In 2020 and 2021, Brach’s treated/trolled us with turkey dinner candy corn and most reviews thought they were terrible. (I never tried the 2021 version [thanks supply chain issues], but I know Brach’s got rid of my favorite flavors from 2020, ginger-glazed carrots and sweet potato pie, and kept the worst ones, stuffing and green bean.)
For 2022, the jelly bean brand is treating/trolling us with another bonkers product: Late Night Taco Truck Jelly Beans. It’s an Easter candy that also works for April Fools’ Day.
There are six flavors, so let’s dive in:
- The margarita, green with no spots, has a strong citrus flavor. As a teetotaler, I have never had a margarita, but I love this jelly bean! Its flavor feels classier than a typical lime or orange candy. 9 out of 10.
- Churro, brown with white spots, has a faint cinnamon flavor, but I wouldn’t say it’s like a churro. It vaguely tastes like some kind of fried treat, but I wouldn’t guess that if I didn’t know. I still like it, though. 7 out of 10.
- Salsa, light red with dark red spots, is fascinating. I taste tomatoes! I taste peppers! It has a mild kick, and it really does taste like salsa. It’s not my first choice for a jelly bean flavor, but I also don’t dread it. 6 out of 10.
- The beef taco flavor looks like a tortilla, off-white with yellow or brown spots. I get a slight beef flavor, but it mostly tastes like taco seasoning. That sounds gross, but it isn’t. 6 out of 10.
- Guacamole, green with green spots, has a taste that reminds me of Southeast Asian food. I think that’s the cilantro talking. I like cilantro, so I don’t know how this would be for people who think the herb tastes like soap. I detect a mild kick, perhaps onion. It doesn’t really taste like avocado to me, but it’s a perfectly acceptable bean. 7 out of 10.
- And horchata, white, has a strong cinnamon flavor. It tastes more like a churro than the churro one does. This is not the cinnamon that you’d expect from a red jelly bean, but more like actual ground cinnamon you’d find in horchata. It’s my favorite of the bunch. 9 out of 10.
I tried to recreate a taco by combining the salsa, guacamole, and beef taco flavors. The salsa dominated. Then I tried all six flavors together, and once again, salsa dominated, with a little more sweetness. This batch is best savored one flavor at a time.
Are there better-tasting jelly bean assortments out there? Absolutely. But none of these flavors are truly gross, and they’re so fun that I can overlook the weirdness.
If your experience with the turkey dinner candy corn scares you away, don’t let it. These jelly beans maintain the novelty but not the repulsiveness.
Purchased Price: $2.99
Size: 12 oz bag
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (21 pieces) 110 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 10 milligrams of sodium, 27 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 20 grams of sugar including 20 grams of added sugar, and 0 grams of protein.