Jelly Beans in the wizarding world appear identical to their Muggle counterparts: small, bean-shaped sugar sweets that come in a wide variety of colours. However, the most famous magical variant, Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, possesses a unique and unpredictable quality. Unlike standard jelly beans which have a limited range of fruit flavours, these magical beans encompass literally every flavour imaginable, from the delicious to the disgusting. There is no way to tell what a bean's flavour is from its appearance alone, making the consumption of each bean a gamble.
The primary magical property of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans is the enchantment that allows them to possess any flavour. They are consumed as a popular sweet, often enjoyed as a game of risk and daring among young witches and wizards. Known flavours mentioned in the novels include:
The invention of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans was accidental. According to Albus Dumbledore, the confectioner Bertie Bott was attempting to create a range of tasty sweets based on food flavours in the mid-20th century. By mistake, he included a pair of dirty socks in his experiment, leading to the creation of a bean with that exact flavour. Rather than seeing this as a failure, Bott recognized the commercial potential of such a novelty. He began marketing the sweets with the slogan, “A risk with every mouthful!”
Jelly Beans, specifically Bertie Bott's, are introduced to Harry Potter by Ron Weasley during their first journey on the Hogwarts Express. Ron explains their nature and mentions that his brother George Weasley swears he once got a bogie-flavoured one. They play a significant role in the final chapter of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. While visiting Harry in the hospital wing, Albus Dumbledore explains the origin story of the beans. He recounts his own unfortunate experience with a vomit-flavoured bean in his youth, which soured his enjoyment of them. In a moment of irony, he then selects a bean he believes to be toffee, only to discover it is, in fact, earwax-flavoured. In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry finds a single bean on the floor of Dumbledore's office after his encounter with the memory of Tom Riddle. The beans are mentioned as being sold at Honeydukes in Hogsmeade and from the food trolley on the Hogwarts Express, cementing their status as a staple of the wizarding world's confectionery.