There are real perks to being the editor of a site like Candy Addict. One of them is getting the chance to read all of our fabulous reviews and articles before the rest of the world. Another is getting to sample most of the candy that our writers receive to review. Unfortunately, sometimes something comes up and our writers can’t complete the review. Then it falls to me to do the honors.

Of course, it helps if I don’t come to this realization only after a marathon apartment-cleaning/box-recycling session. Somewhere amid my giant pyramid of boxes I discovered a medium-size box chock-full of fruit shaped lollipops from Melville Candy Company. A quick mental inventory revealed that these hadn’t been reviewed and were desperately overdue. D’oh! Time for me to buckle down and do some licking!

These were interesting, to say the least. The assortment consisted of seven different shapes and flavors of lollipops, each much larger than your average lollipop (at least 12 inches tall) and beautifully designed. At first glance I thought each one was hand painted or somehow made to be different colors. However, closer examination revealed that the lollipops themselves are only one color, with other colors being printed on the clear wrappers. Still, they look darn nice and very similar to their real-life fruit counterparts. But, the real question is, how do they taste?

Watermelon: This had a very mild watermelon flavor. However, the smell it emits is incredibly strong – the entire box smelled of watermelon as soon as I opened it! The flavor is a lot more mild than the smell; I would have preferred a little more flavor, but it wasn’t bad in any way.

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I bought a bag of Jolly Rancher Screaming Sours, or at least I think I did. While organizing my closet, yet another task/excuse to put off completing my graduate school applications, I stumbled across the candy.

I know I didn’t buy them in Texas, so they must have somehow sneaked their way with me from Los Angeles, making them at least a year old. Rather than treat this as an ew… old candy moment, I figured all the preservatives in a gummi candy must still make them edible. You never know – this could be like finding a twenty-dollar bill in an old pair of jeans.

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As much as I enjoy trying new candy, the oddest things can put me off from doing so. Sometimes I don’t like the packaging or the description appears unappetizing. For Starburst Baja California Fruit Chews, it was the flavor selection that disappointed me.

In theory, the idea of a set of flavors indigenous to Baja California sounds interesting, but I never considered any of the flavors on the packet that representative of the region. However, I have always been partial to one of the four flavors, so when a coworker offered me some pieces that she bought from the CVS across the street, I thought it was finally time to give these a try.

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My favorite candy company that I can never remember is Perfetti Van Melle. Born out of the fusion of Perfetti (Italy) and Van Melle (Netherlands), this company boasts one of the largest confectionery operations in the world.

But, if you don’t recognize the name, you might be wondering what they make. Well, aside from their long list of gums and mints that enjoy mostly a European audience, Americans can buy their famous Mentos and Chupa Chups quite easily in their hometowns.

Oh yeah, they also make Airheads. For those who aren’t familiar with Airheads, they’re an elongated strip (as opposed to a circular blob) of taffy/chew known for their sweet flavors. I’ve actually been a fan of this candy for some years, finding it to be a perfect snack when you don’t want something as filling as a candy bar.

So I was eager to try these new Airhead Pops when I spotted them at Walgreens. Airheads have always been good on delivering flavor, so I reasoned that since the most important aspect of a lollipop is its flavor, these might stack up pretty well.

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This past week I had the pleasure of having my father visit for the holidays. It was a great time. We explored the city, dined at my favorite eateries, and enjoyed the sweet tooth I genetically inherited from him by popping into various confection stores and leaving very, very full.

When it was time to bid adieu to him, we pulled into a gas station near my house so he could fill the rental car up and avoid the surcharge. Despite this gas station being located down the street from me, I hadn’t set foot in it a long time, but remember finding a slew of great candy during earlier visits.

As he paid the clerk, I browsed the candy aisle and scanned it for something out of the ordinary. Maybe because it was Christmas Day (I can’t really figure it out otherwise), but there amongst all the different flavors of Skittles sat the newest spin-off, Skittles Crazy Cores.

I first learned about the upcoming release of this candy back in the fall, but I hadn’t seen these in any major supermarkets or drugstores, which made my spotting them in an independently owned gas station particularly Christmas miracle-esque.

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