Chews
My sister one the one that recommended that I try these, as she’s a big fan of them herself. SweetTarts are something I only ate at Halloween, as they are pretty standard trick-or-treating fare. They were something that never struck me as anything special, and I’d always go for chocolate when given an option. I saw this bag of the chewy mini version and liked the idea of it. If I’m going to try something, why not go for the kind that seems more like fun?
The SweetTart minis are indeed small, about the size of pencil eraser heads. The colors are much more muted than I expected: very washed out and lightly flecked with white. There’s five flavors in the assortment: grape, apple, cherry, orange and lemon. Pretty standard flavors as you can see. Nothing off the wall or wacky here, which I strange for a Wonka product.
The chewy texture is odd, as they’re a little crunchy and a little chewy. Neither texture is substantial enough for me to feel like describing them as such though . Perhaps they are chewy in regard to the original candy, so it’s all really relative I think. You feel a hard crunch when you first bite down on the hard outer panned shell. The inside feels grainy and a little fluffy. The mini is chewy for maybe 5-15 chomps, but then it just dissolves into sugar bits after that. It is fun to play with them in your mouth though, so I give them points for that.
Grape: Nice grape flavor, not unlike grape soda. At first it tastes muted and then it’s overtaken by the “tart” part.
Cherry: Has a very medicinal flavor at first, then the tartness comes in and it becomes more fruity and authentic. Cherry lovers won’t be disappointed.
Orange: Very bright, sweet and a little reminiscent of Tang. Not as zesty as I was expecting.
Lemon: Hardly any flavor to this, which I find so disappointing! I kept waiting for some nice sour lemon flavors to come forward, but nothing. I don’t even get a tart with this one. It’s just mild and sweet. Too sweet for lemon.
Apple: Very juicy and floral. It’s really one of the best green apple flavors I’ve had to date. The tart was complimentary and it’s very nice.
The flavors of the chewy SweetTart minis were impressive even though the texture wasn’t. I suppose I should just stick to the original next time, right?
Rating:Might Eat Again
Links:
Wonka Website
I know what you’re thinking: what am I doing reviewing Jolly Rancher Chews when I don’t even like the regular Jolly Ranchers? Well, didn’t I say I’d try anything once? I admit, I was curious to see how the authentic Jolly Rancher flavors translated into a chew. I’m not big on hard candies to begin with, so perhaps the different texture is enough to make me change my mind about the flavors. Only one way to find out!
Immediately out of the box they remind me of Starburst, but with subtle differences. The chews are rectangular as opposed to square and they’re also extremely colorful. They must pump a lot of food coloring into these babies. Popping one into my mouth and I can feel a difference right away. The chew is not as long as satisfying as I’d like. Still, they hold their own nicely and are a great option when you want something chewy with those familiar tart flavors.
Green: Green Apple. I expected this to be terribly fake tasting, but it didn’t end up being so. Yes, since it is Jolly Rancher, it still manages to taste fake to me. But here a majority of it comes off as very authentic. There’s a nice tartness to it that tastes of a fresh granny smith. It still really gets the saliva going.
Pink: Watermelon. The flavor is not as artificial as the actual hard candy. It’s much lighter with fresher notes of melon. It still has that strange zestiness to it though.
Red Cherry, yet it doesn’t taste of cherry. It’s very tart, sort of woodsy with deep flavors that strike me more like plums. It’s more of a tart generic “red” flavor. It has a bitter finish reminiscent of medicine.
Blue: Blue Raspberry. Wow, this tastes very fake, even more than the original candy. It’s very fruity, floral with a bubble gum essence to it. Maybe that’s where the fake intense sweetness comes from? I also taste a little melon in there too. Odd how it’s overall effect is blue raspberry. Very strange.
I was hoping that these chews would change my mind about Jolly Ranchers, but they didn’t. I think I have learned my lesson and will move on to better things.
Rating: Not Worth It
Links:
Jolly Rancher Chews Website
Haribo (rhymes with Caribou) is a German confectionery company that is the largest gummi and jelly candy manufacturer in the world. How’s that for an impressive opening statement? They are most well known for their Gummi Bears, which they invented, along with many other classic favorites. Like many candies I feature here, I’ve only gotten familiar with them in recent years and am working my way though all their delicious confections.
Haribo Brixx caught my eye immediately because of the beautiful red package, along with how unique the candy itself is. The Brixx look like little thick rectangles, similar to licorice chunks in a way. They have a “cut” side exposed with six holes filled with a white cream and the whole thing is dusted with some sort of sugar. I’ve read different descriptions online saying it’s either sour or fizzy, and I didn’t know which to believe or expect. To keep things interesting, the Brixx also come in three colors: yellow, red and green.
After my first few pieces, I’m immediately struck by how odd the texture of these are. I expected it to be gummi like, but instead it’s more chewy like licorice. It feels grainy, thick and substantial with a good chew.
Green: The flavor is very sour from the sugar coating (ah ha!) and the flavor is akin to green apple: very bright, floral and juicy. The cream here doesn’t really add anything.
Red: It’s hard to lay my finger on this flavor, but my best guess is strawberry. It’s sweet with fruity notes that learn on the berry side. It’s the least tart of the bunch, but the sour kick does work with it, even though it’s an odd paring with strawberry.
