They’re billed as “soft & chewy” and “sour jelly candy”. I expected them to be gummi bears. Instead, their texture was similar to Haribo TropiFrutti, only way better!

The jelly candy was soft with an instant give. It was similar to fruit pate, only smooth rather than lightly grainy. The outer layer had a light stiffness and was softly wrinkly.

Yellow was a bright and sunny lemon. It was sweet with just a little tang and sour all over.

Orange was slightly more bitter at the start. It was tart with a zesty edge – surprisingly complex!

Green was lime, maybe? I didn’t get any lime-specific notes, but it was still nice and bright and tart.

Pink was strawberry, I think. It had the sour overtones of all the Sour Bears but also had nice floral undertones.

Pinkish purple was the least sour of the lot (and hard to visually distinguish from the pink and the purple). It just tasted sweet and fruity to me. I’d guess cherry, but it was pretty mild if it was cherry.

Last, but definitely not least, was purple. I’m pretty sure it was blackcurrant, which is a great flavor that’s not really used in American candy. It had a touch of edgy bite to it.

I had low expectations for these candies because the packaging looked so simple and old-fashioned. They totally blew me away with their bright, concentrated flavors and pleasantly soft and buoyant texture.

I couldn’t handle more than ~a dozen in a sitting – the sweetness got overpowering, and I hit sugar overload – but the flavors were so powerful that they were satisfying in small amounts. An OMG.

Israeli something from my friend Monica (update: According to Candy Addict, it’s a Pesek Zman):

Like a prettier, square-r, tastier, and creamier Kit Kat. Amusing because to me, the words on the wrapper look more correct when they’re upside down. I had to spin the wrapped bar around a few times to remember how it should be oriented. An OM

St. Lucia Rum Fudge from friend and former roommate (which is quite different from a roommate and former friend) Jenny:

I don’t know if it was the St. Lucia or the rum part that made it weird, but it was weird. Instead of being sticky/creamy/gritty like regular fudge, this was dry and sugary. It was supposed to be chocolate-flavored, but to me just tasted like sugar. I don’t actually like fudge (way too sweet for my palate), and I, despite dear Jenny’s best intentions, didn’t much care for St. Lucia’s rum fudge, though I bet I’d love St. Lucia, where Jenny got to go for Spring Break. A –.

Australian Cadbury Picnic from reader Hannah (who now writes for Sugar Savvy)

Similar to the British version, but minus the sultanas. The strip of caramel was quite hard and only sort of got chewy once you worked it around in your mouth a bit. The peanuts were plentiful and crisp but could have been more roasty and flavorful. All that plus the dry wafer center made this bar much drier than its British counterpart. I have no notes on the chocolate, which meant it, like the bar, was unremarkable, though the plentiful peanuts would make it a hearty snack. An O.

Turkish chocolates from my friend Ben from his suitemate:

The one shaped like a giant Hershey’s kiss had a thin chocolate shell around creamy but not silky ganache with slightly fruity notes. Those sprinkle looking things were made of chocolate as well. Mine had a slight tinge of mustiness (like it had taken on the scent of a paper towel). I will chalk up to storage and transport rather than to the chocolate and thereby give it the benefit of the doubt. But still just an O for unremarkableness.

I really liked the shape of the one that had bits of pistachio all along one side. It would make for good architectural inspiration, doncha think?

The pistachio studded one was a thin chocolate shell around a nutty paste that was soft and quite velvety. I’m assuming the paste was made of pistachio, though it tasted more of pine nuts to me. The filling is heavy on the palate, so I ate the confection over several days, spacing out my bites and nibbles. An OM.