So I slammed Mamba Gummies a few months back as being an embarrassing waste of space and potential landfill fodder.  I still stand by that review : those things suck.

But what happens when the sour version of something is so drastically different that it makes you rethink everything?

Just so we’re clear, officially these are called “funny fruity gummies”.

Take a moment.

Clearly, the characters on this bag are having WAY too much fun for me not to join the party-but does that make them funny?  No.  Know how I know?  Cause I TRY to be funny, and I’m smart as shit, and I succeed only about 20% of the time.  So a motley crew of deranged fruits “mixing it up” sure as hell isn’t gonna qualify as funny.  Whimsical?  Sure.  Folksy?  Not really.  Amusing?  To a 5 year old, yes.  But leave the funny to Workaholics, Seinfeld, and the Gurus.  Mmmmkay?

At this point I’m slightly resentful about their false claim of fun, but I dig in nonetheless.  Here’s the bottom line: these are  lovely soft textured gummies, with pretty damn great flavors.  I was shocked.  Raspberry?  Sure.  orange, cherry, pineapple?  Check.  Banana?  Wait, what?  Sour banana?  Wearing flip flops no less?

Banana is more or less the last fruit I reach for in “real life”.  Too sweet, too weird.  But I’m really starting to get into banana flavored candies, especially those that give the usually too sweet flavor a little zing.  These are no exception.  I can’t tell you how impressed I was with these-they taste like a Trolli offering fresh off the boat from Germany.

They taste exactly like they look, if that’s possible.  Usually I harp on and on about enjoying tougher gummies, but I also really like the super soft ones too, providing the flavors are there, and these are.  Hell, they’re made with REAL FRUIT JUICE!

Do candy companies still think we believe that?  5% fruit juice doesn’t make anything real, people.  However, I think it does lend an authentic roundness to the overall taste of the flavors that make them yummy and convincing.  Companies over the pond that only use real fruit flavorings are a completely different beast and uber awesome-these aren’t quite that, but are certainly better than most widely available gummy offerings.

I recommend you try these if you like sour.  I found them at World Market, but it’s not quite as easy to find them online.  I included a link to an Ebay store below, but if you can find them in a brick & mortar, go that route for sure.  Just don’t buy the regular Mamba gummies.  That shit aint cool.