Chews
There’s not too much flavor variation going on during Valentine’s Day. Usually it’s all Cherry or the occasional Strrawberry since everything candy-wise is red colored this time of year. For some variation, I am giving the Brach’s Cinnamon Jelly Hearts a try.
The bag smells intensly of cinnamon and the candies are really cute. They’re hear shaped, about the circumference of a nickel and about half an inch high. They are firm to the touch and aren’t very spongy like some gummis are. These remind me much more of gumdrops.
The flavor is sweet and has a hint of heat to it on my first bite. The two kinda play in my mouth, neither gaining dominance until the end where it gets slightly hotter, but never into the “too spicy” zone. These aren’t as powerful as Red Hots thankfully, so folks like myself who can’t take “hot” candies too terribly well. Instead these are a nice mix of the intense cinnamon flavor with some sweetness to make it more friendly. The texture is nice too, as it’s a ick heavy chew wihtout being sticky. You barely notice the granulated sugar coating.
I was prepared to really not like these, as hot cinnamon candies aren’t my thing. I was surprised that I did like them. I can easily see these as cupcake toppers, as they’re gorgeous to look at. If you like cinnamon candies, I’d seek these out. It’s a great option for Valentine Day candy if you aren’t a fan of cherry.
Rating: Will Eat Again
Links Brach’s Website
Gimbal’s Fine Candies makes a bunch of really fantastic looking sweets. They are a company I’ve meant to try products from, but sadly they’re somewhat difficult for me to locate. Because of this, I’ve been waiting for the day where I have the luck to find some somewhere. Well, I was struck with candy luck the other day, as I found this bag of Cherry Lover’s jelly beans in my local Rite Aid. I immediately snatched it up and squealed at my good candy fortune.
These is an assortment of cherry flavored jelly beans. What impressed me right away is that “cherry juice concentrate” is one of the top items on the ingredients list. Yum! This made me very hopeful of having a more authentic taste as opposed to the medicinal one I encounter so much.
The beans are very pretty, and they’re even heart shaped! So cute!
Wild Cherry: Bright red. The flavor is classic red cherry, bright, fruity sweet. Thankfully there’s no hint of bitterness for the food coloring. Just a tasty, classic red cherry flavor.
Cherry Vanilla: White with red flecks. The flavor stars out like cherry, then this sweet, creamy flavor kicks in. I wouldn’t say it’s terribly vanilla, but when the two mix together ti does give off a cherry vanilla essence.
Black Cherry: Dark red. This one is very juicy, with strong, rich, notes of cherry that remind me of jam or a think juice. So yummy.
Chocolate Cherry: Dark brown. Immediately has notes of cocoa that are accented with bright cherry flavors. tasty.
Cherry Cheesecake: Pink with red flecks. Starts off sweet with creamy, rick, tangy flavors similar to cream cheese. The cherry flavor here is better and metallic tasting in comparison to the “cheese” flavor.
Bing Cherry: Bright red, hard to tell apart from the wild cherry. This flavor is more sweet than the wild cherry. The flavors are more metallic and deep than the wild cherry. Has more bitterness to it.
Cherry Daiquiri: Purple with red flecks. This starts off bright and fruity, more like a standard “berry flavor” than anything else. It tastes like there’s hints of lime.
Cherry Cola: Bright pink: Stars off sweet, then you get the intense, earthy flavor of cola. They’re sharp with an accent of herbs and lemon. Combined with the cherry it was very intense and it tickled my throat.
Kiwi Cherry: Pink with green flecks. The flavor is immediately very fruity with accents of pineapple and passion fruit. I wouldn’t call it “kiwi” per say, but mixed with the cherry it comes across as a very peachy flavor.
Overall, I really enjoyed these. My fiance too, was pleasantly surprised, and it’s the first thing he now grabs to munch on out of my candy stash. I plan to put these is a pretty candy dish when I have friends over, as they are terribly attractive to look at. If you are looking for a delicious, unique jelly bean, along with loving good cherry flavors. These are worth seeking out.
Rating: Will Eat Again
Links Gimbal’s Website
It’s gotten to a point where I am not sure how to write the set-up for HiChew anymore. I have reviewed them so frequently on the site here that I feel that you, my readers, are quite familiar with them now. So I am hesitant to go ahead and write essentially what I feel to be re hash. The HiChew today is a limited edition flavor called “Furano Melon”.
