Generic Sweetness, Mild Chocolate: Jelly Belly Chocolate Iced With Sprinkles Jelly Beans Underwhelm

The Good: Good ingredients, Generally affordable
The Bad: Very mild flavor, Flavor fades fast.
The Basics: Chocolate Iced With Sprinkles Jelly Bellys are mediocre, which is fairly accurate for the flavor they are supposed to, but they still make for an unimpressive jelly bean.


Krispy Kreme doughnuts do not impress me. So, I am actually pretty happy to be reaching the end of my consumption of the Jelly Belly Krispy Kreme jelly bean line. The final jelly bean in the line for me to try was Jelly Belly Chocolate Iced With Sprinkles. Jelly Belly Chocolate Iced With Sprinkles are, sadly, about as generically sweet as the other Krispy Kreme Jelly Belly jelly beans. While there is a minimal amount of flavor, that flavor fades quickly when one consumes multiple beans.

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 the Chili Mango, The Snapple Assortment, Krispy Kreme Chocolate Sprinkle Doughnut or their signature flavor Buttered Popcorn.

Basics

Chocolate Iced With Sprinkles is a flavor of Jelly Belly jelly beans from the Krispy Kreme Assortment of Jelly Bellys! Jelly Belly Chocolate Iced With Sprinkles 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 like Chocolate Iced With Sprinkles doughnuts, but the chocolate flavor is very mild and fades very quickly to a generically sweet jelly bean.

Chocolate Iced With Sprinkles flavored Jelly Bellys are available in a wide array of quantities, but they are least expensive by the ten pound box. Chocolate Iced With Sprinkles flavored Jelly Bellys are easy to recognize. The Chocolate Iced With Sprinkles Jelly Belly jelly beans are light brown with tiny green and red spots.

Ease Of Preparation

These are jelly beans, not making chocolate icing and making homemade sprinkles! Preparing them is as easy as opening the bag in the box and popping one (or a handful) into your mouth. In the case of the ten pound box, one might want to put them in a candy dish of some form as opposed to risking spilling them each time one goes into the bag.

Taste

The Chocolate Iced With Sprinkles Jelly Bellys have no real scent to them. These jelly beans do not foreshadow the flavor of the beans at all; there is no real aroma to them.

In the mouth, the Chocolate Iced With Sprinkles Jelly Belly jelly beans are overwhelmingly sweet. The generically sweet flavor takes on a slightly dry flavor reminiscent of the aftertaste of hot cocoa. The mild chocolate flavor dissipates exceptionally quickly and is replaced with a sugar flavor that is simplistic and indistinct.

Unfortunately, the Jelly Belly Chocolate Iced With Sprinkles jelly beans are one of the flavors of Jelly Bellys where, if one consumes more than 5 in a single sitting, the beans take on an entirely generic sweetness that eliminates even the hint of chocolate flavor. These beans have a very strong sweet aftertaste that does not even endure in the mouth for very long after the last bean is consumed.

Nutrition

These are jelly beans, so one has to recall that they are based on something that is not at all nutritious. The Jelly Belly Chocolate Iced With Sprinkles jelly beans are not a legitimate source of nutrition. These are a dessert and are in no way an adequate substitute for a real meal. A serving is listed at twenty-seven beans, with each Jelly Belly jelly bean having approximately four calories. This means that in a single serving, there are 110 calories.

Jelly Belly Chocolate Iced With Sprinkles 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 to most Vegans because they contain no gelatin. Vegans who might take issue with these as being Vegan-compliant are the ones who have an issue with the use of bee's wax in the coating, so know your Vegan before buying! The Chocolate Iced With Sprinkles beans 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.

Storage/Clean-up

Jelly Belly jelly beans have a shelf life of approximately almost two years and I have yet to run across a stale Jelly Belly and Chocolate Iced With Sprinkles are no exception. They remain freshest when they are kept in an airtight container (the bag in the 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; the package I picked up a month and a half ago had an April 6, 2019 expiration date.

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 (always wash your hands before eating Jelly Bellys, just as you would before eating a doughnut). I've never had Chocolate Iced With Sprinkles Jelly Bellys stain anything.

Overall

Jelly Belly Chocolate Iced With Sprinkles are not bad jelly beans, but they are nowhere near as distinct or interesting as most Jelly Belly flavors!

For other Jelly Belly jelly bean flavor reviews by me, please check out:
Glazed Blueberry Cake Krispy Kreme Doughnut
Bubbly
Raspberry Dips

4/10

For other Jelly Belly reviews, please be sure to visit my Jelly Belly Jelly Bean Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2018 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Best Of The Bunch: Glazed Blueberry Cake Jelly Belly Jelly Beans Are Good!

The Good: Wonderful initial flavor, Good ingredients, Generally affordable
The Bad: Taste fades unfortunately fast!
The Basics: Glazed Blueberry Cake Jelly Bellys are easily the best component of the Krispy Kreme line . . . which makes one want to consume more, but that undermines their flavor!


I have not been, admittedly, the biggest fan of the Krispy Kreme line of Jelly Belly jelly beans. They have, much like their source material, largely been disappointing. That said, there was one that I could not get enough of. That was the Glazed Blueberry Cake Jelly Belly jelly bean! Unfortunately, the only real problem I could find with these Jelly Belly jelly beans was that they became generically sweet if one ate more than ten in a single sitting! That's a pretty severe detraction when one actually enjoys a confection!

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 the Mint Mint Chocolate Chip, The Snapple Assortment, Krispy Kreme Chocolate Sprinkle Doughnut or their signature flavor Buttered Popcorn.

Who needs up to ten pounds of Glazed Blueberry Cake flavored Jelly Bellys? Anyone who loves blueberry doughnuts, but has amazing restraint will enjoy these!

Basics

Glazed Blueberry Cake is a flavor of Jelly Belly jelly beans from the Krispy Kreme Assortment of Jelly Bellys! Jelly Belly Glazed Blueberry Cake 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 like Glazed Blueberry Cake doughnuts and they manage to do that surprisingly well.

