Wonka Fruit Exceptionals Grapefruit

That sexy package in the picture is from Wonka's fancy new line of products, Wonka Exceptionals. The whimsical packaging definitely evokes images of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, if you prefer).

Movies that scared me when I was little aside, I must mention that whimsy comes at a cost - the tiny gummy cubes came in a bag in a box within a box. At least the pieces themselves were very cute, and that's a plus for me.


The candies smelled strongly of grapefruit zest, and they had a nice, authentic flavor as well. As such, it was quite tart and a bit bitter, and I think Wonka may have overcompensated with sweetness. I really liked them, but they hurt my teeth a bit to eat.

The gummies had the texture of fruit gems or jelly fruit slices, which is my favorite texture for a gummy. They were a bit sticky, but still held their shape well. The accuracy of the flavor reminded me of the Japanese Pure gummies. If these hadn't been so sweet, I'd give them an A+.

A-

Wonka Website

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

Mars Starburst Sour/Sweet

Since I usually pay for gas with my card at the pump, I don't often go in gas station convenience stores around town. However, they tend to be treasure troves of new and old candy, and an easy place to find regional items when travelling.

These Starburst don't fall into the "new" category. I'm not sure if they are still in production, but they were purchased in a gas station, and there were only a couple of packages left. It was a risky move, but I went for it.


Sour Green Apple was so sour that it prickled my throat. The apple flavor was very fake, but recognizable.

Sweet Blue Raspberry had a nice sweet (albeit fake) raspberry taste with hints of the tart zing of the fruit, and it was probably my favorite.

Sour Watermelon had an impressive sour punch, but I didn't think it tasted at all like watermelon. It's such a mild fruit that adding sour really makes it unrecognizable.

Sweet Strawberry reminded me of ChupaChups suckers, with a fake but familiar strawberry flavor. It did seem sweeter than the normal strawberry Starburst, and it wasn't as good.

This variety was nothing special, although the sour ones were quite sour. Maybe it's just bad execution, but this variety of Starburst didn't add anything to the brand. I'll stick with the original.

Have a look at Candy Blog for another review.

C+

Starburst website

Morinaga Straberry Daifuku Hi-chew

I don't often blog about traditional Japanese snacks (known as wagashi) for a couple of reasons. First, I live in the United States and they are a bit hard to come by, and second, there's already an excellent blog for that!

Instead, I have to settle for reviewing cheaper candy based on wagashi, like these strawberry daifuku Hi-chew! The real thing is a strawberry covered in red bean past and wrapped in mochi. Here's a recipe for real strawberry daifuku, in case you can't track down the Hi-chew. The real thing is most definitely better.


There was no detectable mochi smell to these candies, just a strawberry aroma. Mochi was just barely present in the flavor, though the strawberry dominated. It was a tart, authentic strawberry, and it was quite good. As with all Hi-chew, the candies had a chewy, almost rubbery texture.

Red bean paste was completely absent from the flavor profile, but despite the failure at tasting like daifuku, it still made for a tasty strawberry candy. It's been a long time since I've had regular strawberry Hi-chew, so I can't say how it compares - I doubt there is much of a difference.

Check out another review at Tasty Japan.

B+

Morinaga website

Nestle Mixed Juice KitKat

Every time I review a snack, I try to approach it with an open mind. Whether it's something I know well or something I suspect I won't like, it helps to try and forget expectations and taste as if everything were brand new. Of course, a little prejudice is normal and unavoidable - taste buds are strongly tied to memory.

I ordered some Mixed Juice KitKats from NapaJapan, knowing full well that they wouldn't be a likely hit with me. It was quite a challenge to forget that notion as I sampled it, but review blogs are 99% subjective, so I don't feel too bad about it.


The KitKat smelled like sweet fruity cream, and at first, all I could taste was white chocolate. After the chocolate melted a bit, the fruit flavors emerged, but I could only pick out banana and a hint of peach. When mixed in with other fruits, banana tends to dominate, so I wasn't surprised.

It wasn't bad, just very sweet and heavy on the banana. In a lot of ways, it reminded me of the vegetable juice KitKat of last year, without the nasty aftertaste. Overall, it was a forgettable KitKat and one of the weaker offerings so far this year.

Check out more reviews at Jen's KitKat Blog, Japanese Snack Reviews, Tasty Japan, and Razterized.

C+

KitKat website