Stride Spark Kinetic Fruit

Stride hopped on the vitamin bandwagon with their new line, Stride Spark. Although I tend to disregard the vitamin aspect, I am a sucker for new products and citrus gum, so I picked up Stride Spark Kinetic Fruit for $1.29 at the grocery store.

B6 and B12 vitamins aside, the swirly, metallic packaging caught my eye. I only assumed it was a citrus gum because of the orange on the packaging - Kinectic Fruit isn't terribly descriptive.


Initially, the gum had a great sour orange flavor, and the best comparison I can think of is orange Tic Tacs (a childhood favorite of mine). There were small crystals in the gum that gave it a slightly crackly texture as I chewed - probably the Spark.

The tart flavor lasted around 10 minutes, if I remember correctly, though the leftover weakened orange flavor wasn't bad. The gum didn't get too soft or too hard, so there were no issues with texture. I found myself chewing until the flavor faded, then getting a new piece to enjoy the orange flavor again.

B+

Check out another review at The Impulsive Buy.

Stride Gum Website

Trident Vitality Vigorate

It's not often that my regular grocery store gets new candy products (which makes me think I should find a new regular store), but recently, they started carrying Trident Vitality gum. When I brought Vigorate home, my husband thought it was a pack of cough drops.

Trident Vitality seems a bit like the Vitamin Water of the gum world. Was anyone really crying out for vitamin C in their gum? Still, even if I'm not using it as a health supplement, I did buy the gum, so the marketing strategy must be working.


The liquid center reminded me of the gel in Gushers fruit snacks. Right away, the citrus (mainly orange) flavor was very strong. Although the box also lists strawberry as a flavor, it was only hinted at. There was also a bold cooling effect, so strong that my throat burned a bit every time I had a piece. In fact, they were very much like orange cough drops.

The gum chewed very soft, and the flavor tapered off after about 5 minutes to a mild, sweet, and slightly tart fruit. The cooling rush hung around for much longer, and it reminded me a little too much of medicine to make me want to buy this flavor of Trident Vitality again.

C+

Trident Website

Trident Layers Cool Mint + Melon Fresco

Sometimes, a gum just sounds right from the get-go. Cool Mint + Melon Fresco called out to me in the check out lane, as gums often do, and I answered (meaning I bought this product myself). I love a good fruity mint, and melon is a great companion for mint. Maybe I wouldn't mind getting paid in this flavor...

For any readers in the New York city area, Trident is doing a bit of exciting non-traditional marketing in Times Square today from 6:30 AM until 2:00 PM. At Broadway and 42nd street, a fleet of taxis will give rides in exchange for a pack of this gum. There will also be celebrity appearances (Bethenny Frankel and Wendy Williams), free samples of the new flavor, and chances to win prizes instantly, or by snatching as many mint leaves in a "Grab for Mint" cyclone booth. It sounds pretty refreshing!


The gum smells like mint, and if I had to nail it down, I'd say spearmint. As I chewed, the melon flavor came out from the sticky center. It was like an extra tart almost honeydew, and it went very well with the mint. The sourness made the melon come off a bit like lime, but it was very subtle.

It's definitely my favorite of the Trident Layers flavors, and it's something I would buy again. The refreshing flavor lasted a very long time (probably around 20 minutes), and the gum had a good texture throughout the chew. If fruity-mint gum is not your thing, you may not like this one, but this gum was really well received by my friends and coworkers when I shared the pack.

A

Trident Website

Note: A PR company representative provided information about the promotional event, but I had already tried the gum, and this contact did not influence my review (not that it would have if I hadn't tried the gum). On a side note, I wish cool promotional events took place in the midwest...

Stride Shift Flavor Changing Gum

Press Sample
Despite its permanent place in my purse, it's been a while since I have reviewed chewing gum. Recently, it seems like gum companies are branching out with some interesting new products, Stride Shift gum included. My conscience dictates me to mention that these were free marketing samples, and that I am not being paid to write this (or any) review.

