Please note this is a review for the 20 flavor assorted package as seen above. I'm not going to make note of every single bean flavor here. This is an overall review of the product and some general impressions. So lets get to it :)
Looking at the packaging I'm impressed right off, the logo of red and yellow just pop off the bag. And they've taken the explosion of beans you might see on a skittles bag and amped it up. The bean colors and patterns jump off the white background and showcase Jelly Belly in a very good light. I find now looking at this that I have some definitely nostalgia around these beans and this logo. It reminds me of being a kid and what a treat it was to have these.
If for some reason you don't know Jelly Beans are gourmet jelly beans. Smaller in size, and more expensive than traditional jelly beans but packed with real fruit flavors, and hitting on some totally unexpected but delicious flavor combos. Can you think of anything else in the candy aisle that might taste like toasted marshmallow, buttered popcorn, or orange sherbert? Probably not. And so Jelly Belly hits a very nice niche market that they really dominate.
On the back of the packaging we see the flavor chart. All mix packages of Jelly Bellys have this map showing what beans are to be found inside. There are some real standouts in this Assortment too. cotton candy, strawberry jam, buttered popcorn, and toasted marshmallow are all some of my favorites.
While they do feature a disclaimer on the packaging that the "package may not contain every flavor" I have to say I was disappointed to see that my bag had no cotton candy, lemon lime, or sour apple. I kind of feel like an assorted bag should feature at least one bean of every flavor. But they are upfront about it, and its not a dealbreaker by any means.
Here's my breakdown of what I got in this assortment. As you can see, lots of watermelon, and a bunch of red one I couldn't easily classify. One of the odd things about Jelly Bellys is that they don't really smell like anything from the outside. I suppose thats not odd, just surprising since the flavors inside are SO strong.
Ok, lets get into it for realsies. The beans are made well, I love the logo printed on the side, and the speckling on the ones that are patterned. Biting into a jelly belly isn't too dissimilar from any regular jelly bean. They're textured like granulated sugar. With a gummyness that perhaps goes a bit further tan I'd personally like. But you're here for the flavors, and man do they pop. Not quite as intense as say a Starburst or Skittle, these flavors are most impressive because they really live up to their names. Some of these flavors are really complex, and Jelly Belly uniformly pulls it off. Even on a flavor that I don't particularly enjoy, like say watermelon, I have to admit I am impressed with how true this tastes.
Jelly Bellys are a marvel. They are packed with flavor and even though there may be a few misses in this assortment, they are misses because I just don't dig on that particular flavor, the beans themselves are fantastic. I highly recommend you check out some Jelly Bellys in the near future... hasn't it been too long...
Walking the Candy Aisle rates Jelly Belly - 5 / 5
Jelly Belly is a product of the Jelly Belly Candy Company. Find out more about them at http://www.jellybelly.com
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