Here at Candy Club, we’re equal opportunity candy lovers. There’s plenty of room in our hearts for chocolates, sweets, and sours alike. So today we’re doing a deep dive into the world of extreme candy, highlighting the sourest candy in the world from barely mouth-puckering to the downright explosive.
If your taste buds can’t get enough extreme sour flavor, get ready to find some new favorites on this list!
Extreme Sour Countdown: The Eight Sourest Candies in the World
8. Sour Nerds
We may be starting our countdown of the sourest candies in the world with a candy on the milder end of the spectrum, but that doesn’t mean it’s not beloved. This American classic designed to be eaten by the handful (or boxful, anyone?) has a new sour variety that’s pretty delightful, even if it won’t make you cry.
That’s OK by us – not every candy needs to come with a danger warning. There will be plenty of time for that later! In the meantime, you can satisfy your sweet-and-sour tooth with a mouthful of these delectably crunchy sour classics.
7. Sour Skittles
Even though Skittles are mostly sugar, the dusting of citric acid on these guys gives them a serious kick. If you already love the sweet taste of the Skittles “rainbow” but need an extra sour punch, you’ll probably love the sour coating on Sour Skittles.
Fun fact: Sour candy like Sour Skittles can help relieve blocked salivary glands – though if you’re not careful and eat too many, you can cause irritation to the taste buds.
6. Sour Patch Kids Extreme
The classic sour-to-sweet taste has made Sour Patch Kids a favorite for candy lovers around the world. But for those who need a real challenge, Sour Patch Kids Extreme offers the same experience but with the sour ramped up. The combination of tartaric, citric, and fumaric acid in Sour Patch Kids Extreme packs an extra punch to the first few seconds of popping one (or ten) of these into your mouth.
5. Sour Flush Candy Toilets
Okay, get ready for a weird one. Remember Baby Bottle Pops? Think that same concept, except the candy is a toilet plunger, and you dip it into a plastic “toilet” full of sour sugar. Yep. You’re eating from the toilet. But don’t worry – the bright colors make this absolutely bonkers concept a lot more fun than it seems, to say nothing of that delicious blast of sour flavor.
4. Taveners Sour Lemon Drops
We haven’t forgotten you, English candies! Taveners Sour Lemon Drops are some of the most popular sour candies in the United Kingdom. Similar to Lemonheads in the U.S., these lemon-shaped sour candies honor everything there is to love about tangy, sour lemons. Plus, they’re made with natural coloring and vegetarian ingredients.
3. Cry Baby Tears
The consensus among sour candy fanatics is that Cry Baby Tears Extra Sour Candy are some of the most mouth-puckering hard candies out there. They are literally shaped like tears! A retro candy, they seem to have gotten overshadowed by some of the newer candies on this list, but they still have a dedicated following of extreme candy lovers.
2. Warheads
Named after a weapon of mass destruction, represented by a cartoon boy whose head is exploding… you can hardly get more extreme than Warheads Extreme Sour candy. These American classics have been massively popular with kids, becoming one of the first candies to inspire informal playground “challenges” to see who could eat the highest number of candies at once.
The secret to the super sour flavor is malic acid, which wears off after about 5-10 seconds and leaves you with a pleasantly sweet taste – if you make it that far, that is!
1. Toxic Waste
Buckle up for the sourest candy in the world! These super fun sour candies are sold in novelty “toxic waste” drums, complete with neon toxic sludge dripping over the top. Sold mostly in the U.S. and Canada, Toxic Waste Hazardously Sour Candy has inherited the extreme candy hype once dominated by Warheads. Now there’s no shortage of YouTube videos showing daring kids participating in the “Toxic Challenge,” cycling through a hilarious set of mouth-puckered, pained expressions. Eat at your own risk!
What makes sour candy so sour?
The level of sourness in any candy all boils down to the acids used to make it. Citric acid, ascorbic acid, malic acid, fumaric acid, and tartaric acid – all found naturally in fruits and vegetables all over the world – lend that deliciously tart flavor you know and love to all kinds of sour candies. Sometimes the acids are built into the candy itself, while other times the sour flavor comes from a sour sugar coating.
Satisfy Your Sweet (and Sour) Tooth
Whether you prefer mostly sweets or mostly sours, Candy Club has you covered. Our gourmet candy boxes offer a curated monthly selection of gourmet candies in the flavor profiles you love, delivered straight to your doorstep. If you want to skip the subscription and order the candies you already know you love, we’ve got you covered, too!
