Gummy Storm Troopers

Haribo Techno Bears

My last product review from my Pearl's order is for Haribo Techno Bears.  I was drawn to these because of their metallic appearance, it made me very curious since usually a candy with this kind of gimmick would be cheap and terrible, but these were Haribo so they may actually be good.  Unfortunately, I wasn't really impressed.  I'm not sure if my batch was a bit older and stale or if the texture is always this way, but these were very tough, much harder then the Gold Bears.  These were about 1.5-2x's larger so they are more of a mouthful but the flavors were lackluster.  For the most part they seemed like lighter flavoring of the Gold Bears, the only new additions were the Apple and Sour Raspberry.  The Apple was boring and the Sour  Raspberry had a medicine taste to it.  As I said, it may have just been a stale batch since others have given this a positive review, but in my opinion, these are not worth it and the only appeal is the metallic coloring and the larger size.

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Texture: These were much harder then the Gold Bears, to an unpleasant degree.  It was too much work to chew these.

Flavors: There are 6 flavors: Pinapple (purple), Lemon (yellow), Sour Raspberry (blue), Orange (orange), Cherry/Strawberry not sure which (pinkish red), Apple (green)

Cost: $0.33/oz, 9oz bag, at Pearl's Nostalgic Candy, Chocolate, and Nuts (pearlscandynh.com)

Availability: These aren't as widespread as the Gold Bears, but they are easily located at candy shops and grocery stores.  Several online retailers also carry these at decent rates.

Haribo Saft Goldbaren (Juice Gold Bears)

I have read elsewhere that German Gold Bears, Goldbaren, are far superior to the Gold Bears imported to the US, which are actually made in Turkey.  Naturally, I decided I had to try these at some point.  In searching online, I found that there are actually two versions sold in Germany, the regular Goldbaren and the Saft Goldbaren.  I decided to try the Saft version first.

At first I thought saft translated to soft, but it actually translates to juice.  This makes sense since this version is actually 22% natural juices and uses natural colors and flavors.  As you can see from the image above, the colors are lighter and muted compared to the traditional coloring of gummies.  I actually think these are quite pretty.  When I opened this bag, a pleasant fruit smell wafted out.  I reached in at random and pulled out a yellow colored gummy, lime.  I was shocked, this tasted like a was eating a fresh lime or lemon.  I must admit, at first I was not a fan because I was expecting a more traditional sugar candy taste.  This was completely different and after eating a few, I realized that these are fantastic, I just had to get over my preconceived notion of what a gummy should taste like.

These are softer then the Gold Bears in texture, but still a bit firmer then other brands of gummies. They are about the same size as the Gold Bears, maybe a tad larger.  The flavors are unique and incredibly refreshing.  There are six: raspberry, black current, apple, pear, peach, and lime.  Though I was initially turned off by the realistic lime flavor, this was actually my favorite in the end.  All of the flavors were naturally sweet tasting and slightly tart, like real fruit.  The raspberry tasted like fresh raspberry, it was unbelievable.  These flavors were written directly on my bag.  I've seen some other online reviews only showing five flavors, leaving off the black current flavor in their listing.  I'm not sure if Haribo added this flavor later or if people are missing the difference between the raspberry and black current.  Though they are photographing as two very different colors (see the raspberry and black current right next to each other in the image above on the bottom left), in person they are easy to mix up and the flavors are similar.  I think the black current has more of a tangy sour flavor compared to the raspberry though.

Overall, while I still enjoy my traditional Gold Bears, I think I actually prefer the Saft Goldbaren.  Unfortunately, I don't believe these are available in the US and online retailers are the only option.  I purchased mine on Amazon since a 450g bag (about 1lb) through the Euro Food Mart seller was $10.98 with free shipping.  In comparison, the bulk rate for Gold Bears on Amazon is $14.98 for 5lb.  As usual, you get what you pay for and believe me, these are worth the price hike.  Be warned though, 1lb won't last as long as you think!

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Texture: These are a bit softer then Gold Bears, but still firmer then other brands.

Flavors: There are 6 amazing flavors: Raspberry (red), Black Current (reddish purple, very similar color to the Raspberry in person though it is photographing much darker), Apple (green), Pear (clear), Peach (Orange), Lime (yellow). 

