When I first encountered Jelly Belly jelly beans, I would sort them by color so I would learn which ones were popcorn flavored. They tasted like butter and corn, but also were very sweet, and I didn't like that at all. I wanted to eat the eggnog flavor beans, but I didn't want to eat them in the same mouthful as, say, lime flavor. Since then, the range of flavors that the jelly beans come in has exploded.
Where did all these jelly beans come from? The Goelitz family made candy, but their businesses in the US had their ups and downs. You have to admit that Jelly Belly is a better name for a candy company, even though they make more than beans. They didn't invent jelly beans, but they produce them with more and better flavors. However, it still took a celebrity fan to make these beans a global hit.
But why do they make them in flavors called earwax, earthworm, barf, chili, and black pepper? Mainly to keep you on your toes, but there's more to it. You can even get jelly beans that act as a dare, because the good flavors and the bad flavors can't be distinguished by color. As for me, I prefer to get mine from a fancy candy store, where you can mix and match only the flavors you want.