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Monday, October 22, 2007
Sixlets & Limited Edition Dark Chocolate Flavored Sixlets
The big reason I shunned Sixlets was I was never quite sure what they were. Are they like M&Ms? Are they candy coated peanuts? Are they a jawbreaker? Eating them never really answered those questions. They definitely don’t have nuts in them, but taste a little nutty. They’re not like M&Ms, though there is a chocolate-like center. They’re not jawbreakers, in fact the shell is pretty thin.
Sixlets are certainly cute. They come in vivid colors: Yellow, Green, Red, Orange and Brown. They’re spherical and consistent looking, with a shiny candy shell. The center is a malty-flavored mockolate. Made from partially hydrogenated palm kernel oil, sugar and milk protein, they’re not really that appealing as a confectionery item to eat on their own. Cocoa powder is way down at the fifth position on the list of ingredients. The candy shells are pretty ordinary, except for the orange one, which has a light orange flavor to it (just as Smarties from the UK do). The mockolate barely has a chocolate taste, and the whole thing is a little grainy and a bit greasy. What they lack in taste they more than make up for with economy and portion control. What other candy comes in little tubes of 8 pieces? Not to mention the fact that each little tube has only 35 calories!
The package is attractive, the Sixlets mascot is some sort of an insect ... well, maybe he’s an insect, he only has four legs. And he wears glasses ... and wants us to eat one of his segments. These little packets were unmarked. Just generic clear cellophane tubes with little unbranded spheres inside.
The taste of the “dark chocolate” isn’t really noticeably different from the regular Sixlets. They’re just as disappointing as the regular Sixlets ... except that I paid for this whole bag (I picked the other little guys up at the All Candy Expo). There are differing stories about why they’re called Sixlets. The current packaging has them in tubes with 8 pieces or 20. Some folks say that they used to come in tubes that had six for a penny. Others say that they came in boxes that had six individual boxes in each package and that’s how they were written up in the wholesale catalogs. It could be that someone just thought it sounded like a good name ... maybe they were into numerology. The number six represents ”Reaction/flux. Responsibility” according to Wikipedia. If anyone else has any theories, I’m happy to entertain them. Caitlin at Candy Addict has a great fondness for them and Bad-Candy.com, well, thinks they’re bad. Like them if you will ... just don’t call them chocolate. They might be good for decorating ... the rest of these are going in the Trick-or-Treat bowl (don’t worry, I’ll give the kids something good and just slip these in while they’re not looking). Related Candies
POSTED BY Cybele AT 9:06 am 
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Meticulously photographed and documented reviews of candy from around the world. And the occasional other sweet adventures. Open your mouth, expand your mind.
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COPYRIGHT NOTICEAll content (text and photos unless otherwise credited) is copyright 2005-2008 by Cybele MayPlease do not use my photos on your own site without permission directly from me, they represent what I ate in preparation for these reviews and are not to be used for other purposes. Design by Hop StudiosPowered by ExpressionEngine
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VOTE IN THE POLLWhich do you prefer?
Total Votes: 419
Milk Chocolate 
41% (172)Dark Chocolate
26% (111)Really Dark Chocolate (70%+)
18% (76)White Chocolate
14% (57)Carob!
1% (3)
 
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SUPERB 
YUMMY 
TASTY 
WORTH IT 
TEMPTING 
PLEASANT 
BENIGN 
UNAPPEALING 
APPALLING 
INEDIBLE 
SUPERB
YUMMY 
TASTY 
WORTH IT 
TEMPTING 
PLEASANT 
BENIGN 
APPALLING 
INEDIBLE 
Back in the day, they definitely came in a tube of six—the name made perfect sense. I bought too many of these and divided them up with friends—there were definitely six in a tube. I also remember that at one time you could buy a bigger bag/box of them, which obviously had more than six, but kept the name. This was a popular penny candy in my hometown for years, until there really wasn’t penny candy anymore.
I am ashamed to admit these were one of my absolute favorites growing up. I remember them being much smaller in size and coming in a tube shaped clear bag. I loved the thin shell, perfect roundness, and how many of them were in a bag. This was late 70’s, early 80’s.
I would get them at the student store on the Univ of Minnesota campus when visiting my Dad at work. That memory is so connected in my mind, that I think they must not have been available at my local candy shop. The local shop was all about Zotzs!
Perhaps I liked them because, even being mockolate, they were better than the carob my Mom tried to get us to eat. But, now I recognize them as awful. Awful, with happy memories....
I am a big fan of Sixlets, or used to be a big fan anyway. When I eat them now, they don’t taste as good as they did when I was younger (back in the early 70’s). I remember them in tubes of 6 candies at the penny candy counter. I would get those along with candy cigarettes, the wax bottles with colored “juice”, candy dots, candy necklaces and more.
When I was a kid I would get these occasionally in the big bag/tube. I recognized that they weren’t as good as M&Ms;, but the orange one always intrigued me.
These are one of my guilty pleasures, I have to say, I just loved them as a kid. They seemed to have a more “fruity” chocolate flavor than M&Ms;, and their size and shape felt a little different (and better) in my mouth.
Nowadays, though, it’s M&Ms;all the way, especially dark!
they are gross, and yet… well, i haven’t eaten sixlets in years, but i guess i still have a soft spot for them because they remind me of being a kid and buying lots of cheap, gross candy with my meager allowance
Aww, I like sixlets, or at least I did when I was a kid (80s-90s). Although the hydrogenated oil is kind of offputting, so I’ll just be content with nostalgia.
I agree with KateC. Sixlets are better only than carob. Not a chance of me trying the dark kind or the regular kind again. Cheap and gross, like Mary Janes or Neccos, and likely to get your house rolled for giving them out.
Bad Candy’s review says they’re made w/ carob. Are they cocoa in some locations, carob in others?
Sixlettsss!! I forgot all about sixlets! The dark chocolate sounds appealing to me but I trust your opinion. Guess they needed something to comeback with!
The Velvet Blog - I can’t be sure that the classic ones have carob, there’s no ingredients label on the little tubes and the website “sixlets.com” doesn’t actually work. I did find this page that does mention carob but it definitely wasn’t on the list for the Dark Chocolate Flavored ones.
Jim - thanks for the confirmation on the packaging!
KateC - hmmm, I’m not sure if they’re better than carob ... certainly better than some of those weird yogurt things in the late seventies.
Lisa - I’m wondering if they were better back in the day. I used to love those big chunky candy rings. Those were usually 10 cents!
Alicia - I was wondering if the other ones had any “flavor” but I couldn’t detect it.
Ruffy & Carol - nothin’ wrong with guilty indulgences and nostalgia. (That’s probably why they’re still around.)
Porgy - I suspect the reason that they don’t register on the “trans fat” content on the label is that a serving is only eight pieces (7 grams).
Dave - I hope it’s not too much of a transgression for me to give these out to the kids next week ... along with good stuff too, of course.
Hilary - noooo! Don’t let them fool you with their pretty shells and “dark chocolate” words!
looking at your picture of the tube with 8 in there, I wonder if they went to 8 to fit the UPC code on the individual package?
Sixlets have always been my favorite candy store candy. I once bought a carton of them and after that I was pretty sick!
They are great to use in place of mini M&M;’s for popcorn balls (marshmallow) or popcorn cake. Try it sometime.
Ok, if they’re called “sixlets”, then how come there are 8 in a package??!!
makes ya think!
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