Cost: about $0.69/oz, $10.98 for a 450g bag on Amazon

Availability: These are only available in Europe, possibly only Germany for all I know.  However, these can be easily ordered from online retailers.  The packaging seems similar to the regular Goldbaren packaging, which has different flavors.  Make sure you are ordering the Saft version.

"Gummy Bear Skin Rug"

Found this amusing photo floating around on the web, it was on various sites, but I believe it originated on Laser Bread's Flickr account.  There's some awesome stuff on there, so you should take some time to check it out.

World's Largest Gummy Bears' Big Bears

I finally made it through tasting all 11 flavors of the Big Bears.  These were very large, about 3-4 inches tall each so you really can only eat one at a time.  Check out the image above of the Big Bears compared to a Haribo Gold Bear.

I ordered these directly from the World's Largest Gummy Bear Website.  Other online vendors sell these, but by ordering directly, you can pick and choose your flavors for a 6 pack of the Big Bears. Other vendors have pre-made packs of different flavor selections, mostly of the traditional flavors like Cherry, Lime, Orange, and Blue Raspberry.  The shipping on these was extremely fast, I received these two days after ordering using the standard FedEx shipping rate.

The first thing I noticed when I opened the package, apart from the size of the bears, was the great bright colors.  When I actually opened the containers, the strong fruity smells were intoxicating.  The packaging is great, it is a snap shut clamshell that you can open, take out one gummy, and snap back closed to keep the gummies fresh for later.  Each bear is nestled in a bear shaped pop-out, keeping the flavors from mixing.  Additionally, once you have consumed all of the bears, these containers are great to save for Jello Jigglers or Gummy shaped Jello Shots.

All of the flavors were very intense and the bears had a firm texture.  For some reason, I expected these to be really soft, but it makes sense that they were very firm since the larger sizes would require more stability then a very squishy form.  Some flavors were better then others.  I HATED the Cola and Cherry Cola, they tasted like very flat Pepsi products, like glasses that were left out for days to fizz out before drinking.  My favorites were the Pineapple, which tasted like a pina coulda, and the orange and lemon which both had a nice zest to them.  I usually really like Grape, but this tasted like Welch's grape juice, which I didn't like, I was expecting the grape artificial flavoring usually used for candy and grape sodas.  On the other hand, I usually don't like Blue Raspberry, I usually think they are too sweet, but this one was pretty good, had some blueberry flavoring mixed in there too maybe.  If you are ordering a 6 pack, I recommend Pineapple, Lemon, Cherry, Blue Raspberry, Apple, and Orange.

When I first ordered these, it was really just for the novelty of the size.  I was expecting these to be very gooey and soft and to have horrible cheap flavors.  I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed at least 6 out of the 11 flavor options.  Overall, I think these would make a fun gift and while I can't comment on the texture of the larger sized bear options, I can say that there are some good flavor options available for any sized order.

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Texture: These were very firm, a good texture for a gummy of this size.

Flavors: There are 11 flavor options.  I recommend Pineapple, Lemon, Cherry, Blue Raspberry, Apple, and Orange.  Other flavors were not as great in my opinion, but I took notes on all of them throughout my taste-test, which took several days.  All flavors were very intense and smelled very fruity.

Pineapple (Clear)- tasted like a Pina Coulda, very good

Grape (Purple)- tasted like Welch's grape juice, I didn't really care for this

Lemon (Yellow)- slight zest, didn't have a "cleanser" taste like some lemons do, like a lemonhead but not sour

Cola (Brown)- very flat Pepsi, not pleasant

Cherry (Red)- typical cherry flavoring, ok for cherry candy lovers, nothing special

Lime (Light Green)- I'm not a fan of Lime candies, they all have that "cleanser" taste, this one did a bit too, but less then others, lime candy lovers will probably like this

Blue Raspberry (Blue)- nice berry taste, some blueberry flavoring in there too I think

Apple (Dark Green)- tasted a lot like a green Jolly Rancher

Bubblegum (Pink)- slight classic bubble gum flavor, overall just a very sweet taste, ok, not great though

Cherry Cola (Maroon)- VERY flat Cherry Pepsi, my LEAST favorite

Orange (Orange)- very intense orange, slight zest, reminds me of orange Jello flavoring

Cost: $11.95 for a 6 pack

Availability: These are available from several online retailers, including Vat 19, which sells all of the World's Largest Gummy Bear Products.   Ordering directly from World's Largest Gummy Bears, www.giantgummybears.com, allows you to make up your own 6 pack though.  Pricing is about the same everywhere, so you may be able to track down some coupon codes for free shipping or something with other retailers.

The Gummy Bear Song

Every time I search for something gummy related I get so many hits for versions of the Gummy Bear Song.  I watched it once and now I can't get the song out of my head, so annoying!

Gustaf's Strawberry Gummy Pigs

I ordered these Gustaf's Gummy Pigs at the same time as the Cows, otherwise, after the Cows, I probably would have stayed away from Gustaf's Gummies.  Luckily, these aren't too bad.  They have the same foamy light texture as the Cows, but the flavor is much better.  Unlike the Cows, I don't feel like I am eating flavored fluoride.  These are supposed to be Strawberry, but the flavor is more of a light fruit, not really identifiable as Strawberry.  They aren't as sticky as a traditional gummy texture, so if you have issues with gummies sticking in teeth and/or braces these may be an alternative gummy for you.  These are very cute, but I won't buy again unless I have a need for a pig themed candy for some reason, which I doubt.  However, unlike the Cows, the Pigs will likely be eaten at some point.  The Cows are already in a landfill somewhere.

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Texture: These are a light fluffy, kind of foamy gummy.

Flavors: These are supposed to be Strawberry.  I'm not really getting that, but they do have a pleasant light fruit flavor.

Cost: $0.33/oz, 9oz bag, at Pearl's Nostalgic Candy, Chocolate, and Nuts (pearlscandynh.com)

Availability: These are imported from the Netherlands so they can be found at specialty and candy shops only.

No new review today, I'm still working my way through the Big Bears, one at a time.  Once I taste all of the flavors, I can post a review.  In the meantime, check out these spoofs of Guillver's Travels and Dune using a World's Largest Gummy Bear and a World's Largest Gummy Worm.  I found these on candywarehouse.com while pricing the Big Bears.

Atlantic Lighthouse Gummy Lobsters

I added these gummy lobsters to my order at Pearl's simply because I have never seen a gummy lobster before and the unique shape prompted an impulse buy.  A bit of online research reveals that these are a popular tourist item in New England.  Unfortunately, I don't think these go much beyond the novelty of the shape.  This is the first bag of gummies that I have noticed an intense smell, and not in a pleasant way.  They don't really smell bad, but they smell sickly sweet and artificial.  The taste is a light generic cherry flavor but at the same time is intensely sugary sweet.  The texture is too rubbery and soft for me.  I would definitely pass on these, but they aren't as bad as the Gustaf's Cows.

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Texture: These are too soft and rubbery.

Flavors: These are one flavor, cherry red.

Cost: $0.33/oz, 9oz bag, at Pearl's Nostalgic Candy, Chocolate, and Nuts (pearlscandynh.com)

Availability: I think these are fairly common in New England, especially at tourist attractions.  I've never been, so I can't say for sure, but my online research indicates this is the case.  I've never seen these in bulk stores in my area, which isn't too far away, in New York.

UPDATE: Albanese Krunch Bears Confirmed as Discontinued

I sent Albanese Customer Service an email to find out if these were temporarily unavailable or discontinued.  Unfortunately, they responded to inform me that these were in fact discontinued.  I am shocked since this product was so tasty and unique that it was featured on Food Network.  I advise you to snatch these up from online retailers before they disappear forever.

Albanese Krunch Bears: How They Are Made on Food Network's Unwrapped

Check out this video I found on YouTube, how the Krunch Bears are made.  Considering these were featured on Food Network's Unwrapped, I can't believe they would be discontinued.

