Mike and Ike Mega Mix Jelly Beans

Welcome to the tenth season of jelly bean reviews here on A Boy and His Beans! Compared to last year, I actually have one more package to review, thanks to a couple of international acquisitions in the off-season. More about those later, but we’ll kick things off today with a return to a beloved brand, Mike and Ike!

Mike and Ike candies are produced by the Just Born company, maker of many fine candies, the most well known of which is probably Peeps. I happened to be passing through Just Born’s hometown in the fall of 2023, and I snapped this pic of a Peeps car outside their headquarters:

Long-time readers will know that we’ve previously reviewed a number of Just Born products on this site, from their eponymous classic jelly beans to the original Mike and Ike Jelly Beans to Penny’s review of their spice beans to the marshmallow-flavored Peeps jelly beans.

I’m expecting some significant similarities to the previous Mike and Ike and Just Born sets, but I haven’t looked back at those reviews and will take a look at these with fresh eyes. Here we go!

Size and shape

These beans are a hair over what I’d consider the universal average size, and they are quite consistent in that aspect throughout the bag.

The shape is also pretty consistent, but it’s not especially bean-like. There is a half-hearted dimple on most of the beans, but the overall shape impression given by most of them is more lozenge-like.

4 out of 5 beans

Chewability

There’s nothing notable about how these beans chew, which is a good thing. They are neither too tough to be chewed endlessly without discomfort, nor so soft you feel like you’re chewing gum.

5 out of 5 beans

Texture

This is the point in the review where we admit that Mike and Ike “jelly beans” are really exactly the same as the classic Mike and Ike candy, with a slightly different shape. It becomes very clear when you consider the texture of the beans. (It’s also the same as the Just Born branded beans.)

I am personally a big fan of the Just Born / Mike and Ike chewy candy texture. The insides, in particular, have a perfect consistency. However, I have to dock this score slightly for not having as strong a shell as I believe that a proper jelly bean should have.

4 out of 5 beans

Taste and flavor

These Mega Mix Jelly Beans share the same 10 flavors as the Mega Mix box of the regular Mike and Ike candy, and they are largely more interesting flavors than the simple fruit flavors of the original Mike and Ike candy. Almost all of them are done very well, too.

There are three combinations of a fruit (strawberry, pineapple, or kiwi) with banana, and they all showcase both sides of the combo clearly. The other combination, Peach Berry, hits the peach solidly, but the berry side is somewhat muddled.

There are four single-fruit flavors that all work well, but they have a lower bar to clear. Watermelon perhaps leans a little too far into the slight tartness we often see with artificial watermelon flavors that is never there in real life. And I can’t put into words how it does it, but Grape Soda is somewhat notable for actually delivering on the “soda” part.

The dueling “punch” flavors may be the most elusive of the bunch, which is to say that words to describe how they taste different are eluding me. They are different, though, and both evoke the taste of a fruit punch.

I could quibble with the balance of flavors on offer here – Three banana combos and two different punches, really? – but all in all, it’s a really solid collection of tasty flavors.

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

The good news is that ten of these beans are actually chewable at once without injuring your jaw. Unfortunately, ten flavors is just too many for the flavors to maintain their distinctiveness for very long. Still, the baseline quality prevents it from becoming a pure sugar monoflavor, which is impressive.

6 out of 10 beans

Conclusion

We start the year off with a solid return for Mike and Ike! I absolutely recommend these to anyone looking for some quality beans with interesting flavors.