Bubs is a Swedish brand of candy I first started to track a couple of years ago-right about the same time that the entire world of Swedish candy came on to my radar.  Bubs is one of many brands, but they really stood out, as they made these giant skulls in various colors & flavors.  Notably, the yellow and red ones absolutely knocked it out of the park-they had a peach pineapple sourness that just we completely new.  Add to that the fact that they’re usually slightly more stale and chewier by the time someone like me gets their hands on them, and you have one my my favorite sour gummy experiences of all time.

Recently we were sent a small selection of these skulls-and I do mean small.  Mini skulls!

That slightly terrifying skull on the bag is the one I remember.  Does it remind anyone else of an apocalyptic Bart Simpson?

Inside this bag were a variety of tiny facsimiles of the large skulls.

They’re about the size of small hard candy.  Also, they’re extremely fresh, so if that kind of thing is important to you, trust that the place we got these definitely only keeps fresh candy in rotation (as much as that saddens me, I’m sure it pleases 99% of the world).  The flavors in this bag are peach, lime, and raspberry-I think.  It doesn’t really matter, they’re sour and tasty, although I do stand behind liking them to be a bit chewier.  The good news is that these are very good-and they’re the worst flavor we got.

Next up, the requisite cola flavor.

Something about the flavorings they use for cola candies in Sweden is so on point.  Very crisp, natural, and fizzy soda tasting.  If you like cola candy at all, you’ll love these.

My favorite two flavors though, of course, involve licorice.

What we have here is a combo raspberry/salty licorice thing in foam form.

You guys know me-I HATE foam candies.  Usually.  These?  I have no idea why, but I really like them.  Fruity, salty, and brimming with licorice flavor, the foaminess actually helps them.  A lot of people don’t understand the half gummy half licorice concept-but they really should, it makes total sense.  The sweet and slightly sour raspberry flavor lives in one space, and the licorice, with its deep natural notes and salt, lives in a completely separate space.  Together, they create something special and new.  Done wrong, they can be boring at worst, but done well, like these are, they’re refreshing and fun.  While these are great, it’s the next ones that stole my heart.

These are basically the same thing as the ones above, but in gummy form instead of foam.

Holy.

Shit.

These have all the great qualities of their foam sisters, but then add a cool, gummy chew to the equation.

Bravo, Sweden- Bravo!