Champagne-Flavored Jelly Beans Are A Thing

If you've ever found yourself wishing you could combine alcohol with the delicious, plastic-y balls of sugar known as jelly beans, your wait is over (kinda). Jelly Belly champagne-flavored jelly beans are here to stay! The only catch? They're nonalcoholic, so unless you find a different source of alcohol, your plans for getting stealth-drunk on Easter are foiled. Still, I think we all know what twentysomethings around the country are filling their Easter baskets with this year. This particular flavor of jelly bean actually had an “initial run" just in time for New Year's last December, according to the Jelly Belly website, but it looks like it has officially joined the hallowed ranks of “weird jelly bean flavors" for good. I mean, nothing's going to beat their Tabasco or draft beer flavors in terms of sheer weirdness (with the exception of everything in the Harry Potter-themed Bertie Botts collection, of course, because those get a little crazy sometimes), but you have to admit champagne is a serious departure from the boring old flavors of our youth. I didn't even know the flavors had names beyond their colors until I was in middle school, although that could be chalked up to general obliviousness.

Even if you're grossed out by jelly beans during the rest of the year, chances are you're going to be eating them this month. According to NPR, Americans buy 16 million jelly beans from mid-February to April. The cause? Everyone's favorite excuse to gorge themselves on chocolate bunnies — Easter.

April is a pretty big month for jelly beans in general; in addition to Easter season, April 22nd is also National Jelly Bean Day. (According to NPR, this year's new Jelly Belly flavor is pancakes and maple syrup, by the way.) So if you're a huge fan of the little sugar capsules, this month is a great excuse to chow down, and if you don't like them... well, you're probably going to be given a bunch anyway, so pass them off to the nearest jelly bean lover.

One more thing: if you do indulge, maybe schedule a dentist appointment in May. You'll probably need it.

Images: Eric Hood/Fotolia; Giphy (2)