Glazed Blueberry Cake flavored Jelly Bellys are available in a wide array of quantities, but they are least expensive by the ten pound box. Glazed Blueberry Cake flavored Jelly Bellys are easy to recognize. The Glazed Blueberry Cake Jelly Belly jelly beans are a pearlescent tan with dark blue spots jelly bean that actually is reminiscent of the coloring of the actual doughnuts upon which these beans are based.

Ease Of Preparation

These are jelly beans, not cultivating a blueberry patch! Preparing them is as easy as opening the bag in the box and popping one (or a handful) into your mouth. In the case of the ten pound box, one might want to put them in a candy dish of some form as opposed to risking spilling them each time one goes into the bag.

Taste

The Glazed Blueberry Cake Jelly Bellys have a mild aroma that actually manages to effectively hint at blueberries! The scent of these jelly beans is subtle, but inviting.

On the flavor front, the Glazed Blueberry Cake Jelly Belly jelly beans are a very pleasant surprise! The taste of these jelly beans managed to very effectively transition between a variety of flavors. The coating is sweet in a fairly nondescript way. But then, the beans transition to a very fruity, strongly berry, flavor. The taste of blueberries is distinct and different from other blueberry-flavored Jelly Belly jelly beans. But the fruit flavor is not the finishing one; the flavor transitions nicely to a doughnut-like flavor with a bready quality to it!

Unfortunately, the Jelly Belly Glazed Blueberry Cake jelly beans are one of the flavors of Jelly Bellys where, if one consumes more than 10 in a single sitting, the beans take on an entirely generic sweetness that eliminates all of the subtlety and complexity of the main flavor palate. These beans have a fairly strong sweet aftertaste that endures in the mouth for about five minutes after the last of the beans is consumed.

Nutrition

These are jelly beans, so one has to recall that they are based on something that is not at all nutritious. The Jelly Belly Glazed Blueberry Cake jelly beans are not a legitimate source of nutrition. These are a dessert and are in no way an adequate substitute for a real meal. A serving is listed at twenty-seven beans, with each Jelly Belly jelly bean having approximately four calories. This means that in a single serving, there are 110 calories.

Jelly Belly Glazed Blueberry Cake 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 to most Vegans because they contain no gelatin. Vegans who might take issue with these as being Vegan-compliant are the ones who have an issue with the use of bee's wax in the coating, so know your Vegan before buying! The Glazed Blueberry Cake beans 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.

Storage/Clean-up

Jelly Belly jelly beans have a shelf life of approximately almost two years and I have yet to run across a stale Jelly Belly and Glazed Blueberry Cake are no exception. They remain freshest when they are kept in an airtight container (the bag in the 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; the package I picked up last week had an April 6, 2019 expiration date.

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 (always wash your hands before eating Jelly Bellys, just as you would before eating a doughnut). I've never had Glazed Blueberry Cake Jelly Bellys stain anything.

Overall

Glazed Blueberry Cake Jelly Bellys are a surprisingly good jelly bean that is almost enough to redeem the otherwise unimpressive Krispy Kreme jelly bean line. Should that line end, this is the one flavor that ought to survive from it!

For other Jelly Belly jelly bean flavor reviews by me, please check out:
Cinnamon Apple Filled
Egg Nog
Raspberry Dips

8/10

For other Jelly Belly reviews, please be sure to visit my Jelly Belly Jelly Bean Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2018 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Just Like The Doughnuts Themselves, Original Glazed Jelly Belly Jelly Beans Are Unbearably Sweet!

The Good: Good ingredients
The Bad: Completely generically sweet flavor!
The Basics: Original Glazed Jelly Bellys are one of the least exciting, most generically sweet, Jelly Belly jelly beans ever made by the company!


I have never been a big fan of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. More than any other brand of doughnut I have tried, Krispy Kreme doughnuts are sweet in the most generic possible way. They are not so much flavored as they are glazed and between the different styles I tried, I found most quickly reduced to a simplistic, sugary flavor. Sadly, when Jelly Belly decided to partner with Krispy Kreme to make flavors of jelly beans, it seemed like if they managed to get the Krispy Kreme flavor right, they would be underwhelming jelly beans. That is exactly what happened with the Original Glazed Krispy Kreme Doughnut flavored Jelly Belly jelly beans.

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 the Cherry Passion Fruit Smoothie, BeanBoozled Assortment, Krispy Kreme Chocolate Sprinkle Doughnut or their signature flavor Buttered Popcorn.

Who needs up to ten pounds of Original Glazed flavored Jelly Bellys? Given the lack of inherent flavor and quality to these beans, even buying them in bulk is not a particularly positive benefit of these beans. The ten pound case of Original Glazed Jelly Belly jelly beans is the most economically and environmentally responsible package.

Basics

Original Glazed is a flavor of Jelly Belly jelly beans from the Krispy Kreme Assortment of Jelly Bellys! Jelly Belly Original Glazed 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 like Original Glazed Krispy Kreme doughnuts and they might do that fairly accurately, but the flavor comes out as generic sugary.

Original Glazed flavored Jelly Bellys are available in a wide array of quantities, but they are least expensive by the ten pound box. Original Glazed flavored Jelly Bellys are easy to recognize. The Original Glazed Jelly Belly jelly beans are a pearlescent tan jelly bean without any additional marks or coloring, save the "Jelly Belly" name painted on each bean.

Ease Of Preparation

These are jelly beans, not making homemade doughnuts! Preparing them is as easy as opening the bag in the box and popping one (or a handful) into your mouth. In the case of the ten pound box, one might want to put them in a candy dish of some form as opposed to risking spilling them each time one goes into the bag.

Taste

The Original Glazed Jelly Bellys have no real aroma to them. These beans offer up no real information from their bouquet.

