Last Call: How Sour Is Too Sour?

Within my formal taxonomy of sour candies, Sour Skittles are an unwelcome outlier. They're too sour, in a way that's both uncomfortable and overpowering. There's no tasting the sweet center underneath its crust of tooth-achingly citric sour sanding. Here's how I put it back when I devised my taxonomy, and how I still consider them now: "They're hard and unforgiving in their chew, and every moment you spend eating them feels wrong, like you're doing something every parent and health professional would strongly advise against. (You absolutely are.)"

Well, it turns out that enough Skittles consumers out there must disagree with me, because we've received confirmation from a spokesperson that Skittles Shriekers are hitting store shelves later this year. Delish has more on these terrifying-sounding candies:

The flavors include Spine-Tingling Tangerine, Ghoulish Green Apple, Rattled Raspberry, Citrus Scream, and Shocking Lime. From our understanding, some will be very sour, but we don't know which ones they will be. Talk about a trick or treat!

So, playing another game of Russian roulette with our taste buds, eh Skittles? We haven't yet forgotten about Halloween 2019's Zombie Skittles, whose packaging read, "BEWARE. Most taste delicious but some taste like Rotten Zombie." And they somehow most certainly did. But as much as necrotic Skittles are not my jam, a bag of Skittles in which some candies are unexpectedly WAY more sour than their brethren sounds like a living nightmare. They don't debut until the fall, but I'm already shrieking.

What's your personal tolerance level for sour candy? For me, sour sweets should follow the principles of hot sauce: strong enough to make your mouth pucker, maybe even to make your face go flush, but not so strong that you can't taste what's underneath. However, the fact that Warheads continue to exist means that there are plenty of people out there who feel differently. Where do your taste buds draw the line?