Monday, March 22, 2010

Hubba Bubba Bubble Tape Triple Treat

*Note: Thanks to the advice of an insightful reader, we've decided to add a new category to our gum reviews. Henceforth, in addition to flavor, texture and overall, we will also comment on the topic "Presentation."

Flavor: Oh wowee wow wow, about fifteen years ago I'd have died and gone to heaven with this little gem. Bubble Tape was always fun, but to me it really was just a glorified bubble gum. This new flavor is reminiscent of one of my all-time favorite childhood treats, Laffy Taffy. And I'm not talking about the regular kind you get on Halloween, I'm talking about the super-fun candy-ba-sized strawberry Laffy Taffy with the crunchy candy seeds pressed into it. It's tangy and sweet, with hints of blueberry, strawberry, and watermelon. After about ten minutes chewing, the flavor is more like a dull cotton candy, which is a pretty nice bonus.

Texture: This gum is manufactured for one purpose: fun. It packs "six feet of fun," although I regrettably never got a chance to measure for accuracy (it was gifted to me half-eaten and much-coveted by Shannon who, for Mommy reasons, can't eat soy for a while). The first sensation is a rather disagreeable chalkiness, as the tape is covered in near-flavorless sugar powder to avoid sticking to itself (I assume) when it's rolled up. Ripping off about half a foot produces a nice sized hunk of gum, even after chewing for a while, and it does blow a pretty consistent bubble, although they don't get as big as they do with regular Hubba Bubba.

Presentation: This container screams "FORFEIT LUNCH AND SPEND THE MONEY MOM GAVE YOU ON BUBLE TAPE." It's hard plastic which, although probably not the greatest for the environment, is way cool to take out and share with your friends. I imagine composing a formula that allows such malleability that it coils like tape without ever drying out or cracking was quite a feat. Not to mention that there appears to be glitter both INSIDE THE GUM and in the package itself. Also, the fruits pictured are strawberry, blueberry and watermelon, and I've got to say, all the flavors are there on the initial chew.

Overall: O Hubba Bubba triple treat, where were you on the playground when I was trying to make friends and endure awkward pre-adolescence? If we had met back then... perhaps everything would have been different.

Rating: ooooo five gumballs

5 comments:

Shannon said...

The best was your comment to me when I offered you this gum for the first time, "Ooh! This gum does things to my mouth that gum doesn't normally do."

Also, I found the bubble blowing properties of this gum to be incredible - better than Big League Chew, even - although I admittedly chewed at least 8 inches if it at a time.

Anonymous said...

the powder stuff on it is finely ground marble, as with all gums with powder on them.

Anonymous said...

it is not finely ground marble its powderd sugar.

Anonymous said...

Uhhh, no. sugar is sticky and would end up melting if temperature changes and making everything stick together, and the white powder on candy and gum is used to prevent it from sticking. it is defiantly not sugar. i dont know if it is marble, but it is powdered rock of some kind. it doesnt even taste like sugar.

Anonymous said...

I was about to make fun of the person that said it was marble, but some fact checking revealed that it's not a totally ludicrous assumption. Calcium carbonate is a common anti-caking agent and is often used in food. And one other name for calcium carbonate? Marble.

That said, it's pretty easy to look up the ingredients of the gum on Amazon. There isn't any calcium carbonate, but there is corn starch, another commonly used anti-caking agent.

And with that, I need to turn off the computer and get a life.