A few hours from my place in central Pennsylvania is the Wilbur Chocolate Company. They make all sorts of confections, with their most famous is the Wilbur Buds. They come in two varieties, semisweet and milk, and can be purchased from their factory store in Lititz, PA or online on their website. I bought a mixed bag in their store, and took photos as soon as I got home. I was very excited to try them.

The buds are squatter, smaller Hershey’s Kisses. They have the form of a dollop of chocolate being plopped into a mold, with the cute signature chocolate curl on top. The bottom of the buds have a molded pattern to them, a swirl with “Wilbur” spelled out. I find they much more attractive than Hershey’s Kisses, and they fit better in your mouth because of their more squat, rounded shape.

Milk Chocolate: The buds are a nice creamy brown color which is a nice look for milk chocolate. The flavor begins very sweetly, with notes of cream and butter. The chocolate flavor eases in to become the full flavor by the middle and end of the bud. It’s very chocolatey, but rounded out by the milky flavors. It melts smoothly and creamy on the tongue.

Semisweet: Much darker in color than the milk chocolate. It’s got a subtle sheen and a nice, middle brown hue to it. The flavor starts out sweet, then the flavors of caramel, cream and coffee come forward, then a bloom of chocolate flavor with it’s nutty, and strong cocoa notes. It’s not as sweet as the milk, yet it’s as creamy in texture. Wonderful chocolate flavor that isn’t too sweet or too overpowering.

Be sure to check out Cybele’s post on Wilbur Buds over at Candylobg.net. She gives a wonderful review of them!

Rating: Will Buy Again

Links Wilbur Chocolate Company Website

I was totally excited to hear Panda was coming out with a nice Cherry Licorice flavor. I love Panda’s licorice flavors, and aside from the standard black licorice, their discontinued Strawberry is sorely missed within my candy repertoire. So here’s a new red licorice that could possibly take the place of the strawberry? Sign me up.

I love the packaging design. The licorice comes in a resealable 6 oz bag, which as the iconic Panda illustration on it, along with a clear image of the licorice and red cherries. It’s really a pleasing design.

The first thing that told me right away that this cherry licorice is different from all the other kinda I’ve had before is the ingredients list: Molasses, Wheat Flour, Cherry Puree, Citric Acid, Natural Flavor, Black Carrot Juice Concentrate, Licorice Extract.  See that? Cherry puree! None of those wonky medicinal tasting artificial flavors. This is the real stuff.

The pieces are a deep maroon color with a sticky texture to them. I feel a film on my hands when I handle them, but part of that could be the humidity. They’re about an inch long and have that star cross section pattern to them. The pieces smell starchy with a hint of black cherry.

The texture is surprisingly thick and chewy. They dissolve after maybe 20 chews, which is a lot longer than what I was expecting. The flavor is wonderful, way more intense than I expected. It has that iconic black cherry flavor to it, not that fake “red” flavor you get with most licorice. It’s oddly moist and the chew isn’t sticky at all. Really lovely.

If you’re into red licorice, you must try this stuff. It’s awesome. My boyfriend loves it and has since polished off the bag. Try some of this and never look back at Twizzlers, I’m serious.

Rating: Will Buy Again

This find was a surprise to be sure. It’s been ages since I’ve seen, much less had any Golden Bonbon torrone/nougat. Yet, there is was just sitting on the shelf of my local Asian Market, just waiting for me to find it. I was delighted to see this East/West fusion of such a classic candy; the greet tea (matcha) flavor blended into Italian torrone. Not to mention I’ve had Golden Bonbon’s nougat in the past and I’ve greatly enjoyed it.

The package is a wonderful grassy green color that catches your eye right away. I love the little window on the front that lets you see each individually wrapped piece. It leaves nothing to the imagination and shows that this candy has nothing to hide.

The nougat comes in nice, bite sized pieces. The color is slightly greenish, from the matcha powder I’m sure. Each peace is amply studded with almonds, which have a wonderful fresh crunch when you bite into them. The nougat texture is soft and chewy, and the almonds and fresh and crunchy. A wonderful texture contrast.

The flavor is sweet at the start, then the grassy flavors of the green tea come forward. They mingle with the nutty notes of the almonds, and I gotta say, it’s really excellent. I haven’t tried anything like it before, and it works really, really well. I love it.

If you’re a fan of matcha, I’d certainly give this a try. It might be a bit adventurous for many traditional nougat lovers, but I can see many would find a new favorite with these.

Rating: Will Buy Again

Links Golden Bonbon Website

I admit, I’m a sucker for Starburst candies. Something about their chewiness and their intensely juicy flavors gets me every time. I’d choose them over fruit gummies any day as a kid, and that pretty much applied today as well. So when I saw this new roll of “Summer Fun Fruits”, I had to give them a shot!

Kiwi banana: The flavor is punchy with a big hit of kiwi banana right away. The kiwi is more sweet start and come forward first, and the banana is more subtle with it’s starchy sweetness and supports the bright kiwi flavor. It’s lovely.

Lemon-limeade: This starts our sweet with a lemony flavor that is fresh, juicy and zesty. The lime is more of an accent, it lends a bitter edge to the lemon which reminds me of key lime. there’s no hint of floor cleaner here, which is typical of some lime flavors, which makes me happy. It’s a wonderful flavor, and I loved it more than I thought I would. It’s yummy.

Cherry splash (tm): Not sure how this is going to be different from the normal cherry flavor in the other Starburst roll. Popping it into my mouth, I find out. This flavor is more…black cherry, than cherry. It still has that sharp fruitiness to it with a tart edge and that bitter red flavor to it, but this one is somehow more juicy and “real” than the other flavor. It’s very good.

Strawberry watermelon: I first taste the watermelon which is less artificial than I anticipated. The strawberry lends a bubblegum flavor to it, so the watermelon flavor tastes more authentic and sweet. It’s lacking that tart “Jolly Rancher” edge to it, and it’s most welcome that way. This is delightful with its flavors that are more sweet and delicate.

Usually when new set of flavors are released I’m pretty underwhelmed by them. That is not the case with these, I really enjoyed this roll of flavors. If you’re a fan of fruit chews, I recommend them.

Rating: Will Buy Again

Links Starburst Website

Goetze’s is a company who’s caramel cream candies have always have a place with my sweet tooth. As a kid I would frequently choose one of their Cow Tail candies, as a treat. If you’ve never seen one, it’s like their traditional caramel creme, with the caramel chew on the outside and the creme filling, but in a slender, straw-like shape. It was great for long car rides.

Anyways, while I was at the All Candy Expo back in 2007, I tried these Strawberri Creme’s for the first time. I was impressed to say the least and sad to hear it was their least popular flavor. Which confused me since I really, really liked it. Since then I hadn’t seen it in stores at all. That is, until now.

The texture is wonderfully chewy with the center melting as soon as it hits your tongue. The texture is soft and thick and the chew is wonderful, as it doesn’t last too long to make your jaw hut, or dissolves too quickly.

The flavor is strongly of strawberry. I do get that same “flour” like flavor with this one as the original caramel creme, but it’s accented with a wonderful note of bright red berry flavor. The center is just sweet, and adds a wonderful creaminess to the candy. It’s simple, yet to the point. The berry flavor isn’t too artificial and the chewy exterior delivers the flavor and texture well.

I was pleased with it as much as I was when I first tried it a few years ago. I’m going to get my hands on another bag and I don’t see this around too much, and I want some on hand for when a craving strikes.

Rating: Will Buy Again

Links Goetze’s Website