Tuesday, April 13, 2010

5 React (Blue)

Flavor: This is my second review of the strange 5 React flavors that nobody can seem to really figure out. This is presumably the last of its kind, as there appears to only be two varieties of these almost-5 flavors. The blue pack, which has no indication of flavor other than "blue," tastes to me an awful lot like Extra Polar Ice (although, that being Shannon's favorite gum, she might violently disagree.) I almost picked up a pack of Polar Ice to compare, but to be fair to 5 Blue, I wanted to judge it on its own. It's cold and minty, and leaves a rather unpleasant cold film in my mouth while chewing. It's not a mint for those of us who favor sweetness, it's a toothpaste-like, standard mint.

Texture: It's got a good bite, and the cold sensation is notable. It does get a little foamy, but for the most part it's an all right chew.

Presentation: Ok, so I don't want to be redundant in my posts, but the gum itself is black-- this is not something that can be overlooked. Some folks think this indicates a sort of classiness, reminiscent of the silver-and-black themed wedding at the Ritz or something. In my review of the orange flavor, I likened this metallic coloring to the cautionary tales about mercury poisoning that I heard as a child. I just can't get that thought out of my head, and besides that-- if anyone were to catch me spitting this hunk of molten metal into the garbage, they might expect I am part Terminator.

Overall: I don't know, I just don't get it. It's ok. But it's silver, and there's this weird trippy marketing scheme that goes along with it. It doesn't fit in with the 5 family (Zing, Rain, etc.), it's not particularly good in any special way. As far as I'm concerned, it's the black sheep of gum-- and although I have a soft spot in my heart for black sheep, this one just doesn't make any sense.
Rating: ?

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is by far my absolute favorite gum... not sure i can say why, but it's flavorful forever and has a great textural chew!

Anonymous said...

Mmmkay, so I had a thought as to why it's called "React". "If there's a Blue version and and Orange version, maybe you're supposed to eat them together?" But no, doing this doesn't really do anything special to either flavor, just makes it a weird minty-fruit mix.
On a different note, I did, unfortunately, discover a different kind of reaction... If you chew a piece of React Orange then take a sip of Diet Dr. Pepper, it gives the gum a horribly overpowering artificial sweetener taste, effectively ruining the gum. Just a warning.

Anonymous said...

This gum was a big disappointment considering I was so in love with 5 after it came out. Since changed to Stride... this gum is gross and the grey color is a big turn off. Thumbs down.

Anonymous said...

I personally really really liked this gum.... until my boyfriend told me he thought it made me smell like dip. haven't really chewed it since.

Seandroid said...

I think this gum is absoluetly delicious, and if you notice, push on the pad on the back where your finger lays, it changes colours! It REACTS :P

Anonymous said...

my favorite gum EVER!. I love this gum. It makes me think of root beer.. Barq's root beer actually. Love it

Rainn said...

Has anyone else been freaked out by the little blue beads in this gum? It's WEIRD. They don't seem to have any flavor and they freaked me out because I didn't know what it was at first.

Think I'll toss this pack and go get some Juicy Fruit.

Anonymous said...

This flavor is driving me crazy. It's like minty wax lips. I'm not sure if that's what they were going for. But I went to their web site and they basically rape you for personal info via facebook. Dudes, I just wanted info on the flavor. Didn't need the James Cameron experience.

Keli said...

I just tried this gum today. Ehh....it's definitely not the best! I also bought a pack of Extra's Polar Ice. You are right, it does taste about the same. I like the Polar Ice better since it has less of a wintermint flavor. Never been a really big fan of wintermint....
It's an okay gum, but definitely not the best. I regret buying it....should've went for a pack of Trident Vitality...it was cheaper and tastes better too. :P

Anonymous said...

I agree with Rainn, why did they put those little blue beads in there? And what's their purpose?
I don't care for the flavor very much, but I kind of like the blackish coloring.
I still don't understand how to get it to change color.
It think it's an okay gum.

Anonymous said...

It tastes really weird to me, a bit like licorice. Ew.