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"Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans — A Risk With Every Mouthful!"
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Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans were one of the most popular sweets in the wizarding world. Invented by Bertie Bott, they were almost the same as Muggle jelly beans, except the range encompassed every possible flavour imaginable.[2] There was also no way of telling for sure what flavour any given bean was without tasting it, although you could try and guess by the colour.

There were ordinary flavours like chocolate, peppermint, and marmalade, but also less fanciable ones like spinach, liver, and tripe.[2] There were also strange and unusual flavours that were not actual foods like grass, farm dirt, vomit, earwax, paper, and bogeys.

At Sugarplum's Sweets Shop, they were priced at 6 Sickles per box.[1]

History[]

"You want to be careful with those. When they say every flavour, they mean every flavour — you know, you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but then you can get spinach and liver and tripe. George reckons he had a bogey flavoured one once. Bleaaargh — see? Sprouts."
Ron Weasley's warning[src]

The inventor of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans was the eponymous Bertie Bott, who created them in the mid-20th century by mistake. He was planning on making tasty sweets from food, but accidentally made one taste like a dirty sock. He immediately recognised the sales potential of "a risk with every mouthful!"

According to Ron Weasley, there are ordinary flavours like chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but also more adventuresome ones like spinach and liver and tripe. George Weasley said he had a bogey-flavoured bean once.[2]

Every-flavoured beans

Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans

In 1992, while Harry was in the hospital wing, he offered one to Professor Dumbledore. Dumbledore told him that he had been unfortunate enough to have come across a vomit-flavoured one in his youth, and since that occasion, he had not cared for them. In spite of this, he decided to give them another chance and carefully selected a golden brown-coloured one that he assumed would be toffee-flavoured, but it turned out to be an earwax-flavoured bean.[4]

They were advertised at the 422nd Quidditch World Cup on a large sign, showing how famous and popular they are. The advertisement at the cup stated: "Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans--A Risk with Every Mouthful!"[5]

During the Calamity in the 2010s, Rubeus Hagrid, after undergoing hours of positive reinforcement through the use of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, was able to train fire-breathing chickens to hold their fire at a consistent temperature and to change the flames' temperature on command, enabling them to heat up cauldrons much quicker, with only the occasional burn risk. This technique helped enable members of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force to increase the duration of the Baruffio's Brain Elixir brewed within these cauldrons.[6]

Popularity[]

Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans were a popular sweet for students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They bought them from the lunch trolley on the Hogwarts Express[2] and from Honeydukes in Hogsmeade.[3] They gave them for Christmas gifts[7][8] and as gifts when someone was ill and in the Hospital Wing.[4] Bertie Bott's Beans were sold in bags or in small striped boxes.

Known flavours[]

"I suggest you make a start on these sweets. Ah! Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans! I was unfortunate enough in my youth to come across a vomit flavoured one, and since then I'm afraid I've rather lost my liking for them — but I think I'll be safe with a nice toffee, don't you? ... Alas! Earwax."
Albus Dumbledore to Harry Potter[src]

Behind the scenes[]

  • Albus Dumbledore said that he had the misfortune of coming across a vomit-flavoured bean in his youth.[4] As he was 53 or 54 years old when the inventor was born, this would seem unlikely but Dumbledore had a great fondness for sweets it is mentioned on more than one occasion. However, given his old age, it is possible Dumbledore perceived himself as still being in his youth at that stage of his life.
  • It seems unlikely that consumers are able to tell the difference between certain flavours, such as Marshmallow and Toasted Marshmallow, Lemon and Lemon Drop, and Dirt and Farm Dirt. It is possible that they are somehow enchanted to allow a person to know its flavour once they have tasted the bean, but no explanation is given of where their certainty comes from.
  • The packaging in the Harry Potter films was designed by Ruth Winick.[56]
Jelly belly bertie botts