The Original Glazed Jelly Belly jelly beans taste like sugar, with a faint hint (for the earliest bean or two that one consumes) of maple in as the flavor finishes. Unfortunately, even that subtle flavor returns to dull and indistinctly sweet after the first couple of beans.

The Jelly Belly Original Glazed jelly beans have a strong sweet aftertaste that does not endure very long in the mouth after the last of these beans are consumed. Like the primary flavor, the aftertaste is more generically sugary than it is at all distinct or flavorful.

Nutrition

These are jelly beans, so one has to recall that they are based on something that is not at all nutritious. The Jelly Belly Original Glazed jelly beans are not a legitimate source of nutrition. These are a dessert and are in no way an adequate substitute for a real meal. A serving is listed at twenty-seven beans, with each Jelly Belly jelly bean having approximately four calories. This means that in a single serving, there are 110 calories.

Jelly Belly Original Glazed 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 to most Vegans because they contain no gelatin. Vegans who might take issue with these as being Vegan-compliant are the ones who have an issue with the use of bee's wax in the coating, so know your Vegan before buying! The Original Glazed beans 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.

Storage/Clean-up

Jelly Belly jelly beans have a shelf life of approximately almost two years and I have yet to run across a stale Jelly Belly and Original Glazed are no exception. They remain freshest when they are kept in an airtight container (the bag in the 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; the package I picked up last week had an April 6, 2019 expiration date.

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 (always wash your hands before eating Jelly Bellys, just as you would before eating a doughnut). I've never had Original Glazed Jelly Bellys stain anything.

Overall

Original Glazed Jelly Bellys are arguably the least flavorful Jelly Belly jelly bean ever produced, making it one of the few true failures from the confectioner.

For other Jelly Belly jelly bean flavor reviews by me, please check out:
Strawberry Iced Krispy Kreme Doughnut
Cranberry Sauce
Candy Corn

0/10

For other Jelly Belly reviews, please be sure to visit my Jelly Belly Jelly Bean Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2018 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Utterly Generic: Jelly Belly Strawberry Iced Krispy Kreme Jelly Beans Flop!

The Good: Nothing bad in them
The Bad: Utterly generic flavor, Lack of sophisticated flavoring
The Basics: Strawberry Iced Jelly Bellys are a disappointing jelly bean that does not taste like much save sugar.


When Jelly Belly comes out with a new jelly bean flavor, I give it a try. Jelly Belly has earned my loyalty as a jelly bean enthusiast and I give all of their beans a fair shake. Despite my loyalty to the brand, they do not always hit with a flavor when they try ambitious new beans. The Strawberry Iced Krispy Kreme Doughnuts flavored Jelly Belly jelly beans are one such flop of a flavor.

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 the Mint Mint Chocolate Chip, The Snapple Assortment, Krispy Kreme Chocolate Sprinkle Doughnut or their signature flavor Buttered Popcorn.

Who needs up to ten pounds of Strawberry Iced flavored Jelly Bellys? Given the lack of inherent flavor and quality to these beans, even buying them in bulk seems like a bad idea to me. For those who ignore my evaluation of them, the ten pound case of Strawberry Iced Jelly Belly jelly beans is the most economically and environmentally responsible package.

Basics

Strawberry Iced is a flavor of Jelly Belly jelly beans from the Krispy Kreme Assortment of Jelly Bellys! Jelly Belly Strawberry Iced 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 like Strawberry Iced doughnuts and they completely fail to replicate anything that flavorful.

Strawberry Iced flavored Jelly Bellys are available in a wide array of quantities, but they are least expensive by the ten pound box. Strawberry Iced flavored Jelly Bellys are easy to recognize. The Strawberry Iced Jelly Belly jelly beans are a pearlescent bright pink jelly bean without any additional marks or coloring, save the "Jelly Belly" name painted on each bean.

Ease Of Preparation

These are jelly beans, not making a flavorful icing on one's own! Preparing them is as easy as opening the bag in the box and popping one (or a handful) into your mouth. In the case of the ten pound box, one might want to put them in a candy dish of some form as opposed to risking spilling them each time one goes into the bag.

Taste

The Strawberry Iced Jelly Bellys have almost no aroma to them. These beans are inscrutable on the scent front; they do not hint at any real flavor at all.

Sadly, the lack of an aroma foreshadows well the taste of the Strawberry Iced Jelly Belly jelly beans. There is a vague, almost fruity flavor in these jelly beans right before the overly sugary flavor hits. The Strawberry Iced Jelly Belly jelly beans taste like the remnants of a strawberry frosting. The flavor is sugary, but even the hint of fruit does not endure for much more than a few seconds.

The Jelly Belly Strawberry Iced jelly beans have a faint sweet aftertaste that does not endure very long in the mouth after the last of these beans are consumed. Like the primary flavor, the aftertaste is more generically sugary than it is at all distinct or flavorful.

Nutrition

These are jelly beans, so one has to recall that they are based on something that is not at all nutritious. The Jelly Belly Strawberry Iced jelly beans are not a legitimate source of nutrition. These are a dessert and are in no way an adequate substitute for a real meal. A serving is listed at twenty-seven beans, with each Jelly Belly jelly bean having approximately four calories. This means that in a single serving, there are 110 calories.

Jelly Belly Strawberry Iced 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 to most Vegans because they contain no gelatin. Vegans who might take issue with these as being Vegan-compliant are the ones who have an issue with the use of bee's wax in the coating, so know your Vegan before buying! The Strawberry Iced beans 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.

Storage/Clean-up

Jelly Belly jelly beans have a shelf life of approximately almost two years and I have yet to run across a stale Jelly Belly and Strawberry Iced are no exception. They remain freshest when they are kept in an airtight container (the bag in the 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; the package I picked up last week had an April 6, 2019 expiration date.

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 (always wash your hands before eating Jelly Bellys, just as you would before eating a doughnut). I've never had Strawberry Iced Jelly Bellys stain anything.

Overall

Strawberry Iced Jelly Bellys are generically sweet and almost as disappointing . . . as a Krispy Kreme doughnut!

