Well, candied the last batch for the season today, and learned something I already knew but wasn't really thinking of: the type of sugar you use can make a HUGE difference. The last time I bought sugar I was thinking I didn't want to buy a 5-lb. bag, and the only small bags they had were in the store's brand. That's fine for most purposes, but I recommend staying away from it for candying. Try to find pure cane sugar instead. Why? Let's start with melting time - I usually start off melting the sugar at a medium-low temperature. This took a lot longer with the cheap sugar - easily 3x as long. Not only that, but the sugar started to caramelize before it even came to a boil. Not good. By the time I put the pods in, the sugar was definitely brown. By the time the pods were translucent, the sugar was becoming a dark brown, more like it was burning. I suspect I'm not going to care for this batch, and will end up tossing it - lesson learned.