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I Tried Every Flavor of Hershey’s Kisses Because Why Not

This article is written by a student writer from the Spoon University at San Diego chapter.

If you’re reading this, you’re probably obsessed with chocolate or curious to see how many kisses one person can eat. Well, I was on Facebook the other day and saw an advertisement for Birthday Cake Hershey’s Kisses. I was shocked, since I only thought there was one flavor of Hershey’s Kisses. After a quick search on Amazon, I soon realized that the flavors are pretty infinite. I ranked them on taste from original to dark chocolate to pumpkin spice—I got your back.

Contender One: Original

Hershey's kisses shellfish water
Katie Greene

All I can say about these babies are “don’t mess with the best.” A childhood classic and a personal favorite, you really can’t top these. I would always get excited when my mom would have these in her purse, and they always come out with fun colors around the Holidays. 

This is an easy 5/5.

Contender Two: Hugs

Hershey's kisses chocolate
Katie Greene

“Hugs” are the sister candy to Kisses. They have white chocolate and milk chocolate together, so it’s the best of both worlds. They definitely compete with normal Kisses, but I had never heard of them before, so I don’t think Hugs are beating Kisses anytime soon. Compared to Kisses, Hugs are pretty rich and creamy. These guys were equally as good as Kisses to me.

Solid 5/5 as well.

Contender Three: Caramel

Hershey's kisses cream chocolate
Katie Greene

Caramel Kisses surprised me. The caramel was smooth instead of usual drugstore caramel candy that’s hard and so sugary that you can literally feel your cavities coming in. These bite-sized bits of heaven are delicious and everyone loves them. Cute packaging, fun twist on Hershey’s Kisses, all around a good time. 

Again, 5/5.

Contender Four: Almond

Hershey's kisses chocolate
Katie Greene

Almonds are healthy…. right? That’s what I kept telling myself as I ate these Hershey’s Kisses one by one. By far, these were my favorite. They’re small enough to give you a crunch from the almond and give you a sugar fix, so you won’t overload but you definitely can’t have just one. Watch me stocking up on these and having a hidden stash of Almond Kisses in my dorm room for the next year. 

Since I make the rules, these clearly deserve an unprecedented 6/5.

Contender Five: Dark Chocolate

Hershey's kisses truffle chocolate
Katie Greene

Dark Chocolate has always been a favorite treat of mine. I like the bitter but sweet taste of it; plus, it has antioxidants so you never feel too guilty about eating it afterwards. These kisses are really good for an after lunch or after dinner dessert when you’re in the mood for a little treat but don’t want to go all out. They aren’t the best, but they’re better than some.

I’d give Dark Chocolate Kisses a 3.5 out of 5.

Contender Six: Carrot Cake

Hershey's kisses pumpkin sweet
Katie Greene

This is where things turned ugly. If I could do this experiment all over again, I would not try these Carrot Cake Hershey’s Kisses. I was excited to try these because I actually enjoy real carrot cake, but these chocolates were not even in the same universe in taste. There was a cream cheese filling that just ended up to be oily and way too sugary. Unfortunately, I really did not like these.

Taste-wise, I’d give it a 1 but because of the creativity behind the flavor, I’ll give it a 2 out of 5. 

Contender Seven: Birthday Cake

Hershey's kisses chocolate
Katie Greene

The flavor that started it all! The second I heard about these, I knew I had to try them because they sounded so fun. From the colorful packaging to the original idea, I thought these would be an easy 5 out of 5. Birthday Cake Hershey’s Kisses are vanilla cake flavored with sprinkles in the middle. The sprinkles add a different but interesting texture, but these were not my favorite. 

I’d regrettably give ’em a 3/5.

Contender Eight: Pumpkin Spice

Hershey's kisses candy sweet
Katie Greene

I had to give in to the basic white girl in fall stereotype and get this flavor. Being a lover of the PSL myself, I thought these would be fabulous, but I was wrong. Don’t put yourself through the pain of trying these. Pumpkin Spice Kisses are just WRONG.

Disappointing 0/5.

After trying all these flavors I don’t think I can ever touch sugar again. These taste tests were worth it though, because who in their right mind would pass up trying different flavors of chocolate?!

Katie Greene

San Diego '20

Dog lover. Baking obsessed. Karaoke song of choice? American Girl by Carrie Underwood. Bruncher by day, Scandal binge-watcher by night.