For other Jelly Belly jelly bean flavor reviews by me, please check out:
Cinnamon Apple Filled
Egg Nog
Raspberry Dips

3/10

For other Jelly Belly reviews, please be sure to visit my Jelly Belly Jelly Bean Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Better Than The Source Material, Jelly Belly Cinnamon Apple Filled Jelly Beans Are Cool!

The Good: Surprisingly accurate flavor, Nothing bad in them
The Bad: Flavor of these particular beans fade unfortunately fast.
The Basics: Cinnamon Apple Filled Jelly Bellys are a pleasant Jelly Belly jelly bean, but the more of them one indulges in, the less flavorful they are.


I am not, generally, a fan of Krispy Kreme doughnuts. A few years ago, they were a huge fad where I was living and when I tried their doughnuts, I found them to be generically sweet with no real flavor or subtlety to them. So, when I was out a few days ago and discovered that Jelly Belly (one of my favorite candy companies!) had paired with Krispy Kreme for their new assortment, I was not exactly drawn in. Despite that, I picked up boxes of each of the Krispy Kreme flavors. The first one I decided to try was the Cinnamon Apple Filled jelly beans. And, unlike the Krispy Kreme "source material," the Jelly Belly Cinnamon Apple Filled jelly beans were flavorful and had a very decent transition to them between the flavor layers.

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 the Strawberry Banana Smoothie, Seasonally Available Candy Cane, Krispy Kreme Chocolate Sprinkle Doughnut or their signature flavor Buttered Popcorn.

Who needs up to ten pounds of Cinnamon Apple Filled flavored Jelly Bellys? Anyone who wants ten pounds of doughnuts, but doesn't want to be viewed as a pig or suffer the health detractions of that level of gluttony! Anyone who might like Cinnamon Apple Filled Jelly Belly jelly beans will likely find that buying by the ten pound case is the most economically and environmentally responsible.

Basics

Cinnamon Apple Filled is a flavor of Jelly Belly jelly beans from the Krispy Kreme Assortment of Jelly Bellys! Jelly Belly Cinnamon Apple Filled 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 like Cinnamon Apple Filled doughnuts and they manage to replicate that flavor well, unless one eats too many of them at one time.

Cinnamon Apple Filled flavored Jelly Bellys are available in a wide array of quantities, but they are least expensive by the ten pound box. Cinnamon Apple Filled flavored Jelly Bellys are easy to recognize. The Cinnamon Apple Filled Jelly Belly jelly beans are a tan Jelly bean mottled with brown spots and streaks.

Ease Of Preparation

These are jelly beans, not making homemade doughnuts! Preparing them is as easy as opening the bag in the box and popping one (or a handful) into your mouth. In the case of the ten pound box, one might want to put them in a candy dish of some form as opposed to risking spilling them each time one goes into the bag. Then again, like doughnuts, these may be eaten right out of the box.

Taste

The Cinnamon Apple Filled Jelly Bellys have a very faint cinnamon scent to them. These are not an overly aromatic jelly bean, but the scent is present and it is inviting to those who love cinnamon flavored foods.

On the flavor front, the Cinnamon Apple Filled Jelly Belly jelly beans are a clever bit of culinary engineering. The outer coating is cinnamon and sugar flavored. The flavor of the Cinnamon Apple Filled precisely mimics the cinnamon sugar of an actual doughnut. The flavor is accurate and delicious, but the moment one cracks the outer shell of the jelly bean in their mouth, the flavor from the inside is a subtle apple flavor. The two flavors blend in the mouth to perfectly embody the taste of an apple-filled doughnut.

The Jelly Belly Cinnamon Apple Filled jelly beans seems to be one of the flavors that is especially susceptible to flavor fading as a result of gluttony. If one eats too many of the Cinnamon Apple Filled Jelly Belly jelly beans in a single sitting - like, more than fifteen, so less than an entire serving (!) - the flavor fades to a generic sugar and slightly cinnamon flavor.

The Cinnamon Apple Filled jelly beans have a blandly sugary aftertaste to it that endures in the mouth for about two minutes after the last of the beans is consumed.

Nutrition

These are jelly beans, so one has to recall that they are based on something that is not at all nutritious. The Jelly Belly Cinnamon Apple Filled jelly beans are not a legitimate source of nutrition. These are a dessert and are in no way an adequate substitute for a real meal. A serving is listed at twenty-seven beans, with each Jelly Belly jelly bean having approximately four calories. This means that in a single serving, there are 110 calories.

Jelly Belly Cinnamon Apple Filled 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 to most Vegans because they contain no gelatin. Vegans who might take issue with these as being Vegan-compliant are the ones who have an issue with the use of bee's wax in the coating, so know your Vegan before buying! The Cinnamon Apple Filled beans 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.

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 and Cinnamon Apple Filled are no exception. They remain freshest when they are kept in an airtight container (the bag in the 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 (always wash your hands before eating Jelly Bellys, just as you would before eating a doughnut). I've never had Cinnamon Apple Filled Jelly Bellys stain anything.

Overall

Cinnamon Apple Filled Jelly Bellys are a decent jelly bean, well worth trying . . . but not going wild on!

For other Jelly Belly jelly bean flavor reviews by me, please check out:
Pancakes & Maple Syrup
Bubbly
Mint Mint Chocolate Chip

7/10

For other Jelly Belly reviews, please be sure to visit my Jelly Belly Jelly Bean Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Interesting, But Not Indispensible: Jelly Belly Milk Chocolate Malt Balls

The Good: Great chocolate flavor, Good ingredients
The Bad: Expensive, Malted milk center is virtually flavorless, No real nutritional benefits
The Basics: Jelly Belly Milk Chocolate Malt balls a good example of how Jelly Belly might be better off sticking to the jelly bean market as they do not quite land on all fronts with this chocolate confection.


