Do American Smarties Even Have Individual Flavors?

Depending on where you live, Smarties candy may look very different than it does elsewhere. Canadian and U.K. Smarties are all chocolate with a candy coating. Each packet of the American version, however, is comprised of 15 tiny, fruit-flavored sugar tablets of various colors, all wrapped in a roll of plastic film. (These candies are called "Rockets" in Canada and the U.K.)

As of 2015, about two billion rolls of Smarties were sold each year. Many of those candies are given out during the Halloween season, and the company even takes pre-orders for the holiday nearly a year in advance.

The tiny American candies may feature different colors, but do they actually taste different? After all, some people claim that Skittles all taste the same, despite their different smells and colors leading many to believe otherwise. Fortunately, if you're looking for some variety in your candy, Smarties do actually feature different flavors. Each package has six varieties of colorful, fruity-flavored tablets mixed together.

Each packet of American Smarties contains six distinct flavors, which correspond to the six different colors of the candy tablets. The orange ones are self-explanatory, as the orange color and flavor both correspond to the fruit of the same name. The pale yellow Smarties feature a tropical pineapple flavor. As is pretty common with purple candies, the purple Smarties mimic grapes. The pink discs are supposed to taste like cherries.

The white and green Smarties are where the flavors get a bit more confusing. While a coconut flavor, for example, may make sense for the white Smarties, given that the inside of the fruit is white, the actual flavor is supposed to taste like orange cream. The green Smarties aren't lime or melon, as their color might suggest — they're actually strawberry. While green strawberries do exist, the fruit is more commonly known for its red hue. The assortment in each roll is random, so you may wind up with a few of each flavor. If you're particularly unlucky, you may be missing one flavor entirely.

The original Smarties were first produced in 1949, when Edward Dee repurposed a pellet-making machine to produce the fruit-flavored candies. The Smarties Candy Company has continued producing the sweets ever since. Larger tablets featuring the original flavors and colors are for sale in both "giant" and "mega" sizes. The company also produces candy necklaces, lollipops, raspberry- and cream-flavored gummy candies, and sugar tablets imprinted with hearts for Valentine's Day.

Although the candy's standard six colors are the norm, there have been a few different varieties of the candy available over the years. Tropical Smarties feature coconut/piña colada, banana, orange, red berry, and lemon-lime sugar tablets. X-treme Sour Smarties take five of the six original flavors — omitting only orange cream — and give them a sour-tasting twist.

The next time you twist open a package of Smarties, try taste-testing each individual tablet. You may be surprised to find that each small bite of sugar features a differing flavor.