The Jelly Belly Factory

My mom, in her quest for the perfect things to do with her grandkids, discovered that we lived close to a Jelly Belly factory that offered tours! We drove out there on Saturday morning...

The tour turned out to be a little lame, with a "train" that was actually a tram, and just videos on Jelly Belly shaped screans detailing the history of the jelly bean. I did enjoy seeing the artifacts, the tools they use to make these confections and others. I am one of those people who'll never fogget Mr. Rogers inquests to crayon factories. This sort of stuff fascinates me.

Yup. These are made of Jelly Belly's.

We had to wear these hats on the tour. LOL.


The GREAT part of the trip was the store!!!

Ronald Reagan is attributed with helping Jelly Belly's success. To simplify the story (b/c I don't know the whole story), the Gipper liked em' a lot and brought them into the white house, and fame soon followed. Th

Yeah, every flavor they make, right here.

This was the free sample bar! I wasn't shy.

There was a guy behind this counter who could make any flavor you wanted. Any pie, any candy bar, anything you could think of. He made Theo a zig zag bar, he pealed the coating from a nut, and ran to go get a piece of the right kind of chocolate to add to the jelly belly he included. He was quick, and proficient in the Jelly Belly like no one I've ever seen. What a delight. Theo said he totally pinned the candy bar he requested. I fell in love with their new pomegranate bean; it's darn good.

What a happy morning, and we still had the Renaissance Festival to go to!

Editor's note: My friends know everything! I love it! Here's what my pal Sabrina had to add:

Sabrina Worsham said...
Ronald Reagan loved the jelly bellys so much that Herman Goelitz made a new flavor-blueberry for when he was sworn in as president. The company sent one ton of red (very cherry) one ton of white (coconut) and one ton of blue (the new blueberry) for the festivities. I worked as a tour guide for three months at the original factory in Fairfield, Ca.

Thanks, Sabrina!