photo credit: Grant Ruof
Right off Ohio State’s campus, there are a ton of stores lining the streets. One of these stores is called Candy Cloud, and recently, it has become an internet sensation.
One of many locations in the country, the Columbus location is one addition to the fast growing chain of stores. According to the main website of Candy Cloud, founders Alex and Paityn Edwards were struck by tragedy when their daughter Evelyn heartbreakingly passed away. Inspired by the flowers left for them following this horrible event, they decided to turn it into something positive. They started growing and selling flowers from a renovated trailer at farmers markets. After seeing the excitement that followed food trucks, they decided to start selling food. They started creating cotton candy, and after the business grew in popularity, they added their iconic and social media famous canned drinks to the menu.
In 2021, they moved the business into an empty boba shop, and in turn, created the phenomenon that now exists today. When I noticed the buzz around these stores and heard how much people love them, I knew I needed to try it. I drove about 20 minutes to Columbus to try these drinks and parked at the store, which is located not far from the highway at 1543 Lennox Town Lane. I went with my sisters and my mom, who also wanted to try it.
I made it my mission to try a variety of drinks and food. The menu has a lot of options, and the option to create a customized drink, so after lots of indecisiveness, I picked out what I wanted to try. I tried the donut bites and the birthday cake pop.
The donut bites were great. I tried them with the donut glaze, and it was definitely worth it. The donuts had a cinnamon topping, which has the perfect touch. They came out warm, and the donuts were very soft. I would definitely try them again. I was a little skeptical about the birthday cake pop, because it was gluten free, and typically I don’t like gluten free foods. However, I couldn’t even tell it apart from a regular cake pop. The cake wasn’t too dry and it tasted similar to the Starbucks cake pops people love.
Then, I moved on to the drinks. I started off with a lemonade. They have many different kinds of lemonades to buy, and the ability to create your own. I tried the mangonade, which is a mango lemonade. I am a big fan of popping bubbles, so I chose to add mango popping bubbles. Immediately, when I tried it, I loved it. It definitely had a very strong mango flavor. I would say that if you don’t LOVE mango, don’t try it.
My sister ended up getting a smoothie, which was mango with a lemonade base and strawberry popping bubbles. This option was much better for those who don’t want a strong taste of mango. I also thought the strawberry popping bubbles added a little variety, which made it taste very good.
The next drink I tried was a mocha cookie crumble frappe. It is different than regular coffee, as it is a blended frozen drink. I thought it tasted great. I felt it had enough of a coffee taste and a good sweet taste. The cookie crumbles added the perfect touch. However, I felt like it was rich as I drank it more. This was the only downside of this drink to me, and I imagine it tastes sweeter than the other coffee drinks.
Finally, I tried the ice cream. This was the most exciting to me, as the ice cream looked so good online. First, I tried a chocolate milkshake. It was very creamy and chocolatey, and it was definitely enjoyable. However, it was also rich and definitely could be hard to finish the drink in one sitting.
Then, I tried the soft serve ice cream. If looking for a less rich but still sweet enough ice cream, I would highly recommend the strawberry crunch soft serve. It tasted to me like a strawberry crunch ice cream bar. The crunches, which are on the outside of those ice cream bars, were inside the soft serve, along with some type of strawberry puree. The ice cream was thick and had a good consistency, and I loved this one. It was refreshing from the fruit, yet still sweet with the ice cream.
Then, I tried what I was the most excited for, the birthday cake layer soft serve. It was definitely my favorite; I loved the sprinkles and cake bits that were in the ice cream. However, it was very sweet, but I enjoyed it.
In regards to prices, it is definitely more expensive. I would say the prices are similar to places like Starbucks. For example, a regular Mangonade with mango popping bubbles is $6.38, which seems pricey to me. Overall, I would rate Candy Cloud four out of five stars. I loved the drinks, but some were a little too sweet and it’s more on the expensive side.
Candy Cloud is definitely a great spot to try out. If you have the chance, you need to try it out!
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