Starburst Sweet Fiesta

One of my favorite new candy finds is Starburst Sweet Fiesta.  I picked them up at a 7-Eleven when I was actually searching for the lackluster Skittles Blenders.  Starburst Sweet Fiesta was the better of the two candies I bought that day and here's why - the Strawberry Pineapple chew. One of the four flavors in the Sweet Fiesta pack, the Strawberry Pineapple chew is one of the best candy flavors I have encountered in a long time.  It has a wonderful fresh pineapple tartness coupled with sweet and tangy strawberry.  Really awesome.  I would buy a whole pack of Strawberry Pineapple chews if I could.

The remaining 3 flavors in Sweet Fiesta are also good, just not as good as Strawberry Pineapple.  They are Cherry Mango, Melon Berry, and Peach Guava.

I hope the Starburst Sweet Fiesta stick around for a while.  I'm done with my pack and already want more, however I am noticing that this flavor is hard to find!  I guess I'm headed back to 7-Eleven.

Skittles Blenders

It's been way too long since my last post, but I'm back and there is lots of great candy to get to so let's do this.

Introducing new Skittles Blenders.  Oh Skittles, dear sweet Skittles.  Sometimes all it takes is one bad flavor to spoil the whole batch, yeah I'm talkin' about you Melon Berry Burst, but I'll get to you later, good things first.


The idea behind the Blenders is that they are "blended fruit flavors."  Let's look at the combos offered in a very particular order (best to worst):

Cherry Tropicolada - The red one. Tastes like cherry Lifesavers with a hint of coconut.  Yum.

Strawberry Lime Blast - The pink one.  The lime flavor isn't really strong, but the strawberry is pleasant with a tiny tang of sour.  Good.

Watermelon Green Apple Freeze - The green one.  I don't know where the "freeze" comes into play.  Is it supposed to taste like a slushie?  This one reminds me of a green apple Laffy Taffy.  Nice.

Mango Lemonade Freeze - The orange one.  On first chew, I couldn't really tell what flavor this was supposed to be.  However, the more I ate the more I could taste the lemonade flavor.  The mango is missing.  Eh.

Melon Berry Burst - The blue one.  This was my least favorite flavor and unfortunately the most plentiful color in my bag.  Why do candy companies insist in making melon flavored candy?  They are never good.  This one tastes like cucumbers and parsley.  Don't eat it first or it will ruin your whole palette.  Bleh.

Every Burger

The 85 degree temperatures in my non-air conditioned apartment have wreaked havoc on my candy supply.  Chocolate is melting all over the place and I've been forced to re-purpose my refrigerator's fruit bin into a "chocolate bin."  I'm in survival mode here.  I figured it was time post about the Every Burger before they ceased to exist in their intended form.  Allow me introduce you to the awesome Every Burger.

 A few weeks ago my friend Kurt took me to Chinese supermarket near his home in Ypsilanti with the promise that it had a really cool Asian candy section.  Walking into the market I initially had doubts that I would find anything appetizing.  The overwhelming smell of fish and creepy packages of freeze-dried baby octopi (for real, I have photos) clouded my judgement.  But then, at the front of the store out of fishy smell range was an entire aisle of bizarre, interesting, and beautifully packaged Japanese candy.

If there is one thing the Japanese do right it's cute.  Need proof, think Hello Kitty.  The Every Burger package is cute and the candies themselves are cute.  Each candy "burger" is made to look like a tiny hamburger.  A cookie shell forms the bun, complete with crumbles on top to resemble sesame seeds.  The brown "meat" portion consists of a chocolatey spread that has a smooth, Nutella-like quality to it.  There is even a dab of white spread atop the meat made to look like cheese.  I would compare the flavor to a Twix minus the caramel or a chocolate Yan Yan.  The Every Burger is really a tasty little bite and I appreciate the visual details put into each candy.  If after reading this review you decide that you cannot live another day without trying Every Burger for yourself, they are available for purchase online from various Asian food grocers.

Burger detail with melting chocolate

          

Skittles Fizzl'd Fruits

Oh Skittles...where did you go wrong? 

I don't know how the folks at Skittles ever okayed Fizzl'd Fruits for the market.  The concept is good, but the execution misses the mark.  Ever wonder what a Skittle dipped in baking soda tastes like?  Eat a Fizzl'd Fruit Skittle and you will find out.  The "fizzle" component tastes just like baking soda, and it really doesn't produce much fizzling action...at all.  The overall effect is just strange and unpleasant. 

If you're in the mood for fizzing candy, experience it done right with some Zotz or even Pop Rocks.  Hey, Skittles covered in Pop Rocks, sounds better already!

Hey, this marks my 100th post!  If I wasn't such a lazy butt, I would have reached this milestone long ago, but better late than never!  Thanks for reading!

Erfrischungsstabchen (or Refreshment Sticks)

Erfrischungsstabchen, hard to say but easy to eat.  I won't even try to pronounce it.  I picked these up last time I was in Germany and they have been hiding out in my fridge since.  My German boyfriend was amazed that I had never seen then before, apparently they are a classic treat for German kids.  Erfrischungsstabchen translates to "refreshment sticks" - and they are quite refreshing.  ES are small chocolate tubes filled with a refreshing shot of citrus liquid.  The liquid is clear and free-flowing with a sweet, pleasantly tart citrus taste.  The box says it contains an orange and lemon mix. I can't taste a difference between any of the sticks, so I assume the orange and lemon flavor is combined in each stick.  But I haven't told you about the best part.  Between the chocolate coating and citrus liquid there is a thin, crunchy shell of sugar encapsulating the liquid.  I don't know how they keep the sugar from melting, it must be magical feat of candy engineering. 

There are other brands of Erfrischungsstabchen in Germany, but the one featuring the cute orange and lemon characters is the original.  If you can't get to Germany and are interested in trying ES, you may want to look them up on the germandeli.com.

Anatomy of an Erfrischungsstabchen:

        

Happy National Licorice Day!

Did you know that April 12 is National Licorice Day?  Well, you do now!  Red, black, or watermelon, celebrate by enjoying your favorite flavor.  For me, Red Vines are the only way to go.  I can't begin to understand why anyone would purposely eat black licorice, but hey, to each his own!

Visit the Red Vines site to enter their National Licorice Day Sweepstakes for a chance to win some sweet prizes.

Or, check out the Licorice International site: https://www.licoriceinternational.com/. 

Starburst Summer Fun Fruits

I usually debit my gas purchases at the pump but last Saturday I went inside the gas station to get a fruit punch and I found the new Starburst Summer Fun Fruits.  The Summer Fun Fruits are regular Starburst fruit chews in flavors meant to capture the taste of summer.  So what does summer taste like?  Well, according to Starburst it tastes like kiwi banana, lemon-limeade, cherry splash, and strawberry watermelon.  Here's how the flavors break down:

kiwi banana - I thought this flavor would be gross me out, but it actually turned out to be one of the best.  I really couldn't taste kiwi, but the banana was delicate, fragrant, and not too sweet.  

lemon-limeade - I must admit, I bought the roll particularly to try this flavor but it was kind of a let-down.  I was hoping it would taste like a lemon-lime slush from Dairy Queen, but it had more of a Pine-Sol vibe.

cherry splash - Yum!  Tastes like Kool-Aid!

strawberry watermelon - The watermelon overpowers the strawberry and overall this flavor borders on being too sweet.  However, it works for the summer and is enjoyable in small doses.  

Look for them at a gas station near you!     

http://www.starburst.com/