Welch’s Sour Jelly Beans

This week, like last week, we have another sour variation of a brand that I reviewed the first week of the site, back in March 2016. Like the SweeTarts Sour Jelly Beans, I was surprised recently to discover that Welch’s had put out a set of sours.

I was pretty favorable in my original Welch’s review. I admit I barely remember them now, so all I can do to compare this set is to look back on what I wrote then, but let’s see how they do.

Size and shape

The average size of Welch’s Sour Jelly Beans seems just right, and pretty consistent. The shape is uninspiring and inconsistent, but there is, like the original Welch’s beans, a modest attempt to give them a bean shape. This results in some flatness, but the effort is appreciated.

3 out of 5 beans

Chewability

There’s a weird range in chewability here. Most beans have the right amount, but some are very difficult. The good ones have a decent, but thin, shell, and insides that offer a moderate amount of resistance. I’ll dock a bean for the high quantity of poor ones, but overall, I’m very satisfied with the chewability.

4 out of 5 beans

Texture

The most notable thing about the texture of these jelly beans is that they have a powder coating that is very similar to Sour Patch Kids Jelly Beans that seems to be the source of the sour aspect of the flavor. In the Sour Patch review, I didn’t mind this coating and the matte finish that it creates, but four years later, I’m less enthusiastic about it. I feel that jelly beans should have very smooth, glossy surfaces.

Another issue is that some of the beans (not a huge amount, but more than I would consider acceptable) are missing a good chunk (20–40%) of their shell, which throws off the textural balance.

Otherwise, the texture is good, like the classic Welch’s beans. The shell breaks up into decent chunks and the insides are reasonably smooth.

3 out of 5 beans

Taste and flavor

Welch’s helpfully identifies their flavors on their bags, and their beans helpfully taste like what they claim to be! The lemon is the biggest disappointment. It should be much more sour, given how sour lemons are naturally.

Lukewarm lemon aside, the overall sourness is great. Despite the problem that the coating creates for the texture, it is quite effective at amping up the sourness of these jelly beans. It’s notable how well it works here, given how ineffectual the same technique was for the Sour Patch Kids Jelly Beans.

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.¹

Welch’s Sour Jelly Beans fare very well in the one-of-each test. The big blast of sour flavor is strong, but not overpowering; the volume of five beans at the right size is more than manageable; and the flavors mesh together well without melding into a single flavor.

It is quite a bit of sourness, though. My tongue is rebelling a little bit after doing five bunches in a row for this section of the review.

8 out of 10 beans

Conclusion

Welch’s Jelly Beans were a pleasant surprise for me in the first season, and I’m glad to see that they have another strong offering with their sour line, too. They even rated one bean higher in total! I could definitely see myself picking up more of these when I have a hankering for some of the sourest beans I’ve come across.