On my recent trip East, I stopped at one of my favorite little shops. In Erie, Pennsylvania, right off Interstate 90, there is a whole store dedicated to Jelly Belly products. I made a point of stopping because, living in the middle of nowhere as I now do, I do not have access to the latest Jelly Belly jelly beans or other products. I was super excited when I stopped to find a new (to me) flavor of Jelly Belly jelly bean in the form of Pancakes & Maple Syrup (reviewed here!), but I also found myself pleasantly intrigued by the Jelly Belly Milk Chocolate Malt balls. I'm a big fan of malted milk balls, so seeing that Jelly Belly now made Milk Chocolate Malt Balls made me excited to try them.

And the Jelly Belly Milk Chocolate Malt balls are all right. But, for the price, Jelly Belly produced a far better chocolate than a malted milk ball; the center is virtually flavorless, while the outer coating is extraordinary. That made the confection a much tougher sell with me than I anticipated when I excitedly purchased the bag.

Basics

Jelly Belly Milk Chocolate Malt balls are 3/4" - 1" oblate spheroids made of chocolate and semisolid malted milk filling. Jelly Belly Milk Chocolate Malt balls come in a 2.3 oz. bag or a full bulk 10 pound box. Trying them for the first time, I went with the smaller bag, despite the environmental implications of it. In my 2.3 oz. bag, I found exactly 10 Milk Chocolate Malt balls.

For those who have never had a Milk Chocolate Malt ball before, Milk Chocolate Malt balls are a firm sugary sphere that is coated in chocolate. Moisture - or saliva - dissolves the ball within the coating, so many people who savor Milk Chocolate Malt balls either let the coating melt away in their mouth and let the malted milk center dissolve without chewing.

The coating of the Jelly Belly Milk Chocolate Malt ball is an impressively hard milk chocolate. The coating is strong enough to prevent the candy from getting crushed and soft enough to melt easily in the mouth. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the coating on the Jelly Belly Milk Chocolate Malt balls was of a quality consistent with Jelly Belly products - like the Dips line - not at all waxy!

Ease Of Preparation

Jelly Belly Milk Chocolate Malt balls are candy so preparation is pretty much limited to opening the bag and popping candy into one's mouth. Do not try to swallow all of the Jelly Belly Milk Chocolate Malt balls whole and you'll be fine!

Taste

Jelly Belly Milk Chocolate Malt Balls smell delightfully chocolate. Smelling the real chocolate aroma that came the moment that the bag was opened was enough to get me actually excited about the Jelly Belly Milk Chocolate Malt balls.

In the mouth, the Jelly Belly Milk Chocolate Malt balls are solidly chocolate flavored. The chocolate flavor is delightfully dark and real, not at all waxy or generically sugary. The strong chocolate flavor entirely overwhelms the flavor from the center. The malted milk center is not sweet or flavorful enough to overcome the flavor of the chocolate coating. Instead, is manifests more as a texture than an actual flavor.

The Jelly Belly Milk Chocolate Malt balls leave a strong chocolate aftertaste in the mouth after the last of them is consumed.

Nutrition

Jelly Belly Milk Chocolate Malt balls are candy, so one ought not to be living off them. The Jelly Belly Milk Chocolate Malt balls are made primarily of sugar, chocolate liquor, and milk. Most of the ingredients in the Jelly Belly Milk Chocolate Malt balls are recognizable, which is a nice change from some of the competitors' products!

Jelly Belly Milk Chocolate Malt balls have a whopping 310 calories per serving, 150 of which are from fat. That said, the full 2.3 oz. bag is a pretty big serving, so it is easier than one might expect to eat fewer and save on the calories and fat intake. The 16 grams of fat represent 25% of the recommended daily value of fat and they have 50% of the daily recommended saturated fat. There are only 65 milligrams of sodium in a serving and 43 grams of sugars. There are, however, 4 grams of protein in a serving of Jelly Belly Milk Chocolate Malt balls and it is interesting to note that one gets 10% of their calcium by eating these.

These are not overly nutritious, but the Jelly Belly Milk Chocolate Malt balls could be far worse on the ingredient and nutrition fronts. Because they contain milk and whey, they are not Vegan-compliant. They are not marked as gluten-free or Kosher, either.

Storage/Clean-up

The Jelly Belly Milk Chocolate Malt balls store just fine in their bag and as long as they are kept in a cool, dry (preferably dark) place they ought to last for quite some time (I've never had a Milk Chocolate Malt ball of any type go bad). The bag I picked up last month would have expired on February 16, 2018 had I not consumed them well before then!

Because the coating is made of actual milk chocolate, these malted milk balls will melt and have the potential to stain - especially light colored fabrics. If it becomes an issue, consult a fabric cleaning guide. Chocolate stains might be a problem, but it only becomes an issue if it gets melted.

Overall

Jelly Belly Milk Chocolate Malt balls might please those just looking for an intriguing chocolate, but for those who love malted milk balls, this is not nearly as balanced on the flavor and nutrition fronts as one might hope for.

For other Jelly Belly candies, please be sure to visit my reviews of:
Prehistoric Eggs
Sunkist Fruit Gems
Hot Chocolate Jelly Beans

4.5/10

For other food or drink reviews, please visit my Food Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Jelly Belly Pancakes & Maple Syrup Jelly Beans Leave Me Unimpressed (My 1000th Food Review!)

The Good: Amazing scent, Good ingredients, Good initial flavor
The Bad: Flavor quickly transitions to something chemical-like
The Basics: The Pancakes & Maple Syrup Jelly Bellys are surprisingly unsatisfying, making for a near-miss from the jelly bean manufacturer.


There are some delightful milestones that I reach as a reviewer that are fun to highlight. Tonight, that milestone is my 1000th food review. When I contemplated this milestone, I instantly leapt to reviewing a Jelly Belly jelly bean. Jelly Belly jelly beans are the foods I have reviewed the most and I was excited to discover there was still a new-to-me flavor to review. That flavor was Pancakes & Maple Syrup and on my recent trip, I picked myself up a supply!

