As a candy enthusiast, it’s important for me to not only taste candies and love doing so. It also entails knowing a lot of the history behind the candies. Anyone who knows anything about candy knows the name David Klein. He’s the man who invented the Jelly belly jelly bean, and is the focus of a documentary call “CandyMan”. It’s a really good documentary if you haven’t seen it, and what I’m reviewing today are David’s newest jelly bean.
At first I was skeptical of the “Beyond Gourmet” in the name of these jelly beans. Gourmet is such a trendy word to throw around nowadays, especially in regard to food products. ONe look at the flavor list of these jelly beans and I immediate got why they’re named in such a way:
Bacon? Ginger? Himalayan Sea salt? Yes, these jelly beans are definitely thinking outside the box.
I had some trouble with the packaging, as the little wells inside the box didn’t contain my jelly beans very well. When I first opened them they had all amassed as a giant colorful pile at the bottom and I had to sort them back into their original spaces. That was harder than it sounds, as some of the jelly beans, mainly the Cranberry, Pomegranate, Black Cherry and Grape are pretty close in color.
Upon opening the box and looking inside, you can see how gorgeous the beans are:
Enough with the looking, let’s get on with the tasting!
Bacon: I admit I was skeptical of this flavor. I know “meat” flavored jelly beans have been attempted before, and there’s bacon jelly beans that I’ve seen around yet I haven’t’ tried any of them. The bean is a cream colored with brown speckling on it. It has no aroma. The flavor starts off very spicy and smokey. It actually does taste like bacon! It has a pork flavor with a lot of smoke to it. Of course there’s some sweetness to it. I have to admit, I love bacon, and tasting it in a jelly bean is bizarre. Tasty, but bizarre.
Black Cherry: This flavor is awesome. It’s deep, very complex flavor. It’s sweet, it has notes of jam and and it’s all back cherry. Extremely authentic, totally delicious.
Blueberry: This flavor is a little strange to me. It has intense berry notes right at the beginning, and about halfway though does the true blueberry flavor comes out. When it does, boy, it’s the real thing. Yum!
Coconut: This flavor is outstanding. It tastes like real coconut flakes. It has this extra tier of flavor that really makes this taste who and authentic. So awesome, one of the best flavors in this box.
Cranberry: This flavor was very tasty. It’s tart, zesty and has the “bite” that cranberries have. It’s a taste tha tworks really well in jelly bean form. Delicious!
Ginger: This one is spicy and fun. it has the very typical ginger “burn” to it, and it’s like taking a swig of an authentic ginger ale. It’s like eating real crystallized ginger.
Grape: The flavor is very floral for grape. I get notes of concord grape and jam in there. It’s a very tasty bean.
Green Apple: This flavor is fun. It’s starts off wit ha floral edge then immediately blossoms into apple. I’m surprised that it tastes so authentic. It’m immediately reminded of those dried apple slices that just pop with flavor.
Himalayan Sea Salt: This one is really unique. It has a sweetness to it, that’s very plain and has no essence to it. The salt flavor is really awesome, it balances beautifully with the sweetness. A really different and delightful bean.
Lemon: I was looking forward to this flavor so much. It’s exactly everything I hoped it would be. It’s tart. It’s zest and it’s completely refreshing. The lemon flavor it out of this world. I love it so much!
Orange Punch: This flavor is so much fun. It’s bright and punchy with notes of oranges and tangerines. It’s sweet, it’s tart and full of citrus flavor. So wonderful.
Peach: This is a fun flavor. It’s perfectly preach. I get notes of peaches, and oddly, plumeria. It’s a very juicy, fresh flavor. One of my favorites!
Pomegranate: This flavor was hard to pin down. Pomegranate is a very vague flavor to me. it tastes very fruity and red, with a nice tartness to it. It’s very delicious and refreshing because of the tartness.
Root Beer: This jelly bean is my absolute favorite out of the whole box. I have never tasted a more delicious root bear candy than this jelly bean. It is absolutely outstanding. The flavor stats with subtle spice and wintergreen notes and then quickly blossoms into a creamy, rich root beer flavor. Amazing!
Strawberry: This flavor is really great. it tastes exactly like a sweet strawberry jam. Often candy strawberry flavors just come across as “pink” or “red”, but this flavor has completely captured the fruit.
Vanilla Bean: This bean is so delicious! It tastes like melted vanilla ice cream. It’s so flavorful. This bean even has the bleck flecks on vanilla in it. So yummy!
I was really impressed with all these flavors. The “beyond gourmet” title is certainly well earned. These flavors taste amazing and incredibly authentic, even more so than it’s Jelly Belly ancestors, and they take that little extra step into new “gourmet” territory with the ginger, bacon and Himalayan Sea salt flavors. Just, wow. My fiance and I both really adored these jelly beans, and we hope to order some of their other jelly beans at some point. The “wasabi” and “thai chili” flavors just call to us, we want to try them! Bravo David Klein, bravo!
Rating: Hoard
Links Oregon Trail Foods
I believe the first Ritter Sport bar I ever recall seeing was their Marzipan bar. Something about Germany and Marizpan catching my eye, or perhaps it was the very bright red wrapper. Either way, for some reason, I always felt this was their “signature” bar. My appreciate of marzipan come from my Dad, who is a big fan of the stuff. If it wasn’t for him letting me try marzipan as a kid I probably won’t have been exposed to it until college. I immediately liked marzipan, but it’s something I only treat myself to occasionally. The I realized that I had never reviewed the Ritter Marzipan bar, thus here I am with today’s review!
The first thing about this bar is that it’s dark chocolate. Which I think is a very wise choice, as marzipan can be very sweet. The square bar smells rich and sweet and has a beautiful sheen to it.
