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Friday, March 30, 2007
SweeTart Jelly Beans
So I went out last night looking for them. Luckily they were on sale ($1.50 a bag instead of $2.29) at RiteAid. I carefully chose a bag that looked like it had lots of yellow ones in it (the others looked very pink).
Unlike the Lifesavers Jelly Beans that made up flavors to include in the bag, the SweeTart Jelly Beans stick to the regular SweeTart flavors: Grape, Cherry, Orange, Lemon, Green Apple and Blue Punch. The colors are typical of an assortment of highlighter pens (well, the purple one just wasn’t photographing well, it’s much more lilac that the photo makes it appear). They’re matte and opaque. They’re also not terribly regular in size and shape, with the colors sometimes looking a little faded in spots and other little bloops of other colors in them. These beans are different. They candy shell on them isn’t like any other jelly bean I’ve had. Instead of just being a flavored sugar shell, these feel different. They’re a little crumbly and a little cool on the tongue. The ingredients lists dextrose as one of the main ingredients. Dextrose is the same sugar used to make SweeTart and other compressed sugar candies. It takes a little getting used to, because at first it feels like the bean is past its prime or something. But then I really started to enjoy cleaving off parts of the shell in my mouth before chewing the rest up. They’re kind of like Lemonheads in that respect, except not as sour. The jelly center isn’t really flavored, but does have a slight tang to it (yes, I managed to just nibble off the shell on a few of them). The jelly center is the same for all of them as far as I can tell (Jelly Belly uses specific flavored centers for their beans, which is one of the reasons they’re so flavorful). I really liked the orange and lemon, but found the grape to be a huge disappointment. It was completely missing that ”malic acid” flavor of the grape SweeTart. The green apple also seemed a little weird, just not quite complete. The blue punch was much better than I expected and of course the cherry was just bitter to me. Though all of them are a bit tart, they’re not really sour like a SweeTart is. I can say from experience here that there’s no tongue damage from eating a third of a bag for breakfast (which there definitely would be with the regular chalky SweeTart). I’m not as fond of these as I’d hoped, so they’re not going to knock the Lifesavers Jelly Beans off the current favored spot for the special Easter jelly beans. Part of it is the lack of visual appeal, they just look old. I also wanted them to be more tart. But I have to give them props for making me eat my jelly beans in a different way. I still have another bag of the SweeTart Ducks, Chicks & Bunnies (I finally found them at Walgreen’s) ... it’s gonna take a big candy innovation for something else from SweeTart to knock them off the top spot.
POSTED BY Cybele AT 10:29 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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Milk Chocolate 
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Good lord, it’s SO hard to read your blog and resist the urge to eat candy afterwards! Must… resist… the candy bar… in… my desk drawer…
hi, i’m from italy and i read your blog everyday. your reviews are lovely and they always make me want to eat chocolate!
unfortunately we don’t have reese’s here, but i suggest you to try [if you find them] lindt’s marc de champagne, creme brulée and orange chocolates.
very good job.
kia.
I had just opened a bag of these when I clicked to your blog review. It took about half a bag for me to get used to them a few years ago, so you may still grow to love them.
Along with the most wonderful Easter candy of all, the Cadbury mini-egg, these make my candy season.
Oh, I’m so sad! I feel I led you down a non-tart path lol. I still love love love them and like jenreads, I hope you learn to love them too : )
We got a ton of those on sale after Easter last year at Ralph’s.
My favorite Jelly Beans of all time are Starburst Sour Jelly Beans. They are the perfect level of sour and just so addictive.
Have you ever tried Trolli Gummy Beans? They’re a cross between jelly beans and gummies. I really love eating those when i can actually find them. I think their Dinosaur Eggs are the same product under a different name.
We did an unscientific jelly bean tasting at work last Easter, and the hands-down winner was Smuckers. They taste like actual fruit! I think they’re made by Brachs.
Unfortunately my plan to get a ton of them on sale didn’t work out so well as they go stale and hard quickly…
I have a love/hate relationship with these. I really don’t consider them jelly beans b/c the outer coating is such a different texture. I wish there was a candy with just that outer coating. The slightly sour fairly soft thing. Like chewy sweet tarts but softer and easier to eat.
Ari - mmm, candy drawer ....
Kia - I don’t know if they sell those varieties here in the States, but I love orange and chocolate. Thanks for reading.
jenreads - I’m working on it, but I don’t think it helps that I keep eating “traditional” jelly beans at the same time. It just messes with me.
nix - no need for that! I’m happy I tried them. I think I just want a smaller bag.
Grace - I think I saw them last year too! Of course now that the cat’s out of the bag on Candy Blog, folks will be scooping them up now.
Cheryl - I haven’t seen the Starburst Sour or the Trolli Gummi Beans! I’m on the prowl now.
Michaela - I looked at the Smuckers last year when I ended up picking out the Starburst ones. But I couldn’t find them this year. (I just put up the review for my consolation prize, Spiced Jelly Eggs.)
g - yes! here’s what it’d be ... a cross between these, Narbles and Lemonheads!
first comment ever
Someone please help me locate these sweetart jelly beans! My friend and coworker LOVES them and now she is going through a serious crisis of an ailing mother and greiving father. I just know that in a small way these jellys would give her a little relief. HEEEELLPP!!!!
BOUGHT JELLY BEANS FOR MY CHILD, AND WHEN I OPENED THEM, THEY WERE HARD AS PELLETS.
WAS DISAPPOINTED, GRANTED THE PRICE WAS REASONALBLE, BUT HE COULD HAVE BROKEN A TOOTH ON THEM
I THREW THE WHOLE BAG AWAY
AND I DON’T THINK I WILL BUY ANY FOR A LONG WHILE
I GUESS QUALITY CONTROL AT THE PLANT IS WAS MADE AT WAS NOT AWARE OF THIS MISTAKE
HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL
TOO MUCH NONSENSE GOING ON WITH THE PRODUCTS WE THE CONSUMER BUYS
JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW
I hate to tell you this, but if you thought these jelly beans were the same consistency as Lemonheads, you got a stale bag.
I found one bag in Feb. and one in March, and they were both properly textured and delicious. Tried last week and everyone was out of them.
They’re now #1 on my short list alongside Life Savers jelly beans and Smuckers Jelly Beans.
I can’t afford Jelly Belly, so I stick to the cheaper brands. Too bad they’re only out at Easter time.
Bought those sweet tart jelly beans, was not pleased with them at all, when my grandchildren said they tasted funny, I ate one, and was a nasty taste, it almost made me throw up. it was old tasting, so I threw all that my grandkids had away, did not want any of them to get sick. my son cannot afford that big of a doctor’s bill,
I think you need to recheck this product. to me it is not up to standard, will tell all I know about what happened on this easter sunday, thanks for making it nauseating.
We got these again this year and loved them just as much! Not sure what was so yucky about the ones you got, Jo Ann, maybe you just didn’t like the texture? As a few people have mentioned, the texture is not like a regular jelly bean.
I Looovvveeeee these jelly beans!!!! I think they should come out with something similiar to sell year round! The beans melt in your mouth and are perfect>>>not too sour and not to sweet!!
i fell in love with these jelly beans 2 years ago - target had them at christmas. last year when i found them again at target i bought a dozen bags - so had them for awhile. now this year i have not found them anywhere in our area. i hope to find them online and buy a bunch !!!!!
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