Let me give you a little scenario of how I imagine Enerjets, a coffee flavored candy drop was created.
lets start off with our intrepid inventor, who, about 50 years ago was making his usual cup of morning coffee. Being the kind of guy he is, he starts off the morning with a hot cup of store brand instant coffee. he gets a metal pot, drops in his coffee crystals and accidentally adds too much Sweet and Low into the pot. This morning however, our poor sap lets it sit too long on the stove and it starts to boil. He runs in to take a sip and burns his taste buds off completely! Running to the bathroom, Mr. Dumbass leaves the coffee on until it cooks well past drinkable – turning into a charred layer of crunchy goo on the bottom of his aluminum pan. Hours later, it cools – and Mr. Dumbass Inventor has a brilliant idea! He breaks up the burned mess into chunks and, having no taste buds left, thinks his new idea is a wonder! Somehow, he manages to drum up enough money from another tasteless businessman to turn it into a real business – and Enerjets Wake Up Boosters was born.

Taste: -1
So as you can probably tell, I did not like this very much. But it is not just me – this tastes soooo bad – I had to share it around the office as one of the Worst Treats Ever. It is just one of those things so bad you have to share.C ries of “YERRRRGHHHH!” we heard across the aisles as my cohorts were searching for the garbage to spit this out in. As a novelty candy this works well – Kind of like the pepper gum joke sticks you can buy at magic stores to play pranks on your friends. If you see this at your local convenience store/truck stop/ joke shop, I would be derelict of my crital reviewer duties if I did not warn you, DO NOT BUY THIS CANDY FOR YOURSELF. If you see it on sale for a dollar – you would appreciate the dollar more. If your friends offer some to you, take it as a declaration of war.

Nutrition/Buzz:7
They managed to pack in 75mg of caffeine in here – and BOY can you taste every overly bitter granule. The instant coffee and caffeine leave you jittery and bouncy, but not in a good way. The boost is VERY strong – as you start feeling twitchy before you finish chewing these down. I can not believe that even 50 years ago, someone thought this stuff was a good idea. I did not even know they made Ace-K in the 50s, when the website says this candy was first sold (foisted) off at truckers and sleep weary travelers across the US. There is no other buzz worthy ingredients in here besides instant coffee and caffeine. The other things in here are sugar, Corn Syrup and Ace K -all doing a poor job sweetening this awful caffeinated drop.
At least there is a good does of caffeine – like you achieved something by finishing getting this down. 75mg is quite a lot for a little drop – so 2 of these should get you jittery and anxious energy to keep you bouncing for a good 2-3 hours.

Packaging:8
The packaging belies the age of this product. Until I went online, I had no idea they have been selling these things for neigh on 50 years in truck stops across the US. That means that someone has been putting up with eating these to stay awake to keep the business alive for this long. Fortunately, we now live in a time when caffeine and stimulants can come in much more palatable forms than this. For this company to keep surviving in this age, they should really consider changing more than their package.
And truthfully, the package is pretty good. It got me interested enough to want to buy it, and excited to taste the candy. I like their colors, their sales patch, and even the little wraps the candies come in. The big “1 drop=1cup of coffee=75mg” plastered on it was a big sell – and worked really well. It was generic enough to not cater to any one niche, but also gave the product some flair.

Website:3
What more could you want in a website? with graphics made in microsoft word, a layout done in 10 minutes with a word processor, and such important information as a FAQ that tells you information on what caffeine is – I feel like THIS is what I expected from a candy this bad. The package made this seem like they spent a long time on this candy, perfecting the flavor profile. But, looking at this website made fresh of the 1996 design specs – you can see how this candy is lost in yesteryear. I guess it was made this way to look this good for Ipods and mobile devices, right?