Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Sugarfina: The Gummis

Sugarfina - Bento BoxesSugarfina is a new candy webstore with a unique set of offerings.

Based in Southern California, Sugarfina brings a chic aesthetic to all their candy with their minimalist packaging in robin’s egg blue and square formats. The candy is sold in “bulk” that is, it’s repackaged by them and sold in an array of different weights. They have created a superb curated list of candies. Some you’ll recognize, but their biggest selling point is an array of exquisite European candies that I’ve never seen sold anywhere else.

Candy is sold in little boxes of different weights or in mixed boxes (they call Bentos) that make excellent gifts. Their team truly understand that candy should appeal first to the eye and then to the rest of the senses.

Sugarfina Bento Box

I still get plenty of offers for free candy samples, but lately it has to be something pretty special to get me to bite. But when you see this list of candies, you’ll see what got me interested. Today I’m presenting the assortment of gummis (and one jelly candy). All of the gummis are from Germany and most feature natural colors.

Sugarfina - Bitty Berries

Bitty Berries is a mix of three different gummis. There’s a large raspberry looking gummi that has a rather raspberry flavor. Then there are three smaller berries, kind of like petite blueberries that are different colors and flavors. The light amber ones are like a white grape juice flavor, lightly tangy but with a black currant note to them. The pink version is and the purple is like a jammy raspberry.  Blueberry, Raspberry, Blackberry, Cranberry and Bilberry.

They’re just exquisitely beautiful. Even when I wasn’t interested in eating them, they were just too cute to look at.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Sugarfina - Champagne Bears

Champagne Bears come in two colors: a soft peachy pink and a lightly yellow clear. The clear is like a clean apple juice flavor with a light peppery note. The peachy one is, well, much the same. I couldn’t really tell them apart except that sometimes the pink one seemed to be a little more raspberry flavored. They’re firm and intense. They’re well formed and held their shape well, even though they were jammed into their little cube.

I liked them, but didn’t think that they were anything better than the new juicy Haribo. But I do like the colors and think that for a special occasion, they’d be a nice favor.

Rating: 8 out of 10

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Sugar Peach Sweethearts - I was pretty scared of these. They smelled strongly of peach, not in a bad way but in a strong way. They were so strong that I had to take them out of the bento box and sequester them by themselves so as not to contaminate the chocolate pieces they were co-mingling with. So I was afraid that they’d be overwhelmingly chemical tasting.

Quite the opposite is true. They’re little miracle pieces, on the tongue they actual feel for a moment like a real peach. The texture of the sugar sanding is velvety like the fuzz of the peach. The flavor is at once tangy and fruity and honey-sweet and floral and woodsy, like actual peaches. There’s no weird artificial coloring in there to give it a metallic aftertaste. They’re a bit more tart that I’d probably like if I were to eat them by the handful, but as a little refresher on a hot day when I have a dry mouth, these are unbeatable. 

Rating: 10 out of 10

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Queen of Hearts were billed on the website as three different flavors: pineapple, grapefruit and black currant. They’re also three different sizes of hearts. So it’s a lovely looking combination, although the largest heard gets folded over a bit inside the little cube.

Pink was indistinct, but reminded me enough of pineapple to make me think that’s what it was. Slightly floral with a tart bite and a crisp flavor to it. It was more like canned pineapple though not as syrupy.

Clear tastes like peach. I’m not sure what flavor it was supposed to be, I was hoping it was the promised grapefruit, but it was tangy and a little peppery. (I did notice that the peach mentioned earlier were very strong, I was wondering if the flavor migrated from the more delicate grapefruit.)

The dark one was definitely black currant. It was strong and had notes of wine and deep boiled cherry.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Sugarfina - Cuba Libre Gummi

Cuba Libre is simply amazing. It’s a cola gummi, so far so good, with a little softer bubble of rum within. It’s stunning. The cola flavor is spicy and tart, a mix of nutmeg, cinnamon and perhaps a little warm kick of ginger but nothing overt and then the acidic bite of lemon. The rum is sweet and a little on the caramel side. I’ve never seen these anywhere else, and I can’t believe they aren’t being imported and sold in the US by the cargo container as it is. If there’s a reason to order from Sugarfina, it’s the Cuba Libre gummi.

Rating: 10 out of 10

Sugarfina - Minty Polar Bears

Minty Polar Bears are downright weird and I’ll go ahead and warn you that they’re not mint. They’re like a bubble gum flavored mentholated chewy cough drop. The first note on the tongue is a little tartness then a huge whiff of what I can only describe as acetone (which I sometimes get confused with banana flavoring). Then there’s a menthol hit, a little more of a sort of mild lime flavor and the bitterness of that zest. It all ends with a slight queasy feeling.

