We Tried Trolli Spicy Crawlers Just In Time For Halloween

As a brand, even as a gummy brand, Trolli seems especially game to get a bit freaky and fun. This time of year is perfect for that energy. The Trolli Crawler flavor list includes everything from Sour Brite, Sour Brite Very Berry, Sour Brite Fruit Punch, Sour Brite SQUAD, Sour Bursting Crawlers, Sour Duo Crawlers, and Sour Brite Mountain Dew. But what I’m curious to try today―and not just because I’m working on upping my heat tolerance―is their newest line, Trolli Spicy Crawlers. This is a mix of strawberry, mango, and pineapple flavors all jacked up with just a hint of habanero. How’d they taste? Let’s get into it.

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Trolli Spicy Crawlers

Pros: When you open the bag, a nice fruity aroma welcomes you. Only if you shove your nose in―like I did―will you get a whiff of something spicy to come. As far as candies shaped like earthworms go, these are handsome little crawlers. I tried the green one first, the mango habanero, and while the heat is real (really real!), it’s bearable. The first sensation of the bite is fruity, tangy, and kind of tropical mango-ish until a slow and almost sunrise-mellow burn of habanero starts to hit the palate.

The strawberry habanero has the same sweet, softer strawberry fruit flavor with maybe a fleck less of habanero heat. The pineapple habanero is unmistakably, assertively pineapple (like all pineapple flavored things), but maybe because it’s not as soft and round a fruit flavor as the others, the habanero kicks in much faster―I loved it. This quick heat works for the candy the best.

Cons: These are straight-up winners in my book. That said, the strawberry habanero is maybe a poor choice of flavor―the berry is so soft that you don’t get as much of that bright, orange peppery fruit. Then again, maybe it’s a wise inclusion when the mango and pineapple lend themselves a bit more readily, and yield more quickly, to a welcome wave of habanero heat.

FINAL VERDICT

I’m a gummy candy fanatic―if they’re chewy and good, I’ll eat them, worm-shaped or not. But what wins about these spicy crawlers is that the bag is a perfect mix: strawberry for less kick, mango for that Goldilocks level of “just right” with a nice flicker of fire, and pineapple for more of a laidback Caribbean burn. There’s nothing to scorch the tongue. And while this may not be the right call to hand out for Halloween (more of a tweens-and-up kind of flavor), this is a smart, snackable, interesting little candy that I’ll come back to.