Unfortunately, for as much as I love Jelly Belly jelly beans, the Pancakes & Maple Syrup flavor jelly beans are one of the brand's less impressive beans.

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 peanut butter, jalapeno, or their signature flavor Buttered Popcorn.

Who needs ten pounds of Pancakes & Maple Syrup flavored Jelly Bellys? No one I know. Those who absolutely love pancakes are likely to be unimpressed and those who would love ten pounds of maple syrup are likely to find the Pancakes & Maple Syrup Jelly Bellys not sweet enough to thrill. Those who might like Pancakes & Maple Syrup 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

Pancakes & Maple Syrup 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 intended to taste like Pancakes & Maple Syrup, but they fail on both fronts.

Pancakes & Maple Syrup 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 don't have a great answer for that other than the environmental impact of the bulk program. I suspect that for most people, a ten pound case is a year's supply of these jelly beans.

Pancakes & Maple Syrup flavored Jelly Bellys are remarkably easy to recognize and distinguish from other Jelly Bellys, as they are an opaque light brown color. This easily distinguishes them from the opaque brown of peanut butter and the red-brown chocolate pudding Jelly Belly jelly beans.

Ease Of Preparation

These are jelly beans, not getting ten pounds of maple syrup right from a tree. 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, you could eat them freely from the box if you are so inclined!

Taste

The Pancakes & Maple Syrup Jelly Bellys have a fairly strong scent, instantly recognizable as maple syrup. The syrup scent is delicious and inviting for anyone who loves maple syrup and maple sugar. There is nothing in the aroma that even implies pancakes.

On the flavor front, the Pancakes & Maple Syrup Jelly Bellys start flavored vaguely for butter and maple syrup. Even the hint of maple syrup quickly fades, though and it is replaced with a bitter, chemical flavor. The chemical flavor is not even overly sweet. The Jelly Belly Pancakes & Maple Syrup jelly beans finish sour and dry, which only undermines the reality of the maple flavor.

The Jelly Belly Pancakes & Maple Syrup jelly beans have a somewhat bitter, sour aftertaste that is somewhat plastic in its flavor.

Nutrition

Again, these are jelly beans, so anyone looking to them for nutrition needs to understand they are based upon a sugary food product, so they're not going to be terribly 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! However, "vegan compliant" depends on just how strict a Vegan your Vegan is, so the beeswax in the Jelly Belly Pancakes & Maple Syrup jelly beans might be a dealbreaker for some Vegans. Jelly Belly jelly beans have only one percent of the daily sodium with their 25 mg and they are gluten free! These are also made in a peanut free factory. 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.

Storage/Clean-up

Jelly Belly jelly beans have a shelf life of approximately one and a half years 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 cool 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 as well as they can.

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 (fortunately, these are not sticky like actual maple syrup). I've never had Pancakes & Maple Syrup Jelly Bellys stain anything.

Overall

Jelly Belly Pancakes & Maple Syrup jelly beans taste more like plastic than pancakes and the hints of maple syrup do not last long enough to sell consumers on these beans.

For other flavors of Jelly Bellys, please check out my reviews of:
Hot Chocolate
Bubbly
Honey Bean

3.5/10

For other food reviews, please visit my Food Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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A Mild Cocoa: Jelly Belly Hot Chocolate Jelly Beans Are All Right!

The Good: The flavor is not bad and does not fade, Good ingredients
The Bad: Environmentally irresponsible bulk, Flavor is not terribly strong, Only seasonally available!
The Basics: Jelly Belly Hot Chocolate jelly beans are interesting, but more average in their execution than they are exceptional.


Sometimes, ambition undermines a brand. In the case of Jelly Belly jelly beans, the idea of some of the flavors have been undermined by the Jelly Belly Dips, chocolate covered jelly beans. Before the Dips were created, chocolate-flavored Jelly Belly jelly beans were easily the standard of what a chocolate flavored jelly bean could be. Unfortunately, by making chocolate covered jelly beans, the Dips line of Jelly Belly beans has raised the bar for what one could expect of a jelly bean that is supposed to have a chocolate flavor. Having had some good flavors of Jelly Belly Dips, it is hard to go back to chocolate flavored jelly beans that do not contain actual chocolate. As such, it has taken me a while to get around to reviewing the Jelly Belly Hot Chocolate flavored jelly beans.

The Hot Chocolate Jelly Belly jelly beans are only available for a limited time, in limited quantities, outside their seasonally-available winter Holiday Favorites assortment! So, I had to find the Hot Chocolate jelly beans in a one pound jar, as opposed to the bulk packages I usually like getting.

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 Cranberry Sauce, The Beanboozled Assortment, Pancakes And Maple Syrup, or their signature flavor Buttered Popcorn.

The Hot Chocolate Jelly Belly jelly beans are (currently) only available within assortments or in one-pound packages on their own. There is not currently a bulk option for these seasonally-available beans.

Basics

Hot Chocolate is a limited edition flavor of Jelly Belly jelly beans, which is being returned to the market as a seasonal bean. 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 holiday Hot Chocolate and they have a somewhat chocolatey flavor that mimics the popular beverage.

Hot Chocolate flavored Jelly Bellys are remarkably easy to recognize and distinguish from other Jelly Bellys, except the other red/brown-colored beans. Hot Chocolate Jelly Bellys are a simple brownish red color.

Ease Of Preparation

These are jelly beans, not trying to make Hot Chocolate with milk over an open flame. In the case of the one pound jar, one might want to put them in a candy dish of some form as opposed to always going into the jar. Then again, the jar is not very large, so it’s not like you could spill a ton if your jar tips.

Taste

Hot Chocolate Jelly Bellys do not have a strong scent at all. Opening the bag of Hot Chocolate Jelly Belly jelly beans, there is a vague cocoa smell, much like the scent of a mug that had hot chocolate in it, but the fluid has been drunk. The Hot Chocolate Jelly Belly jelly beans are not overly aromatic.

