Jelly Belly Twenty Individual Flavors Gift Box Review

Jelly Belly jelly beans must be a popular holiday gift because these gift boxes are a seasonal offering in many stores. At around ten dollars, the variety of flavors makes these gift boxes an easy last-minute gift for practically anyone. But are the Jelly Belly gourmet jelly beans really worth the price? After all, bags of jelly beans are very inexpensive.

What is in the box?
This Jelly Belly gift box includes twenty different flavors each sorted into compartments. (See photo.) The inside of the lid features a flavor guide with each flavor's title and a photo. The box includes a small booklet listing the flavors and collections offered by Jelly Belly. The booklet also lists several recipes for combining multiple jelly beans to create new flavors.

Jelly Belly Flavors
The outside of the box clearly lists the contents, making it easy to know what to expect from this gift box. The assortment is good mixture of classic favorites, such as Very Cherry, Coconut and Toasted Marshmallow, and fun flavors, such as Strawberry Cheesecake, Buttered Popcorn and Dr. Pepper.

The assortment includes black jelly beans. Licorice seems like an unusual choice to include in a Jelly Belly gift box. Jelly Belly's licorice jelly beans taste like any ordinary licorice jelly bean. This is a surprising disappointment because Jelly Belly usually adds something extra to the most seemingly ordinary flavors. For example, their Very Cherry jelly bean tastes similar to most cherry candy, but they added a hint of tartness to create and complex and unique flavor. The Jelly Belly Twenty Individual Flavors Gift Box should showcase the best of Jelly Belly and feature gourmet jelly bean flavors that are unique to the Jelly Belly brand.

Jelly Bellys are big on flavor because both the shell and center are flavored. Some of the flavors, such as the soda flavors, err more on the sweet side. Overall, the Jelly Belly jelly bean flavors are remarkably true to life.

Jelly Belly Recipes
The recipe booklet is a fun addition, but it is not specific to the twenty flavor gift box. Of the fourteen recipes, only a few matched the contents of this box. The Jelly Belly website features additional recipes. Once again, the variety of flavors required more closely fits a large gift box. Some of the recipes call for several jelly beans. The flavors do not easily blend when eating a mouthful of jelly beans. Simple combinations of two to four jelly beans seem to work best.

The candy apple recipe, two green apple and one cinnamon, is a little too heavy on the cinnamon flavor. The lemon meringue pie recipe, two lemon and two coconut, tastes very similar to the real thing with a burst of lemon followed by a creamy marshmallow-like flavor. The blueberry muffin recipe, two blueberry and one buttered popcorn, is interesting, but fails to capture the flavor of a blueberry muffin. The buttered popcorn jelly bean makes a good muffin base. Perhaps combining it with another more flavorful fruit jelly bean, such as raspberry, will yield a better result. Pink lemonade, two lemon with two cotton candy, is also a good likeness to the sweet and tart beverage.

Jelly Belly Nutritional Info
According to the package materials, Jelly Belly gourmet jelly beans are certified Kosher by the Orthodox Union. The jelly beans are four calories each with zero fat. Jelly Belly jelly beans do not contain any meat products, making them a sweet treat suitable for vegetarians. Vegans, however, should be aware the candy includes beeswax. These jelly beans are also free of gluten. Refer to the Jelly Belly website and customer service hotline for the latest nutritional information.

There is a little room for improvement, but Jelly Belly jelly beans are worth the price and make a great gift because they are fun, entertaining and easy to share.

Sources:
Personal Experience
Jelly Belly FAQ, jellybelly.com