Full disclosure: I discovered these candies because I stole one.  Out of my kid’s Valentine’s box from his 4th grade class.  Hey, it was a new looking candy to me, and the packaging implied it was spicy: I say it’s fair game.  Kid won’t eat ANYTHING I make that’s spicy, so….no complaining on this one.

As I was eating it…I quickly realized that the candies weren’t in fact too spicy for the kid, and also…they were a revelation.  The one I tasted was mango, and it honestly rocked my world.  Bright, earthy, sweet, and also beautifully tart…it was the best mango representation in candy I’d come across since the last chile mango lollipop from Mexico we’d reviewed.  I had to seek these out, if only to repay my kid.  Depriving him of these would just be wrong.

I get to my excellent local Mexican grocery store, and….the bag of mango Locochas aren’t there-instead, they have a mixed bag.

5 different flavors: mango, strawberry, watermelon, tamarind, and chamoy.

Chamoy?  I had to look that one up.  It’s like the Mexican culture was reading my mind, probing for the kind of candy flavor I’d like: Chamoy can be all sorts of savory sauces or condiments made from pickled fruit.  Typically, there’s salt, sweet, spice, and sour flavors all bundled in it.  Heaven.  But just because something’s supposed to taste like something….doesn’t mean it does.  Let’s break down the bag:

Watermelon

Maybe my least favorite, but it’s still very good.  Bright, accurate…it just didn’t “wow” me in the way the others did.

Tamarind

Man, I love tamarind.  It’s sweet and a bit spicy, so pairing this with the chile and salt is a completely natural fit.  Since this flavor is the least “fruity” of the bunch, it can perhaps be thought of as poor in comparison, but I actually like the juxtaposition.

Strawberry

Now we’re starting to cook with gas.  This one explodes with flavor, and the sweetness really is delicious.  There’s a tart edge there of course, but this one for me was the juiciest & sweetest.  Very yummy.

Chamoy

Oy,  Chamoy!  My new favorite word is also my new favorite flavor.  It’s so hard to pinpoint-my buddy thought it was cherry, but it could have been his advanced Dyslexia.  It does however have that tart fruity…”something” going on that really works.  I love the idea of pickled fruit flavor, and this doesn’t disappoint.  Delicious.

Mango

Mango-the reason I’m writing this review in the first place, as it was the stolen candy in question.  And it’s the best flavor in the bag, because it’s the best mango candy of all time.  Apologies to everyone else who makes mango hard candy, but this is the shit.  Every single person who’s eaten this flavor has gone nuts for it, which isn’t neccessarily the case for all the other flavors.

Bottom line: these are absolutely delicious, and you need to find them.  Odds are that your local Mexican market might have them, but if not, click the link below.  Bravo, Mexico.

UPDATE: WE ARE GO FOR LOCOCHAS! Click the link below: