I am 99% sure these CVS house brand jelly beans are just rebranded Brach’s Classic Jelly Bird Eggs that didn’t pass quality control. They have roughly the same size, the same colors, the same gritty shell and mealy insides, and the same terrible flavors that are all just minor variations on raw sugar.
The only difference I can identify between them (and I acknowledge that it’s been ten months since I reviewed Brach’s) is that there is much greater variance in size and shape with the Cottondale Assorted Jelly Beans. Hence, my accusation of them being rebranded Brach’s reject beans.
(I will also acknowledge that to lend credence to my comparison, I’m comparing the Cottondale beans to the beans that I can see through the window in the bag of an unopened bag of Brach’s Classic Jelly Bird Eggs, which I have kept in my house for months, for reasons beyond comprehension. I will decline to open them and directly compare the tastes of the two brands. I’m not so dedicated to my journalistic standards that I would voluntarily subject myself to more Brach’s bird eggs.)
That said, I will decline to rate these beans, as I did with the Brach’s Speckled Jelly Bird Eggs. I recognize that this is a bit of a cop-out, but I hope that maintaining my streak of posting something daily during this peak week of the season makes up for it a little.
I’ll be back with something guaranteed to be better than this tomorrow, and look out on Sunday for the biggest review yet on A Boy and His Beans!