The packages certainly are eye-catching, and the colors had a very 1990s feel, probably to appeal to people of a certain age. I wasn't sure how Stride would pull off the flavor changing, but I'm a fan of fruit-mint combination gum, so I approached them without fear.


The initial orangey flavor of Citrus -> Mint was a mild citrus with hints of tropical fruit. It reminded me of orange suckers (specifically Dum Dums), especially because there were little crunchy bits in the gum. The mystery of the Shift was solved! The crunchy bits had a tart, citrus zip to them, and the chewier bits carried the mint. I suspect the food chemistry here aims to have the fruity bits dissolve before the mint, which was a sweet peppermint that I couldn't quite place. For a bit, I was getting punches of both flavors, but it only took a couple minutes to transition completely from orange to mint. From then on, the mint flavor lasted a very long time, and I was sick of chewing gum before the flavor was gone. B-


The Berry -> Mint smelled like strawberry and grape. At first, it tasted very sugarfree, but the initial flavor wasn't bad. I tasted blueberry and strawberry with a hint og mint. Again, most of the berry flavor was gone after a few minutes, leaving the gum minty with bursts of non-descript tartness. The final mint was the same sweet peppermint as the citrus, and again, the flavor lasted quite a while. B

I was a little obsessive about chewing up all of the flavor bits, so I could see that if you weren't, the gum might taste a bit weird. Still, Stride tried something new, which is always commendable. But unlike Stride's Eternal Melon (which I should review), I can't say that I'd seek these flavors out again.

Check out reviews of Citrus and Berry at GumAlert for another point of view.

Stride Gum Website

Cadbury Dairy Milk Fruit and Nut

This bar certainly changed my opinion of fruity chocolate bars. Before it, my only experience with them had been some sort of off brand chocolate bar with dried fruit, and that left a rather vile taste in my mouth long after the one bite I had was swallowed. Thank goodness for Cadbury.

Cadbury starts with good chocolate, at least to my tastes. It has a very distinct flavor that is similar to other non-gourmet European chocolate bars but quite different from Hershey's. The texture tends to be smoother, and the flavor is very milky with just a hint of caramelization.

The bar had the signature aroma of Cadbury chocolate - milky with caramel notes - but I could smell the dried fruits, too. The chocolate was very smooth and melted quickly on the tongue, leaving the tart taste of the raisins and the crunchy almonds.

The whole almonds, easily visible in this picture didn't add much flavor. Almonds have a pretty delicate flavor, so it was probably masked by the intense milk chocolate. The raisins had a good taste and texture, and the texture of the nuts made for a more interesting bar. I prefer this bar to the plain old milk chocolate, and my husband said it reminded him of trail mix.

A-

Cadbury Website

Cadbury Mini Eggs Popping

Cadbury Mini Eggs were a bit of an Easter tradition in my house growing up. For what seems like my entire childhood, most Cadbury products were Easter only. I know it's blasphemy, but I am not and have never been a fan of the famous Creme Eggs. Even to my young, Starburst-addicted tongue, they were just too sweet.

Cadbury Mini Eggs are a different story. I like them better than Hershey's chocolate, and there's none of that messy white (and yellow) junk inside. Also, the candy shell has a lovely matte finish with a little more sophistication than the gloss of an M&M or Robin's Egg. The particular variety reviewed here has popping candy inside and was purchased at a Shoppers Drug Mart in Ontario.


The eggs smelled like hot cocoa, and the candy shell and the chocolate on the inside seemed very crunchy (probably because of the popping candy). The popping effect didn't kick in right away, but once it did, each individual pop was mild - there were just a lot of those little pops.

It was a fun and interesting combination: mild, rich, creamy, milk chocolate and active popping candy. The pops were a good match for the texture of the shell. I prefer the regular eggs, just because too much popping candy can be annoying, but the pops were gentle enough here for me to not mind too much.

