Dark Chocolate Jelly Belly Jelly Beans - 1 lb bulk
Click to buy directly from Jelly Belly!
Click to buy directly from Jelly Belly!
The Good: Amazing taste, Environmentally responsible bulk, Taste does not fade
The Bad: Might seem a bit pricy.
The Basics: A truly amazing flavor of Jelly Belly jelly beans, Dark Chocolate Jelly Bellys are bound to replace some less popular flavor in the main assortment (hopefully soon!).
On my recent trip to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and Michigan, my wife and I made a great stop at one of our usual gas stations near Erie, Pennsylvania. As we were getting off at the usual exit, though, we saw a Jelly Belly store and I was convinced it could not be anywhere near as cool as it actually appeared. After all, the store was small on the outside and it seemed like it might just be a novelty. What I discovered, however, was a treasure trove of Jelly Belly jelly beans, both ones I knew about and ones I only discovered by making the stop. In fact, I had been looking for months for Dark Chocolate Jelly Belly jelly beans and within a minute of entering the store, I found the bulk bin of them!
For those who might never have had Jelly Belly jelly beans, these are easily the best jelly beans on the planet, packing a lot of flavor into a very small size. Unlike most jelly beans which are only vaguely flavored and are more based on colors, Jelly Belly jelly beans have a wide variety of actual flavors, like peach bellini, pina colada, Dr. Pepper, or their signature flavor Buttered Popcorn, all of which have been reviewed through my Ultimate Jelly Belly Guide.
Jelly Belly jelly beans have very few flavors that are as concrete as chocolate, but with the Dark Chocolate, they have a real taste winner and this has quickly become one of my favorite beans. Indeed, they could get rid of Chocolate Pudding and replace it with Dark Chocolate and I suspect most fans would be just as happy! Anyone who might like Dark Chocolate Jelly Belly jelly beans will likely find that this is the best way to get them in bulk in an environmentally responsible way for the least amount of money.
Basics
Dark Chocolate is a flavor of Jelly Belly jelly beans. Jelly Belly jelly beans are approximately one half inch long by one quarter inch wide and they are roughly bean-shaped. These little candies are marketed to taste precisely like dark chocolate and they live up to that exceptionally well. In fact, they embody those flavors perfectly, which is why I have immediately bulked up on this bean.
Dark Chocolate flavored Jelly Bellys are available in a wide array of quantities, but the largest quantity available is the ten pound bulk case. This is a decent-sized box with a plastic lining and while some might wonder why anyone would need a ten pound box, I ask, "Have you ever had ten pounds of dark chocolate melt on you?” That is not a pretty sight! I suspect that for most people, a ten pound case is a year's supply of these jelly beans, though mine won’t last the month!
Dark Chocolate flavored Jelly Bellys are remarkably easy to recognize and distinguish from other Jelly Bellys, except in low lighting when they might be mistaken for Licorice or Chocolate Pudding. Dark Chocolate is an opaque dark brown colored bean.
Ease of Preparation
These are jelly beans, not keeping dark chocolate from melting in the summer! In the case of the ten pound box, one might want to put them in a candy dish of some form as opposed to always going into the box. Then again, there is no law against eating them right from the box, not even a natural law. Eat them from the box if you so desire.
Taste
Dark Chocolate Jelly Bellys have a robust scent that smells just like opening a chocolate box. Opening the box, there was actually a very pungent chocolate scent which greeted us and it made me smile.
Dark Chocolate Jelly Belly jelly beans taste like exactly what they are supposed to. When placed on the tongue, these Jelly Bellys taste dry and powerful. Crushing them with one’s teeth, the full cocoa flavor is revealed and it is a dry, strong dark chocolate that is bound to please anyone who likes their chocolate dark! After about three beans, the sweetness actually wears off and these take on a darker chocolate flavor, which is absolutely wonderful.
As well, Dark Chocolate flavored Jelly Bellys do not diminish in taste when you eat vast quantities of them.
These taste like Dark Chocolate bite after bite, never fading and that only adds to the value of the ten pound case. In fact, this might be one of the best of the more obscure flavors, without the compound in chocolate that keeps one awake.
Nutrition
Again, these are jelly beans, so anyone looking to them for nutrition needs to understand they based upon something that is not inherently nutritious! Jelly beans, even Jelly Belly jelly beans, are not a legitimate source of nutrition. These are a snack food, a dessert, and are in no way an adequate substitute for a real meal. A serving is listed at thirty-five beans, with each Jelly Belly jelly bean having approximately four calories. This means that in a single serving, there are 140 calories, which is 12% of your daily recommended intake.
The thing is, Jelly Belly jelly beans are not as bad as they could be in the nutrition area. They have no fat and no protein, but for those who have ever dated a Vegan, these are Vegan compliant because they contain no gelatin! They have only one percent of the daily sodium with 15 mg and they are gluten free! The main ingredients are sugar, corn syrup and modified food starch, so it's not like this is an all-natural food, but they could be far, far worse. What is arguably more impressive is the fact that the Dark Chocolate Jelly Bellys are made with real dark chocolate and cocoa for flavoring, so the flavor is remarkably true.
Storage/Clean-up
Jelly Belly jelly beans have a shelf life of approximately one year and I have yet to run across a stale Jelly Belly (though that could have something to do with a package never surviving a year around me). They remain freshest when they are kept in an airtight container (the bag in the bulk box is sufficient if it is kept closed) and they ought to be kept in a lukewarm environment. Storing them in hot places is likely to make the beans stick together and be gross. Kept in a cool, dry place, the beans retain their flavor perfectly.
As for cleanup, unless one allows the Jelly Belly to get hot to the point that the waxy coating on the bean melts, the dyes on these do not bleed or denature, so there is usually no cleanup necessary, not even washing one's hands after eating them (even if they don’t melt!). I've never had Dark Chocolate Jelly Bellys stain anything.
Overall
Dark Chocolate Jelly Belly jelly beans are a truly great, original jelly bean perfectly replicates the flavor it is supposed to, bean after been. What more could you ask for? This is dark chocolate that doesn’t melt!
For other candy reviewed by me, please check out the Lindt Pistachio Nut Bar.
10/10
For more food reviews, please check out my index page!
© 2010 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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