Why it’s great: Yummi’s 12-inch taper candles are high quality yet affordable, and they come in a classic length and proportion. Also, they’re available in a staggering number of colors—45—so you can really focus in on the shade and tone you prefer (you can choose between an ice blue and a Caribbean blue, for example). Yummi applies its colors as a tinted, satiny paraffin coating over a white core, as opposed to tinting its candles all the way through (you can read more about this in our candle construction section). But the coating is thick and evenly applied, so the white core always stays concealed, even when the candle is burning. The green-tea-colored candles we tested were smooth to the touch, vibrant, and even. The wicks, which have a tight, flat braid, were easy to light and produced little ash. Thanks to their tapered base with molded grooves, the Yummi candles fit securely into our standard candleholder, without our having to force them. In testing, these candles didn’t drip at all during the first hour. They dripped in a narrow, single stream after the second hour. Based on our testing, we estimate that one Yummi candle will burn for about 7½ hours. In addition to 45 colors, these candles also come in 10-, 15-, and 18-inch lengths, the greatest height variety we’ve seen when shopping for a classic taper.
