It's nice to see a company grow and come out with new and exciting products. The Osmanium Candy Company launched Crackheads2 on October 17th, 2008 and Jitterbeans on November 3rd, 2008 according to their blog. I will be reviewing these two products today.
Review Sample Provided by: Osmanium Candy Company
Review by: Matt
Pictures by: Matt
What are they?
Crackheads2 and Jitterbeans are a highly caffeinated candy. It consists of espresso beans covered in dark chocolate and covered in a light candy shell. Jitterbeans and Crackheads2 are essentially the same product all the way down to the ingredients. So, why are there two names? Big name retailers such as Wal-Mart, CVS , and all the other convenience store retailers might have a problem with a name such as Crackheads in order to maintain a family friendly image. As a result, rather than be turned away, Osmanium created a name that we will hopefully be seeing in a retailer near you.
The Packaging
When I first got these and inspected these, I must say I got quite a shock when I saw the packaging. The first jolt I got was at how nice it looked. The box from the first Crackheads is quite plain and a little boring. The Crackheads2 box pops out at a person. The brown box has a gradient running down the middle, and writing and colors that go well together. I was quite impressed, but the real winner here is the Jitterbeans box. It looks the same as the Crackheads2 box except the name is written so every couple of letters is in subscript so it gives the box a nice presence on a shelf. The second shock was from the caffeine content. The original Crackheads contained 200mg of caffeine for a nice pick up. Crackheads2 boasts a very nice 600mg of caffeine per box. According to the back of the box 600mg is equal to 6 cups of coffee or 7.5 cans of energy drink or 11 cans of soda. A nice little thing I noticed in the ingredients is the addition of guarana seed extract. Which is nice because I have always enjoyed the kick that Bawls contains.
The Taste and Effect
I was a bit worried I would not like these considering they dropped the chocolate coating and moved to a candy shell that reminded me a bit like peanut M&M's with an espresso bean. I was also a bit sad at the lack of white chocolate, but they still do sell the original Crackheads, so all hope is not lost. This candy is transcendently delicious. If you like coffee and chocolate buy a box now. They managed to boost the caffeine three-fold and still keep the taste the same. As for the effect ... Well, I ate a box before starting this review and I feel quite alert. They say on the website, "There is also an amount of Theobromine naturally occurring within the product that also helps you feel oh so good." Oh so very true. The only small issue I have is with the price. I can definitely see where it is coming from considering how much concentrated caffeine it contains, so you definitely get your money worth. At $3.25 a box (according to the blog) it might put off new people from trying it instead of their Monster, Red Bull, or designer cappuccino. Hopefully word of mouth will fix that.
Availability and Final Thoughts
You can obtain this product in quite a few locations. In the retail circuit you can find them at 500 F.Y.E stores around the US as well as the retailers that already carry Crackheads. More recently they have been picked up by a select number of Spencer's Gifts. Online you can get them directly from Osmanium's store for $9.75 for a 3 pack and you get a free box of original Crackheads or you can get a display of 12 for 20% off at the moment making them $31.20, also including a free box of original Crackheads.
I really enjoyed this product. I think they managed to create another winner and I hope this company continues to grow and feed us more ways to ingest massive amounts of caffeine. For the curious or health conscious, nutritional information can be found here and while you're at it go buy a 3 pack you won't regret it.