Albanese Krunch Bears

I couldn't resist the Albanese Krunch Bears, they are so pretty for a gummy.  I checked the Albanese site, and these aren't listed as a current product, so I'm unsure if they are discontinued.  Several sites do still sell these, but amazon has been out of stock for quite a while.  You will see them sold as "Crunch Bears", "Crunchy Bears", "Krunch Bears", and "Krunchy Bears", but they are always listed as being from Albanese.  It may be a lot of trouble to track these down, but I do think they are worth it for anyone who loves to try new gummy candies.  They are just as delicious as they are attractive.  Unlike the Haribo Raspberries, I felt like the nonpareil coating on these added to the overall flavor, it was sweet and sugary on it's own.  These are much larger the the Haribo Gold Bears, about 2-3x's, so each gummy is a good mouthful.  The flavor builds as you breakdown the outer coating so resist the urge to swallow and chew until you really get the full flavor of the gummies.  It's hard for me to pick a favorite flavor, all six were very good.  The flavors were slightly artificial, but at the same time felt authentically fruity.  I highly recommend these.

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Texture: These are very chewy and crunchy at the same time.  An odd but pleasant combination.

Flavors: There are six flavors: Cherry (red), Watermelon (pink), Orange (orange), Apple (green), Lemon (yellow), and I think Blue Raspberry (blue).  The blue flavor was hard to pin down because it is a light generic berry flavor, not the usual artificial flavor I associate with blue raspberry.  The cherry was a light flavoring, almost like cherry chapstick.  The apple had just the right amount of sour notes at the end and the watermelon had a nice tang to it.  Unlike other mixes, all of the flavors are winners for this product.

Cost: $0.33/oz, 9oz bag, at Pearl's Nostalgic Candy, Chocolate, and Nuts (pearlscandynh.com)

Availability: These are no longer listed on the Albanese website so I'm not sure if these are discontinued or just temporarily unavailable.  Online sites are still carrying these if you take the time to search, but I hope they aren't selling off old stock.  It would be a shame for such a good gummy product to be discontinued.  The batch I received from Pearl's seemed very fresh so they may be a good place to start if you want to try a small order.  I chose Pearl's because many websites require you to place large 5lb+ bulk orders for each product.

Gustaf's Gummy Cows

I decided to try Gustaf's Gummy Cows from the Netherlands from my recent order.  I was intrigued by a vanilla gummy, which I've never had before.  The first thing I noticed was the texture of these, they are very soft and foamy almost, like they are mixed with some kind of cream before setting.  The smell coming from the bag was more like Circus Peanut candies then something I would associate with vanilla.  The flavor itself is not something I would call vanilla.  It is a generic sweet taste that kind of reminds me of the "marshmallow" flavored fluoride used at the dentist when I was a kid.  The cow shape is cute, and I think they missed an opportunity to add some flavor with the black part of the face.  Maybe a bit of anise flavoring would  have have kicked these up a notch.  Overall, I would not buy these again.  I ate two for the purposes of this review and I don't know what I will do with the rest of the 9oz bag, most like they will get thrown out.

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Texture: These are very soft and almost foamy, they seem to be mixed with some kind of cream.

Flavors: This is supposed to be vanilla, but it is just a generic unpleasant sweet taste that reminds me of flavored fluoride used by dentists.

Cost: $0.33/oz, 9oz bag, at Pearl's Nostalgic Candy, Chocolate, and Nuts (pearlscandynh.com)

Availability: These are imported from the Netherlands so they are only available in the US at specialty shops or online.  Pearl's shipped my order the day after it was ordered and I received it within 2 days.  I felt their shipping rates were very fair as well.

I received my first order of gummies this morning!

Reviews for New Gummies Coming Soon

I know I have been reviewing a lot of Haribo products to start, mostly because I felt since the Gold Bears were so great, I could find some high quality gummies from the same vendor.  I placed a large order last night of various gummies from several different vendors so you can expect to see a variety of reviews coming soon. 

One order I am pretty excited about is from World's Largest Gummy Bears.  They have a variety of sizes, ranging from the 26 pound Party Bear to the 2.3 oz Big Bears.  There are 11 flavor options so I chose to order 2 6-packs of the Big Bears, giving me the chance to try each flavor.  Incidentally, this was also the cheapest option- a 6-pack of the Big Bears is $11.95, but pricing goes all the was up to $149.95 for the Party Bear.  These are sold through various online sites, including Vat19, where I downloaded the above images.  My order was placed directly from World's Largest Gummy Bears website.  This way you can mix and match your Big Bears packs from any of the 11 flavors, other vendors have pre-made flavor combo pack options.

As you can see from the image of the guy chomping on one of the Big Bears above, these are quite large.  I'm sure it will take me several days to get through all 11 flavors, but a review will follow at some point so check back soon.

Haribo Frogs

I was definitely attracted to these frogs because I think they are so cute.  They are much bigger then a regular gummy, about the size of a quarter, and they have a marshmallow foam tummy, which adds an interesting texture.  The flavor is not that intense, possibly because the tummy foam dilutes the flavor.  I definitely liked these, but I would still choose the Gold Bears over the Frogs any day.

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Texture: These have the same overall texture of the gold bears, a bit hard and chewy.  The marshmallow tummies do add something a bit different though.

Flavors: The flavor is hard to pin down on this one, it is just a light fruit flavor to me.  I did search online and found that Haribo claims the gummy is apple with a passion fruit tummy.  I can kind of see that once I am thinking about it, but I never would have guessed.  The overall flavor is pleasant, but less intense then the Gold Bears, if these were sour apple instead, I think they would be much better.

Cost: $0.29/oz, 5oz bag, at candy shop

Availability: These are a bit harder to find, I have only seem them sold at candy shops, either in bulk or as a hanging 5 oz bag.  Online retailers, including amazon.com, do have these available.

Where Gummy Bears Come From

I don't have a review today so I thought I would share this amusing comic instead.

Sour Patch Berries

I thought I should review a product that wasn't made by Haribo, so I picked up some Sour Patch Kids Berries in the candy aisle at Wawa (a convenience store).  I really like the regular Sour Patch Kids, so I wasn't too surprised that I enjoyed these.  The flavors were intense and the texture was nice and chewy.  I particularly enjoyed the grape, it reminded me of grape soda, which I loved to drink as a kid.  These are definitely worth a try if you like sour candy.

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Texture: These are very chewy and soft, especially if you continue to chew through the sourness and wait until you get to the sweet.

Flavors: There are four colors and flavors: blue raspberry (blue), cherry (red), grape (purple), and raspberry lemonade (pink). My favorites were the grape and the raspberry lemonade.  I actually couldn't figure out the flavor of the pink on my own and these are so new they are not on the Sour Patch website yet.  Wikipedia says raspberry lemonade so I will just go with it.  In any case, it has a pleasant tangy-berry flavor.  I wouldn't normally think of a cherry for a berry pack, I'm surprised they picked this over strawberry, but I like the flavor, it is very strong, more of a black cherry flavor maybe.  The blue raspberry was also pretty good.  There really aren't any duds in terms of flavor for this pack.

Cost: $0.55/oz, 1.8oz bag, at Wawa

Availability: These are pretty new, but I expect that you will eventually find these anywhere candy is sold.

Haribo Smurfs

My next post is actually for a gummy I tried a while ago, Haribo Smurfs.  A friend gifted me a case of these for Christmas and I was eager to try them.  As you can see from the image, these are extremely cute and the colors are very inviting, to me at least.  The smurf bodies are a bright translucent blue and the hats are clear and red.  These are actually a bit larger then a regular gummy, about an inch tall and half an inch wide, but they aren't that thick, about the thickness of a Swedish Fish.  These are very chewy and I'm not sure I would classify these as a gummy really, even though they are sold as a gummy.  These are more of a wine gum in texture, much like a Swedish Fish in this respect also.  The flavor is a light fruit flavor I couldn't quite put my finger on.  It may be raspberry, very nice but I wish it was a bit more intense.  The batch I had was a little hard but I have read that these are supposed to be very soft so I wonder if I may have had a stale batch.  I definitely will try these again to see if there is a change in texture.  I would recommend trying these if you like wine gum candies, but don't expect them to be like a traditional gummy bear.

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Texture: These are about the same size and texture of the larger sized Swedish Fish, not really the texture I think of when I crave a gummy.

Flavors: The Smurfs are a light fruit flavor that is hard to identify, possibly raspberry or lingonberry.

Cost: $0.44/oz at germandeli.com

Availability: These are reportedly only sold in Germany and are not approved by the FDA.  You can locate these on several international food websites like germandeli.com.