The Jelly Belly chart of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans

  • In the real world, Jelly Belly Candy Company released jelly beans with selected flavours from the series. There are currently 25 flavours available. The review website Candy Addict rated these candies as #4 of the "10 grossest candies."[57] The Bertie Bott's candies may have been inspired by Jelly Belly, which produces jellybeans in unexpected flavours like jalapeño and encourages consumers to eat different-flavoured jellybeans in combination to create different flavours.
  • At the The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans can be purchased at Honeydukes Sweetshop.
Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans LEGOY1

Albus Dumbledore next to a chest of these beans in LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4

Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans icon COSG PS2

An icon for bean collection in the video game adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

  • In the first four video games in the series, the beans were used as currency. Each game, save for the PC versions and the first two PS1 versions, usually has a certain limit that shows how many beans the player can pick up at maximum (that can be increased by finding/buying a Bertie Bott's Bean bag), initially up to 50. The first game involves up to 100-to-150, the second game allows 100-150 as well (only the PS2 version enables a second bag to be picked up for 200 beans total while the second bag on the Xbox/Gamecube versions can only be brought on the final day if the prior one was brought), and the third game due to the trio's full involvement in being playable, enables 250 beans total to be carried.
    • In the first three games, the beans are spent at Fred and George Weasley's shop at Hogwarts. While in the fourth game, they are spent at a card collector shop accessed outside of gameplay (though in the GBA version the shop is named "Weasley's Wares").
    • Only the PC versions of all three first games, the PS1 versions of the first two games, and both console (with the PC version being the same) and GBA versions of the fourth game enable an indefinite amount of beans collected past 250 onwards.
    • The fourth game also allows beans collected by Harry during the Triwizard tasks to improve his score, which can be essential for increasing ranks to receive extra Triwizard Shields (sometimes independent of the time record). Beans out in the open in the console version during Triwizard tasks however, are always colored orange save for beans dropped by defeated enemies as usual (currency-based beans in the GBA version however, are green).
    • While usually the GBC/GBA versions of the first three games only treat the beans as healing items (with the GBA version of Chamber of Secrets only treating them as bonus collectables for one part of the game), both versions of Goblet of Fire are the only Harry Potter games with the beans being both currency and healing items (in the case of the red beans only for console and PC versions, and white beans for GBA).
    • In several of these games, it is also possible for Harry (Ron and Hermione) to also lose beans upon getting hit/damaged by certain hostile entities. The amount lost often varies from game to game, and not picking them back up in time will result in the dropped beans disappearing and being lost. So far, the only exceptions to this rule are the PC games and the GBA version of Goblet of Fire, where getting directly damaged does not drop any beans.
  • In the visual experience in Pottermore, players could find these beans in the Hogwarts Express. The description of these beans was: "Bertie Bott’s Every-Flavour Beans really do come in all flavours, from chocolate to earwax and marmalade to liver."
    • On Pottermore, Beans mostly looked like whatever food they were flavoured from.

Appearances[]

Wiki
The Harry Potter Wiki has 124 images related to Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.

