Sour Patch Kids Jelly Beans

Happy Monday, folks! Today’s review is a real curiosity. Long-time readers may remember that I have already reviewed Sour Patch Jelly Beans – note the lack of the word “Kids” in the name of that package – a four-flavor package made by Mondelēz International. This is an entirely new package, now branded with the word “Kids”, with five flavors, made by the Frankford Candy company.

How different will they be? I’m not sure, and I can barely remember the first set, so I’ll be leaning heavily on the text of that first review for comparison, but it’s time to find out!

Size and shape

While the average size oft these beans is right on, their shape leaves a lot to be desired. I dinged the previous Sour Patch Jelly Beans for being too spherical and having no dimple, but in this case, most of the beans are more flat than they are round. They remind me of the kind of shape you’d look for in a skipping stone. Most of them do have a dimple, but it’s somewhat oddly placed, typically on one of the flat sides.

2 out of 5 beans

Chewability

These Sour Patch Kids Jelly Beans have very good, but not perfect, chewability. Whereas the Sour Patch Jelly Beans had shells that were too hard, I wish the shell on these was a little bit more substantial. Otherwise, though, they chew very well. The insides have a nice resistance, but they don’t overstay their welcome.

4 out of 5 beans

Texture

Like the old Sour Patch Jelly Beans, this new batch also uses a powder-coating technique to achieve the sourness one would expect for a Sour Patch Kids candy. At the time of the prior review, I didn’t mind that, but as I recently discussed in the Welch’s Sour Jelly Beans review, I’ve decided that I find this antithetical to the ideal jelly bean shell texture, which (in my humble opinion) is as smooth as possible.

In contrast to the previous batch, Sour Patch Kids Jelly Beans do not have a shell that is too thick. Instead, it’s a little too thin, disappearing into the insides very quickly as you chew. The insides are very smooth, and not mealy at all.

3 out of 5 beans

Taste and flavor

This new set of beans lists their flavors on the outside of the package, including the revelation that the official name for the red flavor is “Redberry”, which is backed up by the official Sour Patch Kids website¹. Supposedly, they have even registered a trademark on the name “Redberry”. As I noted before, Wikipedia claims that Redberry is supposed to be Raspberry, but it’s hard to know how much to trust that. This Redberry jelly bean tastes very clearly like ripe strawberries. Unfortunately, it also doesn’t taste very much like the classic Sour Patch Kids Redberry flavor, which I am very well acquainted with. It’s a great flavor, just not the Sour Patch Kids red flavor I expect.

Aside from that disappointment, the other flavors do a better job of mimicking the gummies’ flavors than the Sour Patch Jelly Beans. They’re also considerably more sour than I remember the earlier set being, and right in line with the sourness of the original gummy candy. That makes me happy.

I have to dock a couple beans for being off the mark on the most iconic Sour Patch Kids flavor, but on the whole, these really taste great.

8 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.²

The fifth flavor in this bag improves upon the the four-flavor one-of-each experience of the Sour Patch Jelly Beans. As I said then, having only four beans felt underwhelming.

Five beans of the right size and good chewability makes this test a delight from a physical point of view; The extra burst of sourness is felt, but doesn’t overpower; and the flavors can be tasted pretty distinctly. Sour Patch Kids Jelly Beans makes a very strong showing in this category!

9 out of 10 beans

Conclusion

I’m pleased to say that the second edition of Sour Patch (Kids) Jelly Beans improves upon its predecessor significantly, adding five total beans in the final tally! I am likely to actually buy these again, whereas I would not have bought the first set again.

Well done, Sour Patch Kids!