The Jelly Bean Showdown

(Jenn) As some of you may know, I really go crazy about holiday candy. I'm never the one to complain that a store already has their Valentine's candy out the day after Christmas. It just means I get to eat those cinnamon hearts six weeks early! I think I really get sucked into the candy companies' schemes too, because I get this conception that I need to buy (and eat!) lots and lots of the candy before the holiday season is over. It just kills me that there will be a certain type of candy that I may crave at a different time during the year, but I won't be able to get it!

Such was my mentality when I was in Target's Easter candy aisle a couple of weeks ago. I was overwhelmed with SO MANY different, new, exclusive types of jelly beans! I simply couldn't decide on which ones to get. So I settled on just six. Yes, I bought six bags of jelly beans at once! And of course, I threw in some Reese's Pieces Pastel Eggs (probably the one thing about Easter I look forward to most) and a Limited Edition of Lemon Crème Hershey's kisses. Do I feel any guilt? NO!!! Because almost three weeks later, I still have about half of the spoils stashed away for Easter baskets (a miracle, really). And what's better, I now get to provide all of you with my Jelly Bean Review so you will have an easier time when deciding on Easter candy. If you haven't bought any yet, you'd better hurry out! I'm hoping for a big price cut in the Easter aisle next week so I can put some of these treasures in "food storage."

Here are the results. I realise that a lot of you may not have the same ideas as me concerning what makes a perfect jelly bean. Luckily, Ben and I agree pretty consistently. Still, I've broken down the ratings so if you're not a texture person like me, you can still find what you like in your jelly beans. Enjoy!

SweetTarts Jelly Beans

Award: Most Irresistable

Texture: 10/10 The texture was our favorite thing about the SweetTart jelly beans. It has this amazing outer shell that somehow magically crumbles when you bite into it. Then the inside, is of course, chewy.

Flavor: 8/10 The flavor is great -- similar to SweetTarts candy, although a little more tame, which I liked. The different colors don't offer much flavor variety, though. They pretty much all taste the same!

Irresistability: 10/10 This was the bag that was hardest for us to stop eating! It may be because it was the first one we opened, but I can honestly say this is the variety I'll be looking for first when going back for the after-Easter sales (food storage necessity).

Average Rating: 9.3/10

Starburst Tropical jellybeans
Award: Most consistently amazing
Texture: 10/10 Starbust brand gets the award for consistently providing the best jelly beans. I think a lot of what makes them so amazing is their texture. The outer shell is firm and "crackly," which makes these JB's fun to bite into, but it doesn't stop there. Sugary goodness fills the beans! A texture-lover's dream!
Flavor: 9/10 Another amazing aspect of Starburst JB's is the unique, juicy flavors. Each color offers a different flavor that will take you to the moon. We bought "tropical" this time because it looked like something we couldn't get as easily off season. I actually think the perfect flavor mix would be some combination of the tropical and original packages. I should also note that they do have a "Red Fruits" variety out right now, which is absolutely incredible. It has only three flavors, and they're all red or pink, which are everybody's favorites anyway. Try them!
Irresistability: 9/10 We had eaten half the bag before we even noticed we were eating them! As soon as we noticed, we had to put them away quickly!
Average Rating: 9.3/10

Nerds Bumpy Jelly Beans

Award: Most unique (in a very good way)
Texture: 10/10 Yow! These JB's are, as the title suggests, very bumpy! I loved the texture. The outer coating is thicker than any other JB I've tried, and basically has the same flavor and texture of Nerds candy. Biting into one feels and tastes like biting into a handful of Nerds! Then somehow you get to the middle, and it's not Nerds; it's a jelly bean! This may not be for everyone, but we loved them (Henry especially!).
Flavor: 7/10 Again, not much variety between colors. They all just taste like Nerds. After about two handfuls (which is probably when I should have stopped anyway), they got a little too sweet. Still, quite yummy!
Irresistability: 8/10 I ate a bunch of these while Ben was gone at work. They're easier than some to stop eating because they can get to be a little much. Still, Henry couldn't get enough of them (he named them "Froggy Berries").
Average Rating: 8.3/10

Mike and Ike Tangy Twister Jelly Beans
Award: Most tangy
Texture: 5/10 Nothing special about the texture. Nothing off-putting either. I guess the shape, which is a little more square than the other JB's, was kind of fun to bite into.
Flavor: 7/10 Great flavor variety. A lot of the flavors reminded me of some exotic juices. Just keep in mind that they are "tangy," I thought sometimes a little too tangy.

Irresistability: 6/10 After a handful or two, I didn't need too many more.
Average Rating: 6/10

Lifesaver Jellybeans PASTELS

Award: Better than Jolly Rancher Fruit Smoothie, by a little

Texture: 6/10 About what you would expect the texture of an average JB to be

Flavor: 5/10 I love the flavors of Lifesaver original jellybeans. Unfortunately, this Pastel variety leaves a lot to be desired. Overall, they are much too sweet. Their is a fair amount of variation in the flavors, but the flavors aren't great. The pink ones are cotton candy flavor, which should have been a red flag to me before I bought them. All of the flavors sort of have that artificial, cotton candyish taste to them. The kiwi- strawberry one tastes like cucumbers.
Irresistability: 5/10 Not too hard to stop eating these. Still, here I am putting JB #20 into my mouth, just trying to figure out exactly what it is that makes me not love these.

Average Rating: 5.3/10

Jolly Rancher Bold Fruit Smoothie Jelly Beans
Award: Most disappointing
Texture: 5/10 About what you would expect the texture of an average JB to be
Flavor: 2/10 Many of these flavors were off-putting. Ben commented that they tasted more like flowery perfume than candy. Really, we thought they were awful. Maybe if you hadn't had any candy in like a year, they might be good. I should add a note that Jolly Rancher Original flavor jelly beans are one of my favorites. They just missed the boat with these smoothie ones!

Irresistability: 2/10 I ended up giving the rest of the bag to Henry as potty treats (he didn't complain!).
Average Rating: 3/10

Lemon Crème Kisses

These aren't in the Jelly Bean Showdown, but I thought they deserved an honorable mention. I just barely opened the package and ate 3 of them. They taste like lemon meringue pie. Probably couldn't eat more than a few without getting sick of them, but worth trying!

Reese's Pieces Peanut Butter Pastel Eggs

If you have not tried these, you are missing out on arguably the best part about Easter! Somehow though, it seems like a lot of people don't know about them. I usually have to buy several bags every time I see them, because they're hard to find, but they go quickly once people discover them. Of course, you have to be a peanut butter person. These contain no chocolate. Imagine this: just a Reese's Pieces shell about the size of a Whopper, and beyond the shell, nothing but peanut butter goodness. Sheer genius, if you ask me. If you can't find them in the bag, this year they also come in little mini milk cartons!