Going back to 1976, there was a candy distributor in Los Angeles who had the wonderful idea of Jelly Beans, which he passed on the one of the best candy makers that is today known as Jelly Belly. Jelly Belly is known to make very "true to life" flavored Jelly Beans. When they first started they cooked up a whole new recipe for the Jelly Beans using all natural ingredients wherever possible.
In 1976, Jelly Beans were launched in eight flavors: Lemon, Very Cherry, Cream Soda, green Apple, Tangerine, Root Beer, Licorice and Grape. These 8 flavors are among the most popular Jelly Bean flavors even now.
When the people first tasted the Jelly Beans, it was a hit at once and it popularity grew. It was among the favorite candies of even the former US President Ronald Reagan, who included Jelly Beans as the staple candy at the Oval Office and also on Air Force One. The passion that the former president had for Jelly Bean inspired the manufacturer to introduce a new flavor and so they introduced Blue Berry which was a blue colored Jelly Bean. This was done so that Jelly Beans could be served to diplomats in the three colors of the American flag that is Red, white and blue. In 1983, Jelly Beans were sanctioned on the US Space Shuttle Challenger as a surprise to the astronauts from the president. Coincidently, that mission went down in history as the first to carry a female American astronaut, named Sally Ride.
Jelly Belly today is best in making gourmet Jelly Beans. The beans come in 50 flavors; the Company occasionally introduces rookie flavors, which depending on their popularity then get added to the 50.
The fifty flavors are as follows: A&W Cream Soda, Berry Blue, A&W Root Beer, Blueberry, Cantaloupe, Bubble Gum, Cappuccino, Chili Mango, Caramel Corn, Cinnamon, Coconut, Crushed Pineapple, Cotton Candy, French Vanilla, Island Punch, Green Apple, Juicy Pear, Lemon Lime, Lemon Drop, Licorice, Mixed Berry Smoothie, Mango, Orange Sherbet, Piña Colada, Peach, Pomegranate, Red Apple, Raspberry, Sizzling Cinnamon, Strawberry Daiquiri, Strawberry Cheesecake, Strawberry Jam, Sunkist Orange, Sunkist Lemon, Sunkist Pink Grapefruit, Toasted Marshmallow, Sunkist Tangerine, Tutti-Frutti, Watermelon, Very Cherry, Wild Blackberry, Buttered Popcorn, Chocolate Pudding, Dr. Pepper, Kiwi, Margarita, Plum, Sour Cherry, Sunkist Lime and Top Banana.
