Trident Spearmint

Flavor: It’s a little unfair how I chose to review these gums. In hindsight, a blind taste test would have been the best option—and perhaps in later classic flavor trials we’ll do so (perhaps a special feature?) Unfortunately for Trident, all of my Orbit Spearmint is long gone since Monday (which says something, to be sure, of the quality of the Orbit gum). So, poor Trident was held up against a very high, invisible standard, which I, admittedly, expected it to meet—nay—exceed. Trident has a sweeter version of Spearmint than Orbit, a burst of delightful Spearmint at the start that satisfies that classic urge. But with time, the flavor fades to “cold,” with just a hint of that spearmint zest, which is, unfortunately, not pleasant to gnaw on for very long at all.

Texture: It seems this gum get smaller the longer you chew, a definite minus in my book. It has a solid consistency, but since it disintegrates in mass so dramatically I’m going to have to give it the thumbs down.

Overall: Trident vs. Orbit: The Spearmint Trials. My intuition said that Trident would trump Orbit, with its long-standing reputation in the gum industry and the mere fact that it was probably one of the first Spearmint varieties out there. When I first started chewing my gut impulse was to confirm this intuition, it was sweeter, more pleasant, stronger than the Orbit variety. I chewed merrily along for about five or ten minutes when I suddenly got the urge to spit out the gum. It didn’t lose flavor so much, and the texture didn’t decompose completely, but I just didn’t feel like chewing it anymore. Something about it faded with time and unfortunately, that falls short of Orbit, and in fact falls short of most other Trident flavors on the whole. I was surprised. Next time I want this old favorite, I’m going with Orbit. Better luck in the cinnamon trials, Trident, because you’ve been TKO’d in this round.

Rating: ooo (three gumballs)