I’ve had eucalyptus gummis before and liked them quite a bit, so I was hoping for something like that. I find them curious enough that I continue to sample them from time to time. But I never feel like I want to eat another one, just that I should.

Rating: 6 out of 10

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Heavenly Sours are little stars, comets and crescent moons in fruity flavors. They’re sour sanded and come in lovely naturally tinted colors. They’re not actually gummis, they’re jellies. They’re made in the US, not in Germany like most of the other gummis from Sugarfina. They’re tart and have nicely distinguished flavors. Orange is a zesty and tart orange. Lemon is wonderfully sour. Blue is raspberry and a little overdone. Red is cherry and is, well, cherry.

Rating: 7 out of 10

As a thank you gift or something for someone who has everything, this is a great option. It’s not cheap, so it’s not something I’m likely to treat myself to very often. They also have lots of themed boxes and kits, so it’s easy to pick for Coffee Lovers, Licorice Aficionados, or Caramel Fiends. The large bento boxes with 8 x 4 ounce boxes of treats are $50. By the pound, the candy is $17.50.

They do a good job of labeling for allergies as well, even if they won’t tell me who make those Cuba Libre gummis.They’re currently only available via the web, but there’s talk of a store in the future here on the west side of Los Angeles.

POSTED BY Cybele AT 3:24 pm Tracker Pixel for Entry     CandyReviewColaGummi CandySour6-Tempting7-Worth It8-Tasty10-SuperbGermanyUnited StatesHighlightShopping

Comments
  1. The Minty Polar Bears review was reminscent of Pynchon’s famous “Disgusting English Candy Drill” from Gravity’s Rainbow

    Comment by Susan In L.A. on 7/10/13 at 4:49 pm #
  2. Cuba Libra gummies not sold through Sugarfina.  Tadaaaaa: http://www.bears-and-buddies.com/ShoppingCart/ProductDetail.php?item=8007

    Comment by M on 7/10/13 at 6:23 pm #
  3. As soon as you mentioned they were based in Southern California I rushed to their website to see if they had a storefront in LA! So disappointing they don’t have one yet, but you have convinced me that I need to order a sampler. I’m a gummy fiend and everything sounds amazing. Thanks for an in-depth review, as always!

    Comment by Elizabeth - About.com Candy on 7/10/13 at 8:31 pm #
  4. So much candy to choose from. One at a time for me.

    Comment by Jake on 7/11/13 at 6:39 am #
  5. I want a box!!!

    Comment by artemis on 7/11/13 at 7:40 pm #
  6. Their selection of malted milk balls has me salivating!

    Comment by Miranda on 7/12/13 at 9:04 am #
  7. That website could be dangerous to my health and pocket book, especially the assortments of caramels and malted milk balls.

    Comment by Michelle on 7/12/13 at 10:40 am #
  8. looks so yummy..I needs one bucket..

    Comment by MusicLV on 7/15/13 at 11:42 pm #
  9. Aaaand once again you have been a serious enabler!  I placed an order for 8 different candies, and the shipping costs were absolutely absurd ($14, I think) but it came very quickly.  I’m looking forward to tucking into those Cuba Libre gummis tonight, but if they’re worth reordering, I think I’ll go through the website M mentioned!

    Comment by caffeinequeen on 7/24/13 at 2:38 pm #
  10. Looks very delicious! I want to order smile

    Comment by Abby on 11/26/13 at 2:07 am #
  11. The Bears and Buddies site requires a minimum order of 8 1LB bags. Just figured I’d post in case anyone was considering. I did order from Sugarfina and the shipping costs are indeed nuts. But it was so worth it.

    Comment by Austen Frazier on 2/21/14 at 8:40 am #
  12. Have you tried Sockerbit yet?  Their flagship store is in New York City, but they are opening in L.A. this spring. They have all kinds of licorice, tummies, etc.  They are a Swedish candy shop.  Yummy stuff.

    Comment by Gitte Collins on 4/02/14 at 9:15 pm #
  13. Not tummies - Gummies… geez!! LOL

    Comment by Gitte Collins on 4/02/14 at 9:17 pm #
  14. Cybele's avatar

    Gitte - the new Sockerbit is right near me! I’ll be there opening week. Here’s my review of the NY store.

    Comment by Cybele on 4/02/14 at 9:51 pm #
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