The marzipan is delicious. It’s moist, flavorful and has a really nice texture that’s both smooth and grainy at the same time. The chocolate snaps cleanly and easily when you take a bite. It doesn’t lose its form so the marzipan won’t ooze everywhere. The dark chocolate is flavorful, it’s got some nice deep coco flavors that are a little fruity and they balance well with the nice almond flavor of the marizpan. This isn’t too sweet, it’s just right. Love it!
Out of all the marzipan bars I’ve had, I think the Ritter Marzipan bar stands up really well with the best of them. Dark chocolate and marzipan is a match made in heaven, and it’s nice to see a bar like this that’s so easily accessible in American stores. If you’ve never had marzipan before, and you’re a fan of almonds, I really think you should give it a try. This Ritter Sport bar is a great place to start.
Rating: Will Buy Again
Links Ritter Sport Webpage
I got this small package of Starburst Tongue Tangles from my sister who thoughtfully gave it to me when she returned from a trip to Scotland. I am always excited to try foreign candies, especially ones that have a foundation here in the United States. It’s interesting for me to see how candies translate for a different country. So you may understand my excitement for this candy and the thoughtfulness behind it.
At first I thought these Starburst were going to be chews like the normal Starbursts here. I found out otherwise when I opened them. The texture is like a chewy Gushers fruit snack. The outside appears to be hard and molded, but its chewy and soft and there’s a flavored liquid center inside.
Banana and Mango: Sweet banana exterior is mild and starchy flavored. It’s thankfully does not too much like perfume. The mango center is bright, fresh, and full of tropical flavor. It’s much more intense than the banana exterior and they blend nicely.
Blueberry and Lemon: Blueberry is perfumey and berry tasting. The lemon center is extremely tart and artificial. It’s too sour with an odd metallic flavor to it. I was very disappointed.
Apricot and Cherry: Apricot is sweet and perfumey. It tastes sweeter than peaches, with more of a fruity flavor than a perfume one. The cherry is very tart and tastes more tropical than jammy to me. It’s tart and sweet yet lack a cherry essence.
Out of all the flavors my favorite is the Banana and Mango.
I found two of the three flavors in this mix a little too artificial for me, so I am sorry to say that I didn’t like this mix very much. I think the Starburst gummies we get out here are a better version of this. Still, if you’re really into Starburst and have the opportunity to try these. I do recommend that you give them a go yourself.
Rating: Will Eat Again
Links Starburst UK Website
The Russell Stover Cream eggs hold a special place in my heart. They’re the candy that was always the big treat during the Easters of my childhood. I liked the fact that they came in different flavors, so there was always one that appealed to your current mood. My favorite flavor is the Maple Cream (review to come!) but the Strawberry always came in as a close second. The vanilla, coconut and the white chocolate coconut eggs (which are sadly discontinued) were always present too. So much yumminess!
This Strawberry Cream egg is milk Chocolate covered. You can smell its sweetness as soon as you open the package. It’ sweet, milky and has a slight berry kick to it. It reminds me of how a milkshake smells in a way. When you hold the egg in your hand, it’s surprisingly light for it’s size. It weighs in as only an ounce, but really packs in the flavor.
Taking my first bite, I notice that the milk chocolate is sweet and creamy. It has a great caramel cream taste to the chocolate. Out of many mass produced chocolates here in the US, I think Russell Stover’s falls on the sweeter side. That has both its pro and cons. One I peel away a bit more of chocolate, I get to the flavored interior. The strawberry center is very fuffy and rich. The taste is sweet at first, then a nice jammy flavor kicks in and it’s very fruity. It does taste of the strawberries, kinda like strawberry ice cream. Its’ very sweet, so I get a throat burn. I make sure to have a glass of water or coffee handy.
I feel like I should mention that I eat these eggs a little strangely. I nibble off all the chocolate top and side then lick out the fluffy inside. It feels like pulling chocolate panels off a soft object. This makes the candy somewhat interactive and last longer.
I really love this Strawberry Cream Egg, and I ok with saying I think a lot of that love is the nostalgia of them. If you’ve never had one, I recommend trying one out to see if it’s your kind of thing. Traditions always start somewhere!
Rating: Hoard
Links Russell Stover Website
This egg is the one Russell Stover Egg that I am on the hunt for every Easter. Out of all the flavors they offer, this one is my favorite. I’m a sucker for anything maple and this candy is a great example of how much I love it. I was lucky enough to find a few of them in the CVS by my current job. Usually you have to find these pretty swiftly after the stock being put onto shelves because this flavor sells out quickly. I bought a few of them for myself and my fiance (he is in love with this flavor too), and was excited to do a review of them for the blog.
I really love the packaging on these as they’re simple and colorful, so they feel festive without going overboard on the design elements. That and the package does a pretty good job of keeping things fresh, even though there’s no protecting them if they happen to get squished. So you need to be careful transporting them.
This egg is covered in dark chocolate and smells heavenly once unwrapped. It’s a rich smell full of note of cocoa, maple, coffee and coconut.
The dark chocolate is a nice “medium” flavor. It’s not too sweet, and it had tastes of chocolate and coffee. The flavors are muted though, and you have a very think mouth feel from the chocolate’s melt. It’s really lovely. The maple cream is fluffy almost like a marshmallow, but it’s much moister and behaves more like a mousse. The flavor is immediately of maple, with sharp sweet notes, a hint of toast and a slight nutty edge to it. It’s so good it’s sublime.
I really don’t know what else to say about this candy, since I’ve gushed about it enough. I have a small stash going since I can only get this treat once a year!
Rating: Hoard
Links Russell Stover Website
