All that has been on my TikTok “For You” page has been people raving about how delicious Swedish candy is, and I’m not just talking about Swedish Fish. BonBon is a viral Swedish candy store that opened in a few locations in New York City. I recently happened to visit New York City and had to go to a BonBon store while I was there. I tried several of the famous candies, and here is my honest review from my taste test.
Bubs
Bubs are the most iconic Swedish candy and are known for their oval shape and two colors. The most popular has to be the half-pink and half-blue bub, which has a blue-raspberry flavor. When I tried this bub, I was surprised by its chewiness; it was soft but still had a pull when I took a bite. The flavor undoubtedly came through, but my mouth was getting a bit sore from the chewing. It was not overly sweet but was definitely a filling type of candy. I then tried the half-pink and half-green bub, which has a watermelon flavor. This flavor bub is less popular than the blue and pink bub but is still commonly seen online. In my opinion, the blue-raspberry flavored bub was superior but just in flavor since the texture is the same. There has been a lot of hype surrounding bubs which set my expectations very high. I do think they are overhyped online, but I would give it a solid 7.5/10.
Sour Skulls
The Sour Skulls were by far my favorite. It had just the right amount of sourness to it and had a gummy texture less chewy than the bubs. It was a softer, stickier gummy, but it did not stick to my teeth. The popular sour skull flavors are the yellow and pink ones, which taste like lemon and raspberry, and the pink and blue ones, which are supposed to be bubblegum flavored. I prefer the yellow and pink ones since the lemon flavor goes well with the sour taste. There were some sour candies that were way too sour, and since the sour skulls gave the perfect sour punch, I rate it 10/10.
Raspberry Drops
The raspberry drops look like red gumdrops (another visual reference would be the candy Dots). There is sugar coated on top, but it is not an overly sweet candy. It tastes pretty light and airy, especially because the texture is gummy but not sticky. The first word that came to mind when trying these was “bouncy.” They were so soft that they felt bouncy when biting into it. By its appearance, I was hoping that these would be sweeter, but I would still rate it 8/10.
Sour Rasberry Puckers
I am a sucker for sour candy, but many types of American candy that claim to be sour do not live up to my sour expectations. This is why I was skeptical when trying these Sour Raspberry Puckers. I tried taking a bite in case it was actually very sour, but it was too hard for me to bite. I was shocked by my teeth’s inability to break it, so I just put the whole candy in my mouth. This was definitely a mistake. They were sour, and that is an understatement. My face visibly twisted and reacted to the sourness of the candy. I could not even taste the raspberry flavor—all I tasted was sour. It was very hard to chew so all I could do was let the sour taste sit in my mouth until it eventually began to fade and the candy began to soften. If you are looking for a candy that tests your sour palette ability, this is the candy for you. I would give it a 6/10 overall but a 10/10 for sourness.
Overall, this Swedish candy taste test sent my taste buds on an adventure. I was pleasantly surprised to find that many types of Swedish candy are gluten-free and vegan-friendly. Nikita Gupta (12) who was with me on this Swedish candy adventure states that “my favorite was the bubs; both the watermelon and blue-raspberry flavors were great, but the other candies did not really stand out to me. I’m happy I was finally able to taste the candy everyone has been talking about.” From what I have seen, there is a very broad spectrum of opinions on the different types of Swedish candy; you really don’t know until you try it for yourself.