The first question that ran though my mind was “what exactly is a furano melon”? A little Google searching answered my question quite nicely. Furano is a place in Hokkaido, and it’s famous for its variety of what we know as cantaloupe. Regional fruit and vegetables are a very popular affair in Japan, so showcasing specific regional varieties in candies is a popular thing to do. HiChew is showering Hokkaido with some candy love by making a Furano Melon flavor.
The chew is a pretty light orange and smells sweet and juicy. The flavor is extremely fruity and floral at first, with nice rounded notes of cantaloupe. I’m reminded of the cantaloupe jelly belly bean. Then the flavor becomes more solid and intense, with notes of apple, peach and lychee. It’s very juicy and really flavorful, and it’s very authentic to what a real cantaloupe takes like. So yummy!
Like all the other HiChew flavors, this one is stellar and really is tasty. It doesn’t disappoint! I highly recommend this flavor if you’re into melons, especially cantaloupe!
Rating: Will Buy Again
Links HiChew Website (English)
These were and unexpected, yet thrilling find for me. I was shopping in the Grove Farmer’s Market on Fairfax and 3rd here in Los Angeles. I saw this package tucked into one of the lower candy shelves, and picked it up because of the large image of the cheetah on it. I don’t speak a lick of French, but I could decipher a bit from the import tag on the back. It only really translated “Le bonbon tendre au gout sauvage” description on the front, which roughly translated to “The tender candy with the wild taste”. That was enough to sell me on it, and I brought it home with me.
I had to open the package once I got all my necessary photos out of the way. I tasted one and immediately understood the description. These are licorice caramels.
The bad holds a bunch of individually wrapped caramels. They come in colorful wax wrappers that mimic the bag they come in. The caramels have a beautiful color to them, like a dark “dulce del leche”. It smells slightly sweet and is firm to the touch.
The flavor is excellent. You first tastes notes of licorice, with sweet, earthy flavors. Then the sweet creaminess of the caramel bit comes through, adding the tastes of butter and cream. Together they makes a very creamy, rich flavor that is both mild and flavorful. I have to admit, licorice and caramel makes a pretty awesome combination.
Caramel isn’t something I crave very often, so I’m not sure this is a candy I’d come back to often, as delicious as they are. However if I do see other varieties of Krema out there, I’ll be sure to give them a shot.
Cybele from also did an excellent review over at Candyblog.net.
Rating: Will Buy Again
Tootsie Pop Drops are a candy I really enjoy and definitely don’t buy enough. I spotted these Candy Cane Tootsie Pop Drops in Target and eagerly snatched them up. Holiday candies are so much fun! I was excited to see these since Tootsie came out with the peppermint Tootsie Pops a few yard ago, and those were really awesome. I haven’t seen them recently, nor have I really looked for them either, but I have hoped they’d bring them back since they were a wonderful flavor combination. So seeing these Candy Cane Tootsie Pop Drops made my little candy heart happy. It’s good to see something you feel is classic on the candy shelves.
The box is pretty with a nice red/green color motif with images of candy canes and the actual Tootsie. The background to the box is pink, which I find to be an odd color choice, but I will admit that it really works well with the holiday motif of this package. They have a beautiful illustration of the candies in the bottom corner that I find appealing, and after seeing the candy firsthand, I feel they’re an accurate depiction of them. The box has a foil package on the inside that keeps the candies safe. I was happy to see them taking this extra step in making sure these drops are well protected from moisture and brute force.
The candy candy drops are adorable. They’re about the size of a nickel and are around 1/2 inch tall. They’re white with beautiful red stripes on them, and no two look a like. Th candies are well protected too, most were pristine and there wasn’t too much “dust” in the foil packet from candy damage.
The flavor is exactly like a candy cane. Fresh and full of that intense peppermint flavor. The shape s very pleasing in your mouth. After sucking on them for a bit, or if you’re me you swish it around in your mouth because candies like this are fun) you get it to soften and eventually break so you can get the tootsie interior. The Tootise inside is soft, chewy and chocolatey. It blends well with the peppermint flavoring adding a nice sweetness, yet the peppermint is still very powerful and is still the dominant flavor.
I really enjoyed these. I’d certainly go for a box of these over traditional mints or a candy cane. They’re small enough to feel like a quick little sweet, but big enough to feel like a treat if you’re just looking for a mint.
Rating: Will Buy Again
Links Tootsie Website
