Jell-O Jelly Beans

As a big childhood fan of Jell-O in all forms, I was very excited to see that one of this year’s big new releases was a Jell-O-branded set of beans! Let’s see if they live up to my nostalgic memories.

Size and shape

These jelly beans are right down the middle in terms of average size, and they are pretty consistent, as well. Shape is a bit more of a mixed bag. Most of them have a strong attempt at dimpling, but in many cases it’s so strong that it resulted in a significant flattening of the bean. Still, they look largely bean-like, if you squint.

3 out of 5 beans

Chewability

The chewability of these beans is decent. The insides are about right, but they err a bit on the side of too soft in the shell.

3 out of 5 beans

Texture

Jell-O Jelly Beans disappoint in this category. The shells are thin and disintegrate too quickly, leaving you with just the insides, which are a bit gummy.

2 out of 5 beans

Taste and flavor

Making up for the average-to-below-average scores in the prior categories, these beans taste great! Each flavor is very distinct and feels accurate to how the classic Jell-O flavors tasted, especially Lime and Strawberry.

Lime tastes remarkably similar to my memory of lime Jell-O, and Strawberry is not far behind. Cherry tastes pretty close to the Jell-O flavor, but with an extra hit of acid that is quite welcome. Orange is fine, but it was never one of my favorite flavors to begin with, so I remember it less well. Berry Blue is the one I’m least familiar with. I don’t think I’ve ever had Berry Blue Jell-O, but the jelly beans definitely give a distinct berry flavor with notes of raspberry and blackberry.

9 out of 10 beans

The one-of-each test

Perhaps the ultimate test of a bag of jelly beans is how enjoyable it is to take one of each flavor and eat them all at the same time.¹

Despite having good individual flavor, the one-of-each test disappoints. Part of that is due to the bubble gum consistency issue noted earlier, which is exacerbated when having five beans at once. The main problem, though, is that the flavors immediately meld together, and it’s difficult to pick out any one flavor amid the sea of monoflavor. The resulting taste is fine, but these beans just work better on their own.

5 out of 10 beans

Conclusion

These Jell-O Jelly Beans were a fun nostalgia trip with good flavor, but they’re held back by middling physical characteristics. Jell-O fans should try them at least once, but they are probably not worth an annual purchase.