Friday, January 30, 2015

Brach’s Conversation Heart Jelly Beans

DSC_8359rbBrach’s has another new item for their Valentine’s Day line: Brach’s Conversation Heart Jelly Beans.

Think about that name for a minute when you consider the product. They’re jelly beans with words printed on them. They’re bean shaped. The words are gushy commands or endearments. There are no hearts. There really aren’t even any conversations.

There’s no key on the package for the flavors, there’s not even a description of what the candy is. I consider this lazy. As far as I’m concerned, what happens is the confectioners come up with a product and the marketing and packaging people agree to make the most enticing package they can without actually committing to anything. So there’s no list of flavors, just some pictures of the candy and a name ... plus those obligatory things our government demands like ingredients and a nutritional panel.

There are six colors: pink, purple, green, orange, yellow and white. They’re not exactly pastel, like the package shows them, but not quite royal. The little mottoes include: Yours 4 Ever, I [heart] You, Peace, ILY, SWAK, Miss U, Hug Me, and Love. The print was red and hard to read on the orange, pink and purple beans, so only half were conversational, the others were whispering behind my back.

DSC_8385rb

White is probably Pineapple. It’s tangy and finishes with a tropical floral note.
Purple is Grape. This is a sad flavor, it’s sweet and tastes like ball point pens smell.
Pink is Watermelon. I was pretty surprised at the flavor. I can’t say that I couldn’t tell what it was. It starts very fake and floral with a little sour layer at the margin of the shell and the bean center ... and then it’s just sweet.
Green is Green Apple. This is the worst kind of fake apple flavor. It’s not tart or vibrant at first, but does end on a note that is more like actual apple juice.
Orange is Orange. These are fine. A little metallic and like orange Pixy Stix without the sour than a good orange jelly bean should be. (And Brach’s makes a more than competent Orange Slice, so they should know how to do an orange Jelly Bean.)
Yellow is Lemon. This is the best of the bunch and has a lot in common with Lemonheads, even though it’s a bit more mild.

All of the flavors were odd and evoked a strange association for me. The Watermelon, each time I ate one, left a sort of a hot iron flavor swirling around. Pineapple finished like a cream soda served in an anodized aluminum cup. Lemon reminded me of fresh roasted Hatch chili peppers. There were no actual flavors, just a weird note to each of them that was certainly atypical.

I didn’t like these much. I only liked half the flavors enough to pick them out: orange, lemon and pineapple ... if pressed, I would grab a grape. The printing wasn’t very good and the little lines weren’t interesting enough to warrant putting my glasses on to discern them. I will give them credit for adding in something like watermelon, which is pretty uncommon. I might like a little bit of warning next time.

Brach’s was part of the Farley’s & Sathers candy company for a few years, but now they’re rolled into Ferrara Candy Company. I actually like a lot of their jelly beans, especially the Lemonhead & Friends Jelly Beans. The unique take on conversation items might simply be something with more flavor than the traditional chalky heart. Instead, the Brach’s Conversation Heart Beans have only slightly bested the wafer based candies ...which was too low of a bar.

Related Candies

  1. Brach’s Gummi Conversation Hearts
  2. Brach’s Ice Cream Conversation Hearts
  3. David’s Signature Beans Jelly Bean Sampler
  4. Starburst Crazy Beans
  5. Brach’s Conversation Hearts
  6. Lemonhead & Friends Jelly Beans
  7. Necco Conversation Hearts (Sweethearts) 2010
  8. Jelly Belly for Valentine’s Day


Name: Conversation Heart Jelly Beans
    RATING:
  • SUPERB
  • YUMMY
  • TASTY
  • WORTH IT
  • TEMPTING
  • PLEASANT
  • BENIGN
  • UNAPPEALING
  • APPALLING
  • INEDIBLE
Brand: Brach’s
Place Purchased: Target (Eagle Rock)
Price: $2.79
Size: 13 ounces
Calories per ounce: 94
Categories: Candy, Valentines, Brach's, Ferrara Pan, Jelly Candy, 5-Pleasant, United States, Target

POSTED BY Cybele AT 5:25 pm Tracker Pixel for Entry     CandyReviewValentinesBrach'sFerrara PanJelly Candy5-PleasantUnited StatesTarget

Comments
  1. This was by far the worse purchase in the guise of jelly beans! They all tasted like medicine, bitter and gross. I want my money back. I love jelly beans but have not found a good one since I was a kid. Bad news these are.

    Comment by Patricia on 1/31/15 at 4:26 pm #
  2. Jelly Belly has been making these “conversation beans” for at least a few years now, and I’m sure they’re far superior, and come with a flavor guide, as all their other bean assortments do.

    Comment by Sarah Tobergta on 2/03/15 at 4:18 pm #
  3. Maybe the marketing appeal of the new product is also in the mystery of the flavors. lol
    Thank you for investigating the flavors…so now I do not have to buy them.  They sound awful unfortunately- I agree Brachs should know & do better!
    What a huge disappointment:(
    A lifelong Jelly Bean Connoisseur

    Comment by Cyn on 2/04/15 at 8:20 am #
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