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By Casey Lynn
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

Being well acquainted with geeky late nights of the coding, studying, and playing World of Warcraft variety (generally not all at the same time), I consider myself something of an aficionado of caffeine. Obviously I’m a big fan of the energy drink and the traditional cup of coffee, but there are times when I’d like a bit of a jolt and don’t have either handy. After all, I’m not going to go walking around with Red Bull in my pocket every day. Caffeinated mints are sometimes a good option, but the ones that have any decent amount of kick to them generally taste pretty awful.

Perhaps candy maker Osmanium sensed my dilemma, because after seeing that here at [GAS] we are experts in this area, they sent us something new to try: Crackheads. These chocolate-covered espresso beans have already been selling well to the geek crowd over at ThinkGeek, and now offer an even crackier version: Jitterbeans, AKA Crackheads Squared.

These jittery little beans are covered in white and dark chocolate, and a box of the original contains about 200mg of caffeine. The new version? A whopping 600mg, which includes Guarana seed extract mixed into the candy shell. In other words: don’t eat the whole box at once.

The timing turned out to be great when these guys arrived on my doorstep, because I was just wrapping up final exams. The 600mg version especially gets two thumbs up from me on the staying-awake scale. They were actually pretty perfect for popping during a late night study session for an extra jolt. And even though they’re chocolate, they’re not incredibly bad for you–seven pieces is less than fifty calories. I do, however, think that the original Crackheads get a few extra points on the taste scale. The Guarana extract adds a weird sort of texture that’s absent in the others… but if your intention is to keep your eyes open, you’ll probably find that a small price to pay.

Handing them out to my classmates who were hitting the books yielded good reviews, too. One said that she doesn’t normally like chocolate-covered espresso beans, but actually liked these.

My major complaint would be that for something that you’re not supposed to eat all at once (this isn’t a box of movie theater candy!), the lack of a resealable box is a bit of a hassle. I found half my box of Jitterbeans at the bottom of my purse at some point, which was a tragic waste.

Overall, I’d definitely recommend these for a convenient, tasty caffeine fix. Just don’t get hooked!

Crackheads and Crackheads 2 (or Jitterbeans) are available at these locations:

• Amazon.com (Crackheads 1)
• Thinkgeek.com (Crackheads 1 & 2)
• StayAlertGum.Co.uk (Jitterbeans)
• Xoxide.com (Crackheads 1 & 2)
• Crackheadscandy.com (Crackheads 1 & 2)

Crackheads products are also sold in about 600 F.Y.E stores across the United States.