B+

Cadbury website

Sour Patch Jelly Beans

Just last weekend, I was searching for fizzy Skittles at my local Target store. I didn't find them, but I did find Sour Patch jelly beans. This really helped me contain my disappointment.

Jelly Beans have always been a favorite of mine at Easter and year round. Not so much the classic jelly beans, but Jelly Belly or Starburst jelly beans. My all time favorite movie candy is Sour Patch Kids, so everything fell into place when I saw this bag of beans.


The jelly beans looked a lot like Sour Patch Kids - same colors, same bumpy texture. All four of the original flavors were there: lime, orange, lemon, and redberry, whatever that is. There were no loose sour crystals on the beans, though, just a solid sour coating.

Yellow was a sour, citrusy lemon that falls in the middle of the fake---slice of lemon spectrum. Orange was a sweet, tart, orangeade kind of flavor, but I really enjoyed it. Green tasted just a bit more floral and sweet than the original lime flavor. It's my favorite of the original Kids, but somehow wasn't here. Red simply tasted red, and was my least favorite of the four.

If you like Sour Patch Kids, you'll like these jelly beans. I had a hard time resisting them, as did most of my "helpers." Though Starburst jelly beans have a larger variety of flavors, Sour Patch jelly beans are definitely one of my favorite candy spinoff beans.

A-

Sour Patch Kids website

Trident Splash Orange Swirl

I can never pass up a new gum flavor, and this one spoke to me in particular. Who doesn't love an orange Creamsicle? Of course, that's a trademark, so Trident has called their gum Orange Swirl. It's been around for several months, but I only noticed it recently.

I'm not sure I love the "splash" type of gum. A liquid center is great in a fruit snack (like Gushers, my favorite brown bag lunch dessert), since it's just going to be swallowed soon anyhow. But with gum, it seems like a gimmick. Typically, the liquid gives a burst of flavor at the beginning, but it just doesn't last. Orange Swirl was no different.


The gum started with a liquid burst of tart orange, and then the cool and creamy flavors started to emerge. It wasn't a minty gum by any means, but there was a little bit of a cooling sensation. Within 30 seconds, it tasted like a watered down Creamsicle.

The initial juicy orange flavor was gone within a minute, but it still had some weak notes after 5 minutes. Throughout the chew, the texture of the gum was softer than I prefer. After 20 minutes, there was still a faint orange flavor, but I spit it out anyhow. I had no trouble finishing the pack, and while it wasn't a great breath freshener, it was a decent gum.

B

Read more reviews of this gum at Candy Addict and Gum Alert.

Trident website

Trident Strawberry Twist

Sometimes, fruity gum can be overpowering. It takes me back to the days of gigantic mouthfuls of Bubblicious or Bubble Tape, when I didn't mind that my gum started to taste like a rotten banana after a few minutes.

These days, I've developed a taste for fruity gum with a hint of mint, but I still like to venture back to fruit gum every now and then. During one such mood, I bought a three-pack of this Strawberry Twist gum from Target. I'm still not sure what the twist was.

It smelled strongly of tart, sweet, fake strawberry. At first, the gum was very sour on the tongue, but there was an overpowering sweetness that masked the fruit flavor. Once the tart flavor was gone, there was really no point in chewing this gum.

This gum wasn't really bad, but it was so artificially sweet that it was quite a chore for me and my husband to get through the whole three pack. It didn't take long for both of us to become sick of this flavor.

The ladies at Gum Alert also reviewed this gum.

C

Trident website

Stride Uber Bubble

I am a big fan of blowing bubbles with gum. I try not to chew gum at work because the temptation of blowing bubbles is too great. I think it makes me look childish and it gets gum on my glasses.

It doesn't necessarily have to be bubble gum, and in fact, I prefer other flavors. One of my favorite gums for blowing bubbles was Dentine Ice vanilla. Still, bubble gum is a nostalgic flavor, and every now and then it's nice to have.


