§00CandyBenchSCL-BENCH v0.1

Updated September 28, 202635 candies6 evalsRatings: lab panel (preliminary)

CandyBench

Independent analysis of candy. Six evals, 35 candies, one question: what’s actually the best?

§01Super Candy Index

Super Candy Preview Model #01*74.3

Dubai-style pistachio chocolate53.0

Take 551.7

Mo's Dark Bacon Bar51.0

Freeze-dried candy51.0

Toxic Waste Hazardously Sour48.5

Ferrero Rocher47.3

Pulparindo47.3

Warheads Extreme Sour46.3

Tony's Chocolonely Caramel Sea Salt45.0

BUBS Sour Skulls44.7

*Preview Model #01 scores are design targets for a candy that doesn’t exist yet. We’re showing our work, not claiming a win.

§02State of the art

Best in Sweet · GSQA DiamondNerds Gummy Clusters90Find it on Amazon

Best in Sour · PUCKER@1Toxic Waste Hazardously Sour99Find it on Amazon

Best in Bitter · The Bitter LessonLindt Excellence 85% Dark94Find it on Amazon

Best in Crunch · SnapBench VerifiedFreeze-dried candy92Find it on Amazon

Best in Melt · MeltEvalLindor Milk Truffles97Find it on Amazon

Best in Chaos · Humanity’s Last SnackPop Rocks99Find it on Amazon

Some of these are paid links: we may earn a small commission if you buy, at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

§03Leaderboard

Rank	Candy	Index	GSQA DiamondSweet	PUCKER@1Sour	The Bitter LessonBitter	SnapBench VerifiedCrunch	MeltEvalMelt	Humanity’s Last SnackChaos
1	Dubai-style pistachio chocolateVarious	53.0	70	2	20	88	66	72
2	Take 5Hershey's	51.7	70	2	12	82	56	88
3	Mo's Dark Bacon BarVosges Haut-Chocolat	51.0	52	4	70	30	60	90
4	Freeze-dried candyVarious	51.0	82	34	2	92	10	86
5	Toxic Waste Hazardously SourCandy Dynamics	48.5	58	99	6	42	4	82
6	Ferrero RocherFerrero	47.3	70	2	22	72	70	48
7	PulparindoDe La Rosa	47.3	48	62	30	4	44	96
8	Warheads Extreme SourImpact	46.3	60	98	6	40	4	70
9	Tony's Chocolonely Caramel Sea SaltTony's Chocolonely	45.0	76	4	26	40	72	52
10	BUBS Sour SkullsBUBS (Sweden)	44.7	70	84	4	10	36	64
11	Nerds Gummy ClustersFerrara	44.7	90	16	2	72	22	66
12	Kinder BuenoFerrero	43.0	72	2	10	80	64	30
13	Pop RocksZeta	42.5	80	12	2	54	8	99
14	SnickersMars	42.2	72	2	10	55	62	52
15	TwixMars	42.0	74	2	10	74	58	34
16	Heath BarHershey's	41.7	70	2	30	86	32	30
17	Sour StripsSour Strips	41.7	72	86	4	8	30	50
18	KitKatHershey's	40.3	66	2	14	90	48	22
19	Sour Brite CrawlersTrolli	40.3	74	78	4	6	28	52
20	Kopiko Coffee CandyMayora	39.7	46	4	84	40	24	40
21	Lindt Excellence 85% DarkLindt	38.3	18	8	94	34	56	20
22	Panda Soft LicoricePanda (Finland)	38.3	36	4	88	6	40	56
23	Sour Patch KidsMondelēz	38.0	76	64	4	6	30	48
24	ButterfingerFerrara	37.7	72	2	8	86	28	30
25	PockyGlico	37.3	64	2	18	80	34	26
26	Reese's Peanut Butter CupsHershey's	36.7	78	2	12	10	88	30
27	Lindor Milk TrufflesLindt	35.8	82	2	14	6	97	14
28	Milky WayMars	34.7	84	2	6	8	86	22
29	SkittlesMars	34.3	86	22	4	20	34	40
30	Hi-ChewMorinaga	32.3	82	18	2	4	62	26
31	Jolly Rancher Hard CandyHershey's	31.0	84	30	2	30	6	34
32	StarburstMars	30.7	88	14	2	6	52	22
33	Champagne BearsSugarfina	28.7	80	8	6	4	40	34
34	Swedish FishMondelēz	24.7	88	4	2	4	38	12
35	GoldbearsHaribo	22.3	80	6	2	6	26	14

Best score in each column is bold. Index = mean of the six evals. Preliminary lab-panel ratings (see methodology).

§04Evals

GSQA Diamond · Sweet

Graduate-level Sweetness QA. How hard and how cleanly it hits the sweet receptors, rated against a ladder of reference sugars.

PUCKER@1 · Sour

Sourness on the first contact. 100 = nobody keeps a straight face.

The Bitter Lesson · Bitter

Bitterness and depth: cacao, coffee, burnt sugar, licorice. Rewards candies that don't just add more sugar.

SnapBench Verified · Crunch

Structural integrity and audible snap at first bite. “Verified”: a second bite agreed.

MeltEval · Melt

How slowly and smoothly it gives up on the tongue: caramel, nougat, truffle.

Humanity’s Last Snack · Chaos

Flavor and texture surprise per bite. Sweet-salty-sour-spicy collisions score highest.

§05Methodology

Scores. Each candy is rated 0–100 on each eval by our lab panel, against a written rubric. These are preliminary ratings, not instrument measurements and not crowd data. The Super Candy Index is the unweighted mean of the six evals, so all-rounders beat specialists.

What changes in v1.0. Every score is recomputed from taster data: what people tell us in the lab, the candies they pick as favorites, and what they choose from their matches. We’ll publish the number of tasters behind each score.

The scan. Our tongue scan is for fun and is not used to score candy. Taster answers are the real data.

Conflicts. We make candy, so we are not neutral. Preview Model #01 is shown as design targets and is never ranked. Some candy links are paid links.

Changelog · v0.1 · September 28, 2026 · Initial release: 35 candies, 6 evals, 7 categories.

Run the eval on your tongue Lab Notes