Notes and references[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)
  2. 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 6 (The Journey from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters)
  3. 3.0 3.1 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 10 (The Marauder's Map)
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 17 (The Man with Two Faces)
  5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 8 (The Quidditch World Cup)
  6. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
  7. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 12 (The Mirror of Erised)
  8. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 23 (Christmas on the Closed Ward)
  9. 9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 9.10 9.11 9.12 9.13 9.14 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game) - GBA version
  10. 10.00 10.01 10.02 10.03 10.04 10.05 10.06 10.07 10.08 10.09 10.10 10.11 10.12 10.13 10.14 10.15 10.16 10.17 10.18 10.19 10.20 10.21 10.22 Real-life version of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans made by the Jelly Belly Candy Company
  11. 11.00 11.01 11.02 11.03 11.04 11.05 11.06 11.07 11.08 11.09 11.10 11.11 11.12 11.13 Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 Unused lines of dialogue from the GBC version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game). Transcript available at "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone on The Cutting Room Floor"
  13. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 14.6 14.7 14.8 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film) (DVD 2 - Special Features)
  15. 15.00 15.01 15.02 15.03 15.04 15.05 15.06 15.07 15.08 15.09 15.10 15.11 15.12 15.13 15.14 15.15 Real world version (see this image)
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game) (PS1 version)
  17. 17.00 17.01 17.02 17.03 17.04 17.05 17.06 17.07 17.08 17.09 17.10 17.11 Harry Potter | Bertie Botts
  18. Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells (see this image)
  19. 19.0 19.1 19.2 Pottermore
  20. 20.0 20.1 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Windows, Mac OS Classic, Mac OS X)/Unused Voice Clips on The Cutting Room Floor
  21. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game) - Bertie Bott's Chocolate Frog Card.
  22. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)
  23. 23.0 23.1 23.2 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game) - PC version
  24. Amazon.com
  25. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)
  26. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game) - GBA version
  27. Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans - Everything
  28. Found as a collectible in Pottermore - Book 3, Chapter 16, Moment 2 "The Committee"
  29. Pottermore - Book 4, Chapter 28, Moment 1 "Hate Mail"
  30. 30.0 30.1 30.2 30.3 Pottermore - Book 2, Chapter 3, Moment 1 "Harry's Escape"
  31. Pottermore - Book 4, Chapter 13, Moment 1 "A Pure White Ferret"
  32. Pottermore - Book 2, Chapter 9, Moment 2 "Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom"
  33. Pottermore - Book 4, Chapter 17, Moment 1 "Four Triwizard Champions"
  34. 34.0 34.1 34.2 Pottermore - Book 2, Chapter 10, Moment 1 - Moste Potente Potions
  35. Pottermore - Book 2, Chapter 12, Moment 2 "The Potion is Ready"
  36. Pottermore - Book 1, Chapter 7, Moment 2 "The Sorting Ceremony"
  37. Pottermore - Book 3, Chapter 21, Moment 1 "Time-Turner"
  38. Pottermore - Book 4, Chapter 21, Moment 1 "Hibernating Skrewts"
  39. Pottermore - Book 4, Chapter 6, Moment 1 "The Misty Moor"
  40. Pottermore - Book 4, Chapter 21, Moment 2 "Hogwarts Kitchens"
  41. Pottermore - Book 3, Chapter 13, Moment 1 "Ron Tries Out the Firebolt"
  42. 42.0 42.1 Pottermore - Book 2, Chapter 9, Moment 1 "The Legend of the Chamber of Secrets"
  43. Pottermore - Book 4, Chapter 18, Moment 2 "Rita Skeeter"
  44. Pottermore - Book 4, Chapter 26, Moment 1 "Merpeople"
  45. Pottermore - Book 1, Chapter 5, Moment 3 "Ollivanders"
  46. Pottermore - Book 4, Chapter 12, Moment 1 "A Late Arrival"
  47. Pottermore - Book 3, Chapter 12, Moment 1 "Expecto Patronum"
  48. Pottermore - Book 4, Chapter 25, Moment 1 "The Prefects' Bathroom"
  49. Pottermore - Book 3, Chapter 5, Moment 1 "Professor R.J. Lupin"
  50. Pottermore - Book 5, Chapter 26, Moment 1 "Trelawney is Sacked"
  51. Pottermore - Book 2, Chapter 13, Moment 1 "Tom Riddle's Diary"
  52. Pottermore - Book 2, Chapter 1, Moment 1 "The Magic Word"
  53. 53.0 53.1 Pottermore - Book 2, Chapter 13, Moment 2 "Valentine's Day"
  54. Pottermore - Book 1, Chapter 5, Moment 1 "Arriving at Diagon Alley"
  55. Pottermore - Book 2, Chapter 2, Moment 2 "Aunt Petunia's Pudding"
  56. "The Original Prop Designer – Exclusive interview with Ruth Winick" - The Rowling Library Magazine Issue #52 The Original Prop Designer · April 2021 (in collaboration with Felipe Gabriel) (p.8-14)
  57. www.candyaddict.com
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