It smelled like bubble gum, and with the first could chews, there was a sour bubble gum flavor. It was a little fruity, a lot of sweet, and had a bouncy chew. My husband called it a more refined bubble gum flavor. Most of the tang was gone after a few minutes, and the remaining flavor was more typical bubble gum.

Unfortunately, the bubble gum didn't actually work well for blowing bubbles. Although the nostalgic flavor was tasty, bubble gum without the bubble seems a little pointless to me. At least it was a good bubble gum flavor. I guess that's what "Uber Bubble" means.

B-

Stride Gum Website

Trident Layers Green Apple + Golden Pineapple

While grocery shopping, this gum called out to me in the checkout, as new things often do. I've had some bad luck with non-Orbit fruity gum, but the idea of layered gum was too intriguing and gimmicky to resist.

If you take a look at the picture below and compare it with the picture above, you might notice that the actual gum is not green-yellow-green like the cover, but yellow-green-yellow. I'm not sure if the layers are actually flavored differently, or if it's just for show, like an Andes mint. The discrepancy wasn't really upsetting, just an odd marketing choice. In fact, I hoped it meant that the gum would be heavier on the pineapple side. I was completely wrong.


The green band in the middle of the gum made it look neat, but it was very sticky and soft, making the gum a little messy to take out of the wrapper. As for the flavor, the pineapple was completely undetectable unless I used my imagination, and I never would have thought it was there if the package didn't say so.

The gum was a little on the soft side for chewing, and although it was very juicy, it was a basic sour green apple gum that reminded me of children's bubble gum. After a while (maybe 10 minutes), the flavor became stale, and wasn't doing my breath any favors. This gum was disappointing, since it tasted like fake apple and nothing else, but I can't say I hated it. I won't buy this flavor again, but I'd be willing to try others.

For more reviews, check out Gigi-Reviews, The Impulsive Buy, and Gum Alert.

C-

Trident website

Sour Patch Cherry and Blue Raspberry

There is a somewhat old-fashioned candy shop pretty close to my house, and oddly enough, I've never been there. I always mean to go, but parking is messy and the hours are weird. But my husband has been there, and he came back with, among other things, these two kinds of Sour Patch candy.

We are both big fans of Sour Patch Kids, and get them pretty much any time we go to a movie. I had never seen either of these flavors in normal stores, so I was quite excited to try these (although cherry is one of the normal flavors, I think).


Cherry was up first, and the little candies were red and shaped like cherries. They tasted good but not great, and not very sour. They seemed less sour than the cherry that comes in Sour Patch Kids. B-

Blue Raspberry was next, and it also wasn't very sour, but had a nice blue fruit snack-like flavor and firm texture. The pieces were blue and shaped like a raspberry (or a little bunch of grapes). I liked these better than the cherry. B+

Although these were fun to try, I'd rather eat the regular Sour Patch Kids. My husband said the candy store carries a peach variety, but it was sold out, so I'll definitely have to go for myself and try to find that.

Sour Patch website

Stride Sweet Berry Gum

I have a problem with chewing gum. I like it too much. Packs of good gum last me only a couple days because I just chew and chew, which isn't good for the jaw. My favorite is Orbit gum, in pretty much all flavors, and I plan to review some in the future. But today, thanks to a friend, I have Stride Sweet Berry gum.

The website says "Is it strawberry? Is it raspberry? Or maybe it's blueberry? Who knows?" Well, I know. It's Wild Berry Skittles. Imagine putting half a pack in your mouth at once, and that's just gum smells like when you open the box. The actual flavor isn't all that intense, but I suppose it is fairly long lasting. Like a dull roar. It's just not a flavor I enjoy, and I gotta say, I like the Orbit Raspberry Mint better. There's not a hint of mint at all in the Stride, and I suppose that's not a bad thing, but it left my mouth feeling a little murky.

It'll do in a pinch, but I don't think I'd buy it.

C+

Stride Gum Website