Yellow: This was a surprise. It tastes like pear and this one isn’t as tart as the green apple. The pear flavoring is pleasant and works well with the sour coating. I find it quite unique. On a side note: during my tastings, I got one yellow one that tasted really…off. It’s flavor was of burnt plastic. I’m hoping that’s a fluke.
I loved the texture of these. I didn’t find that I tasted the “cream” inside, but maybe that’s where that subtle sweetness resides. The sour is so strong it’s hard to tell where it’s coming from. The sour coating as odd though, and after a few pieces my mouth began to hurt from the sourness of it. It’s a shame, cause they’re so much fun to chew and the flavors are good, I just don’t want to burn my mouth raw with these, cause pain and candy don’t mix in my mind.
Happy I tried them, but I won’t be getting them again. There’s bigger and better Haribo candy to try!
Rating: Not Worth It
Link:
Haribo Website
There’s been word floating about the candy-sphere that there were new DOTS to be released sometime this year. I really hadn’t paid it much attention since I’m not an avid DOT eater, but when I spied them in a Vons on a recent trip to LA, well, I decided to change my mind. New candy is always worthy of attention.
I almost passed these boxes by on the shelf, since their design is so different from most other candy packages out there, it just didn’t read as “candy” to me right away. With colors that are predominately dark completed with a black backdrop, overall it feels very masculine and I wanted to move them next to all the energy drinks.
The boxes are big too as they’re the giant theater sized boxes with about 2 1/2 servings in them. Thankfully I was able to share my find with Cybele who shared her thoughts on these last week. I admit I couldn’t even finish them even after Cybele took a share of them.
Earth (Pomegranate): A pretty, deep, berry purple color. The most similar of the bunch to the regular DOTS line, as it’s fruit flavored. It tastes very fruity with accents of grape and cherry. Sweet, yet tangy and it reminds me of red licorice a little. The flavor doesn’t really read as “pomegranate” to me, but I forgive them since it’s a difficult essence to peg since it’s not very iconic.
Air (Wintergreen): The color of these is so bright and it immediately reminds me of toothpaste. The wintergreen flavor is mellow, which I love becaue it doesn’t feel like I’m eating a mint. It has a subtle herbal edge to it, with notes of root beer and licorice that I find very pleasing.
Fire (Cinnamon): A very intense bright semi-opaque red, it almost comes across as neon to me. The cinnamon flavor is medium intensity, not fully sweet but not “hot” either. It has subtle woodsy notes and a bit ofcherry flavor to it.
Water (Green Tea): This combination I found amusing, since I drink green tea so often it might as well be water. The color is an odd, delicate yellow green which doesn’t read as “watery” or like “green tea” at all. The flavor is full of very floral and light soapy notes. The “plantiness” of it is reminiscent of green tea but so very, very removed. On top of that it’s lightly sweet and the whole thing just comes off as gross to me.
I liked the fact that Tootsie took the daring step with trying more unconventional flavors for DOTS. In theory I would have loved to eat green tea and wintergreen DOTS, it’s something I’d see myself buying often. However, the flavors didn’t strike home with me, so DOTS Elements just come across as a wasted opportunity. I just hope these don’t scare away ideas of any new and better attempts, because I’d love for candy to branch more in this direction.
Rating: Not Worth It
Spree were candies I was never particularly drawn to. I witnessed them being enjoyed by many of my friends and family, but there was something about them that never called to me. I think a big reason was the fact that I am such a big fan of Starburst, that I couldn’t imagine fitting another chewy fruity candy into my regular rotation. Especially one that I didn’t think would compete on the same level.
It wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I decided to give them a try. It was all my roommate’s doing, as she had bought a bunch and was munching away on them in the living room. My “candy that I haven’t tried yet” radar went off and I immediately went to check out her sugar-fest. The next day I made sure to pick some up at the store for adequate Candy Enthusiast tastings.
These are about the size of nickels and double the thickness. They come in grape, cherry, apple, orange and lemon, white are pretty run of the mill in terms of fruit flavored candy offerings. The texture of these is fun, as it takes a bit of pressure to get the shell to crack. I prefer to shove them back to my molars for the job. Once broken, there’s a very nice flavor release and the center gives a nice chew. I find that it takes a good 10-25 chomps before everything dissolves. It’s very satisfying to eat.
Grape: Nothing about this tasted like grape to me. It really just tastes sour.
Apple: I do get apple notes here: fruity, juicy and a little spice to them as if cinnamon was added. The sour works well with it too, making it more “true to life”.
Cherry: Very berry like, not much of a cherry flavor, more of a generic “red”. The tartness is more pronounced in this and it gaves me a little throat burn.
Orange: This is going to sound strange, but this tasted of the orange Fruit Loop. Just add some tartness to it and you got this flavor to a T.
Lemon: It took a couple of chews before I got the flavor to come out. It’s not as zesty and sour as I hoped, but it does have a light lemony taste to it. I want more of it.
I found these pleasant and I prefer the texture of these to the flavors, which is regrettable since you mainly want to eat candy for how it tastes. Texture is only part of the equation, and sadly it isn’t enough for me to pick these up in the future. If only they tasted as sumptuous as they look!
Rating: Not Worth It.
