruit-flavored items they manufacture.

Brach’s Fruit Chews
Made with real juice for a fun, fruity flavor.

These are similar to a Tootsie Roll Midgee, in terms of size and shape.

Orange is reminiscent of sherbet. It has an incredibly soft chew, like biting into a marshmallow. The piece isn’t sticky, but the flavor is muted, missing the zest a true orange flavor packs.

Strawberry aims for the smell of ripe strawberries – it hits the mark spot on. The piece is chewier than the orange, but sill soft. Unfortunately, the strawberry flavor is not as evocative as the smell, further exacerbated by a waxy aftertaste.

Grape makes my nose think of grape Bubble Tape when I unwrap it. The piece is the chewiest of them all, but still soft comparatively to other chews, like a really soft Starburst. The grape flavor is artificial, tasting exactly like the grape Bubble Tape. In fact, I completely forgot these were fruit chews and not gum until I noticed the pieces had dissolved in my mouth.

My overall impression of these is that they are harmless, but avoiding providing any real substance; if there were a dish of these at a waiting room, people would only take a few.

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Certain candies catch my eye during the holidays that I normally avoid consuming throughout the regular year. Why? Well, by the time you gulp down whatever candy you just bought, chances are it has been sitting on a shelf for quite some time. I mean, I always see gas stations stocking limited edition bars made years ago.

However, since holiday candy is seasonal, you’re more likely to purchase a product that is fresher. And with the rare exception, candy tastes better the less it ages.

So while perusing the Valentine’s Day candy aisle at Walgreens, I spotted Wonka’s SweeTARTS Hearts. Actually, it was pretty hard to miss them with the festive packaging of blue and pink swirled in a very Wonka style. If I can find fresh SweeTARTS, I usually enjoy them, so I figured there could be great potential in these. Plus, they only cost 50 cents.

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