Jelly Belly tour of factory in Fairfield

Most candy fanatics - and, therefore, most kids - love jelly beans.

Naturally, then, when I dragged my father on a tour of Jelly Belly's flagship Fairfield factory, I was in my glory; not only did yours truly get to see the entire production facility on a free 40-minute tour, but our guides gave us a sugar-rush full of free samples to boot.

The experience kicked off in the Jelly Belly Visitor Center, a glorified gift shop fronted by a three-story smiling bean (think Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, only friendly). There was a 15-minute wait when we arrived (because the 40-minute tour is free, you can't make reservations) but our hosts invited us to taste some freebies from the sample bar.

Finally, our tour began with a video about company history - how Herman Goelitz Rowand Sr., a fourth-generation Oakland candymaker, launched the concept in 1960, and how an endorsement from former governor and President Ronald Reagan in 1967 put the company on the map.

The video detailed how a Los Angeles candy marketer came up with the idea for true-to-life flavors; the company started with eight such offerings, now there are more than 60. The video also informed us that it takes more than a week to make a single bean.

From the video room, our guide led us past a photo booth, down a long hallway and into a series of enclosed catwalks that ring the factory floor. From this bird's-eye view, we were able to peer down on machines representing every step of the production process, from refined sugar to molding, flavoring, buffing (that's how they get so shiny) and packaging.

One caveat: Because we visited on a weekend, production lines were shut down, and we had to settle for videos of what we were missing.

Perhaps the highlight of the walkabout was our stroll past the Jelly Belly Wall of Fame - a series of jelly-bean mosaics inspired by Reagan (himself a jelly bean fanatic). In addition to Mickey Mouse and other iconic regional images, there was a Mona Lisa out of jelly beans.

Nothing, however, topped the highs we received at the tour's end. Our guides gave us all a free bag of jelly beans and led us into the gift store, where we fanned out like ants. Dad and I gravitated toward traditional flavors: root beer, chocolate pudding and the like. Needless to say, though we left around dusk, drowsiness was not an issue on the drive home.

Open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. (Tours: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. daily.) Free. 1 Jelly Belly Lane, Fairfield. (800) 953-5592. www.jellybelly.com.

- Matt Villano, 96hours@sfchronicle.com

This article appeared on page G - 17 of the San Francisco Chronicle