We drove to Fairfield this morning and visited the Jelly Belly factory. Mike had been talking to the neighbours and they mentioned that it was close and ever since he’s just had to go, so off we went. It is a really cool place with jelly beans everywhere and in every colour imaginable; Mike was in heaven.

Before he could stuff his face though we got in line to do the tour of the factory. We didn’t have to wait too long before we were handed a very sexy paper hat and taken to a walkway that over looked the factory floor. We couldn’t take pictures inside but we got to see the process of how a bean is made from being shaped to being packaged for shipping. Depending on the flavour of the bean it can take upwards of ten days to make a jelly bean from start to finish, and they have over 80 flavours. There were people working there, but much of the operation was carried out by funky yellow robot like machines. We learned what goes in to a jelly bean and how they become the end product we know and love, and in spite it being confirmed that the main ingredients are sugar, corn starch, sugar and more sugar, we were still excited about hitting the sample bar after the tour.  I think the coolest part of the whole process was watching how they stamp each individual bean with their trademark.
After the tour we visited the store and tried some of the flavours that they make. Most of them were good but some not so much; Mike tried the moldy cheese and I sampled the booger flavour. I can’t speak for the moldy cheese, but trust me when I tell you if some one offers you a booger flavoured jelly bean, say no. Skunk spray on the other hand was quite enjoyable and tasted a little like coffee!

Before we left we bought some fudge and of course some beans. We bought a few bags of belly flops that are the beans that are too big, too small or just funny shaped. They might not look pretty, but they taste just like a jelly bean.

Mike: Becc, you forgot to tell them about the fudge we brought home! I must be in heaven!