On the tongue, the Hot Chocolate Jelly Bellys taste mildly chocolatey, a condition that is more generically sweet than they are distinctly chocolatey. The chocolate flavor is nowhere near as strong as the actual chocolate flavor from the real chocolate on Jelly Belly Dips. However, as one chews the Hot Chocolate Jelly Belly jelly beans, the flavor of chocolate explodes from the center of the jelly beans. The Hot Chocolate Jelly Belly jelly beans actually start to taste more and more like hot cocoa the more of them one places in the mouth!

Despite a somewhat more mild chocolate flavor than one might like, the Hot Chocolate flavored Jelly Bellys do not diminish in flavor, regardless of how many one consumes. One might have to eat a lot at a time, but they do not start tasting less flavorful as one goes on, which is nice!

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! Fortunately, these are not at all fatty like chocolate has a tendency to be! 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 of carbs.

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! So long as your Vegan does not mind beeswax, these are Vegan compliant. They have only one percent of the daily sodium with 15 mg and they are gluten free! The Hot Chocolate jelly beans are made in a peanut-free factory and the main ingredients are sugar, corn syrup and modified food starch.

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. They remain freshest when they are kept in an airtight container (the jar is fine, if it is kept sealed without air in it) 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 Hot Chocolate Jelly Bellys stain anything.

Overall

Hot Chocolate Jelly Belly jelly beans are all right, but the chocolate flavor is very mild, especially when compared to the Jelly Belly Dips, making them a harder sell for fans of Jelly Belly jelly beans than they ought to have been.

For other Jelly Belly jelly bean flavors reviewed by me, please check out:
Egg Nog
Tabasco
Coconut Dips

5/10

For other Jelly Belly jelly bean reviews, please check out my Ultimate Jelly Belly Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Not A Fan Of Cranberry Sauce . . . Jelly Belly (Unfortunately) Gets It Right!

Click here to purchase the 16 oz. pack of
Cranberry Sauce Jelly Belly Jelly Beans
directly from Jelly Belly.com!
The Good: Accurate flavor, Good ingredients
The Bad: Environmentally irresponsible bulk, Flavor fades fast, Only seasonally available!
The Basics: If you don’t like cranberry sauce, Jelly Belly Cranberry Sauce jelly beans aren’t likely to convert you to the cause!


I have a lot of respect for the Jelly Belly Candy Company; they take risks. In fact, they take so many risks (in a positive way) that they have forced me to actually think about how I review some things – like foods. Having absolute standards often makes it tough to objectively review things that are somewhat subjective (like taste). In the case of Jelly Belly jelly beans, I run into the occasional problem of jelly beans that taste like what they are supposed to . . . but I don’t like the source material. Such is (mostly) how it is for me with their Cranberry Sauce jelly beans.

The Cranberry Sauce Jelly Belly jelly beans are only available for a limited time, in limited quantities . . . outside their seasonally-available winter Holiday Favorites assortment! When I bought my local shop out of their one-pound packages of Cranberry Sauce Jelly Belly jelly beans, my wife was thrilled (she loves cranberry sauce). I am, honestly, not a fan. Jelly Belly, however, gets the flavor of cranberry sauce mostly right. The reason I, ultimately, found myself able to give these jelly beans a lower rating (something I seldom do when the flavor tastes like what it is supposed to!) is that these beans never become quite as sour as actual cranberry sauce and the flavor fades ridiculously fast. For a potent flavor like cranberry sauce, even if I don’t like it, it’s not a good representation if the nasty, sour, remind-me-of-unpleasant-Thanksgiving-dinners-where-I-was-forced-to-eat-cranberry-sauce-even-though-I-was-old-enough-to-know-I-did-not-like-it flavor if it dissipates from the taste buds within a minute of consumption.

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 Tabasco, The Beanboozled Assortment, Hot Chocolate, or their signature flavor Buttered Popcorn.

The Cranberry Sauce Jelly Belly jelly beans are (currently) only available within assortments or in one-pound bags on their own. There is not currently a bulk option for these seasonally-available beans.

Basics

Cranberry Sauce is a limited edition flavor of Jelly Belly jelly beans, which is already gone for the year in most stores. 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 holiday Cranberry Sauce and they live up to that fairly well.

Cranberry Sauce flavored Jelly Bellys are very easy to mix up with any number of other Jelly Belly jelly beans. Cranberry Sauce Jelly Bellys are a solid dark red color that can easily be mistaken for at least three other, more common, flavors.

Ease Of Preparation

These are jelly beans and consumption is about as easy as opening a can of cranberry sauce! In the case of the one pound bag, one might want to put them in a candy dish of some form as opposed to always going into the bag. Then again, the bag is not huge, so it’s not like you could spill a ton eating them directly from the bag.

Taste

Cranberry Sauce Jelly Bellys do not have a very strong scent, which surprised me because cranberries are so aromatic. Opening the bag of Cranberry Sauce Jelly Belly jelly beans, there is a very mild, fruity smell.

On the tongue, Cranberry Sauce Jelly Belly jelly beans explode with flavor. They land on the tongue with the sour flavor of the familiar bog fruit and the sourness rises to the crescendo of flavor one expects . . . until it stops just shy and becomes sugary. Cranberry Sauce Jelly Belly jelly beans are like drinking the last of a glass of cranberry juice that has had sugar added to it. You get the juice/fruit flavor, then it is replaced by the sugar at the bottom of the glass which is mostly sweet, but vaguely cranberry flavored as well. These never become as sour as actual cranberries.

As well, the Cranberry Sauce flavored Jelly Bellys diminish in flavor ridiculously quickly. After only a few seconds, the sourness is replaced by sugar and they do not have a sour, cranberry or Cranberry Sauce aftertaste that lingers in the mouth. Instead, those of us who find the taste of Cranberry Sauce unpleasant get to forget about it about two seconds into consuming these beans and within thirty seconds of swallowing the last of them. This is not a flavor that lingers.

Nutrition

These are jelly beans, not the fruit upon which they are based, so anyone looking to them for nutrition needs to understand they based upon something that is not inherently nutritious! Sadly, these do not have any of the vitamins of cranberries (which is relevant because the Sunkist fruit Jelly Belly jelly beans do have vitamin C!). 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! So long as your Vegan does not mind beeswax, these are Vegan compliant. 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.

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. They remain freshest when they are kept in an airtight container (the bag is fine, if it is kept sealed without air in it) 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 Cranberry Sauce Jelly Bellys stain anything.

Overall

Cranberry Sauce Jelly Belly jelly beans are enough to satisfy fans of cranberry sauce on the off-season (my wife is currently enjoying the rest of ours!), but it is not a great flavor for those who do not like cranberry sauce or who are fans of jelly beans that have a vibrant, true, and enduring flavor to them.

For other Jelly Belly jelly bean flavors reviewed by me, please check out:
Bubbly (Champagne)
Pumpkin Pie
Draft Beer

4/10

For other Jelly Belly jelly bean reviews, please check out my Ultimate Jelly Belly Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

Buy the Cranberry Sauce Jelly Belly Jelly Beans
directly from Jelly Belly.com!

Distinct, But Weak, Jelly Belly Egg Nog Jelly Beans Pop Up For The Holidays!

Click here to purchase the 16 oz. pack of
Egg Nog Jelly Belly Jelly Beans
directly from Jelly Belly.com!
The Good: Accurate flavor, Flavor does not fade, Good ingredients
The Bad: Environmentally irresponsible bulk, Flavor is not terribly strong, Only seasonally available!
The Basics: Not enough to make fans of Egg Nog come running for the candy dish, Jelly Belly still gets the flavor of their Egg Nog jelly beans right!


I admire ambition in manufacturers of the things I love. Ambition has led the Jelly Belly Candy Company to create a massive inventory of some of the very best jelly beans on the planet. I understand when one produces so many flavors and has such high quality standards that some flavors have to be cut every now and then to keep the product lines focused (though I doubt I’ll ever forgive Jelly Belly for getting rid of Ice Blue Mint and I recall there was once an Earl Grey flavor Jelly Belly jelly bean . . .). For years, I swore that Jelly Belly had once made an Egg Nog flavored jelly bean and finally, my apparently crazed ramblings were proven correct when Egg Nog Jelly Belly jelly beans were returned to the marketplace!

The Egg Nog Jelly Belly jelly beans are only available for a limited time, in limited quantities . . . outside their seasonally-available winter Holiday Favorites assortment! So, I bought my local shop out of their one-pound packages on the remembrance of what the Egg Nog Jelly Belly jelly beans tasted like. And I ended up a little (but not much) disappointed. While the Egg Nog jelly beans taste like Egg Nog, they don’t have the most forceful, creamy, powerful flavor; this is like a slightly watered down version of Egg Nog and that means one has to eat these Jelly Bellys more than one at a time to truly release their flavor potential!

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 Tabasco, The Beanboozled Assortment, Cranberry Sauce, or their signature flavor Buttered Popcorn.

The Egg Nog Jelly Belly jelly beans are (currently) only available within assortments or in one-pound bags on their own. There is not currently a bulk option for these seasonally-available beans.

Basics

Egg Nog is a limited edition flavor of Jelly Belly jelly beans, which is being returned to the market as a seasonal bean. 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 holiday Egg Nog and they generally live up to that.

Egg Nog flavored Jelly Bellys are remarkably easy to recognize and distinguish from other Jelly Bellys, even the other yellow-colored beans. Egg Nog Jelly Bellys are dull yellow color with occasional gray spots.

Ease Of Preparation

These are jelly beans, not trying to make Egg Nog from scratch (seriously, buy it by the carton – homemade is too hard!)! In the case of the one pound bag, one might want to put them in a candy dish of some form as opposed to always going into the bag. Then again, the bag is not huge, so it’s not like you could spill a ton if disaster befell your bag.

Taste

Egg Nog Jelly Bellys do not have a strong scent at all. Opening the bag of Egg Nog Jelly Belly jelly beans, I could not smell a thing. That surprised me because Egg Nog usually smells like nutmeg, at least.

The mild aroma of the Egg Nog Jelly Belly jelly beans is mirrored in the flavor, though the beans are by no means tasteless. Instead, the Egg Nog Jelly Belly jelly beans have a buttery, nutmeg flavor that is distinct to Egg Nog. Unfortunately, that flavor is not at the forefront of the palate; these beans do not overwhelm or impress the taste buds. Instead, these are like watered-down Egg Nog jelly beans. Only when I put four or more in my mouth at a time did the flavor become creamy enough to taste realistically like a good egg nog. The flavor is not bad, it is just not potent enough.

That said, the Egg Nog flavored Jelly Bellys do not diminish in flavor, regardless of how many one consumes. One might have to eat a lot at a time, but they do not start tasting less flavorful as one goes on, which is nice!

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! Fortunately, these are not at all fatty like Egg Nog! 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! So long as your Vegan does not mind beeswax, these are Vegan compliant. 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.

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. They remain freshest when they are kept in an airtight container (the bag is fine, if it is kept sealed without air in it) 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 Egg Nog Jelly Bellys stain anything.

Overall

Egg Nog Jelly Belly jelly beans might not have been worth my wait for them to return to the marketplace, but even having the less potent version of them is better than none at all! These Egg Nog jelly beans are worth picking up while they are available. And, hey, maybe if enough people do that, Jelly Belly will bring back the Earl Grey ones . . .

For other Jelly Belly jelly bean flavors reviewed by me, please check out:
Bubbly (Champagne)
Pumpkin Pie
Draft Beer

6.5/10

For other Jelly Belly jelly bean reviews, please check out my Ultimate Jelly Belly Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

Buy the Egg Nog Jelly Belly Jelly Beans
directly from Jelly Belly!