I know what you’re thinking: why are these guys reviewing the easiest to find candy in the US? The answer is simple: we’re actually not only trying to review hard-to-find international sweets, but that’s kind of become our wheelhouse. There’s just so many candies to review, obvious contenders like this sometimes get overlooked. So let’s look under then, shall we? Or directly on? In?

You know ’em. You see ’em everywhere, and I mean everywhere. Starting for the US in 1982, that is. That’s when production started, and I feel like I almost remember that. Back then there really wasn’t a ton of chewy/tart confections like this. They sorta looked like M&Ms, but were a completely different beast.

The flavors are nothing special: Strawberry, Grape, Lemon, Orange, Green Apple. And yes, if you live in the Skittleverse, you know all about the great lime controversy. The green ones used to be lime, now they’re green apple. OG Skitsters claim lime was far better, and they’re right (but you can still find lime in their “Darkside” mix). Having said that, the flavors we get here are excellent, but mostly because of the execution of the candy.

If there ever was a candy that was made on its consistency, it’s these bad boys. Calling it chewy doesn’t do it justice: these are straight up hard, seemingly at first. Then they do give way to a tough, real chew. It’s delightful. And during that chew, the flavor pours out. Nice, and with just a bit of tartness, and I mean just a tiny bit.

You start out like an innocent child “ooh, I’ll have one at a time and check out each flavor”, but then you realize that the lemon and apple are great together. So is the orange and grape. And all of them. It’s really in my opinion, a kind of perfect candy.

Yes, we see them everywhere. At Halloween time, they’re ubiquitous, and to many kids, they’re like “meh”. That’s fine. They’re just sweet, sweet dumb kids. They don’t get it. Finding a chewy candy experience like this doesn’t come around every day. Take a moment and savor it.

Honestly, these are a top 5 American candy for me. I never tire of them, and love almost all of their other iterations. Friends, I say this with no irony: taste the rainbow. Please taste it.

There’s a reason Marshawn Lynch was obsessed with Skittles. He understood, and you should too.