Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Brach’s Spiced Jelly Bird Eggs

Brach's Spiced Jelly BeansWhen I was very little, as far as I knew, Jelly Beans came in a scant few flavors and they were basically the same as Spice Drops. Later Jelly Belly came along and revolutionized jelly beans by trying to make everything into a flavor at least once.

Brach’s now calls their fruit blend of Jelly Bird Eggs their Classic Flavors, and they call what were, for about 100 years the classic flavors simply Spiced. I guess when a couple of generations grow up with fruity jelly beans, that happens. Now, I might complain that things have changed over the years, and a pound of coffee is no longer a pound of coffee ... but this bag is actually a pound of jelly beans. For only $2.49 ... not a bad deal overall ... if they’re any good.

Nowhere on the bag does it go beyond that name to describe what the flavors actually are. It appears there are six flavors.

Brach's Spiced Jelly Beans

I’ll start with Green which is epitome of a Spearmint jelly bean. It’s like a jelly bean version of Spearmint Leaves. The shell is grainy and far too sweet, but the center has a lot of fresh spearmint flavor, with little pops of extra flavor now and then. Very refreshing. I picked these out of the bag and ate them first.

Black is Licorice, which is not surprising to anyone who’s ever had jelly beans. The flavor is strongly anise, crisp and sweet but with a little bitter edge that I think may come from the artificial colors. I liked them, they were good but there were far fewer blacks than any other color in the bag.

White is Peppermint but a rather mild mint. As much as I like peppermint, it simply doesn’t go very well here. It’s weak and watery, kind of like a peppermint tea instead of a peppermint candy. Still, I didn’t avoid them and I enjoyed the fact that they didn’t have any colorings in them.

Orange is Orange Spice. I think it’s spiced orange, because it’s not Orange Slice orange, there’s a note of cinnamon and clove to the shell, but the center is orange. These irritated me, because I wanted a zesty Jelly Bird Egg equivalent of the Orange Slice. However, I applaud them for making an orange that was actually in keeping with the spice theme.

Pink is Wintergreen. I love wintergreen and these were pretty good, aromatic and medicinal but with a bitter finish.

Purple is Clove. I don’t care for clove as a candy flavor or spice, so I’ll pass on this one. It was strong and well rounded, with both aromatic notes and the bitterness that I’m never sure is coming from the flavorings or the colorings.

Red is Cinnamon. I like cinnamon a lot and I eat plenty of Hot Tamales. These were spicy and sweet, a good balance, especially since it seemed to come from the jelly center, not just the sugary shell.

On the whole, they’re an acceptable blend of flavors, just what I expected. I wish the sugar shell wasn’t quite so grainy and sweet, but the jelly center is actually rather smooth. The contain no pectin, they’re only jelled with corn starch.

The beans were made in Mexico. They have a beeswax and confectioners glaze on them, so most vegans would not eat these. Jelly Bird Eggs are made in a facility that also uses milk, eggs, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat and soy.

Related Candies

  1. David’s Signature Beans Jelly Bean Sampler
  2. Ferrara Pan White Hot Red Hots Jelly Beans
  3. Spearmint Leaves
  4. Russell Stover Pectin Jelly Beans
  5. Hot Tamales Spice Jelly Beans
  6. Gimbal’s Gourmet Jelly Beans
  7. Blueberry Hill Spice Jelly Beans


Name: Spiced Jelly Bird Eggs
    RATING:
  • SUPERB
  • YUMMY
  • TASTY
  • WORTH IT
  • TEMPTING
  • PLEASANT
  • BENIGN
  • UNAPPEALING
  • APPALLING
  • INEDIBLE
Brand: Brach’s
Place Purchased: Walgreen's (Glendale)
Price: $2.49
Size: 16 ounces
Calories per ounce: 104
Categories: Candy, Easter, Brach's, Ferrara Pan, Cinnamon, Jelly Candy, Mints, 5-Pleasant, Mexico, Walgreen's

POSTED BY Cybele AT 2:07 pm Tracker Pixel for Entry     CandyReviewEasterBrach'sFerrara PanCinnamonJelly CandyMints5-PleasantMexicoWalgreen's

Comments
  1. I always thought the orange one was supposed to be ginger.  (Though maybe I’m thinking of a different Spice mix.)

    Comment by Michaela on 3/25/15 at 2:19 pm #
  2. Last year they listed the flavors on the bag and orange was supposed to be ginger, you weren’t confused.

    Comment by celly on 3/25/15 at 6:03 pm #
  3. Don’t like the way Brach’s has changed the flavors of the spicy variety, not at all.  If it’s not broke, don’t try to fix it…....PLEASE !

    Comment by Bambi C on 3/31/15 at 7:24 pm #
  4. I specifically searched for these at the after-Easter sales. My bags also contained yellow pieces which taste like a spicy lemon and dark purple-ish black pieces (there were the normal black and purple pieces also) which I have yet to determine the flavor of. They are considerably harder than the other pieces in the bag which my dental work did not like. Maybe a manufacturing mistake?

    Comment by Chip on 4/08/15 at 7:49 am #
  5. Article says “It appears there are six flavors,” right above a picture of seven jelly beans.

    Also, I hate the spearmint, love the clove. We could share a bag and both be happy.

    Comment by Andy on 4/10/15 at 8:21 am #
  6. Haha Andy CLOVE is my all time favorite, think we could get them to make bags of just purple like they do the black -also yummy

    Comment by Bambi on 4/11/15 at 6:56 am #
  7. Yes, orange color is ginger flavored.

    Comment by Maureen on 4/11/15 at 8:50 pm #
  8. the orange is ginger flavored according to brachs.I use a lot of ginger when i cook and that is what it taste like to me

    Comment by ken on 5/24/15 at 9:13 pm #
  9. Looks lik a flavor similiarty to classic Necco wafers to me! (licorice, clove(!!), wintergreen-I love that flavor too, then one surprise that even Necco hasn’t used ion their wafers, ginger)..pretty soon Brach’s, whos already competin’ with Necco for Valentine candy, ,ay soon COPY Necco with these flavors with Brach’s own possible knockoffs (just kidding..)

    Comment by SJCarras on 12/16/15 at 11:11 pm #
  10. First, it might be relevant that Brach’s isn’t Brach’s anymore.  It belongs to Ferrarra candies.  This might explain why the flavors have changed some.  This year, (2016), I feel that all the flavors are less…flavored.  They just taste like High Fructose Corn syrup, and they don’t seem to have a lot of flavor at all.  I can’t really identify any of them.

    Second, the change may simply be cutting costs.  Bleach! 

    The spiced flavor jelly beans have become increasingly difficult to find, in the past five years.  I don’t much care for the fruit flavors, and have found there are some very pleasant jelly beans being sold by other companies. 

    I’ve also noticed that finding the spice/necco flavors of Valentine’s Day conversation hearts has become impossible.  The new flavors are simply flavorless.  They simply taste like eating fake sugar! 

    I do wish they would go back to candies that TASTE like something!

    Comment by Sue on 4/30/16 at 7:10 pm #
  11. Wow! I could not figure out the orange.  Then I read that it is ginger and now I taste it instantly!!! Thanks!  Now the only ones I don’t like are the white ones - just taste like sugar to me.

    Comment by Bonnie on 4/27/17 at 6:36 am #
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