Flavor: This was the gum that broke me of my gum fast. I could not resist its juicy temptation. If you're a regular Gum Alert reader (and why wouldn't you be?) you will know that I have been on a soy-free diet because I'm currently nursing my 4-month old daughter, and she's got some allergy issues. Recently I've been slowly adding back soy into my diet, and I saw this new Extra flavor on the shelf and I just had to pick it up. I did not make the wrong choice. This is the best fruit gum I've had in a long, long time. Super tangy at first bite, mellowing into a "sweet tropical" medley that last an extra, extra, extra long time.
Texture: This is what it's all about. It starts off nice, and stays malleable, and perfectly tough. There is a brief interlude of borderline too-toughness, but it's so brief that it's barely noticeable. Most Fruit Sensations flavors will eventually soften and degrade until the wad is a thousand pieces of gag-inducing plasma balls that you'll be coughing up for hours, but this one stays nice for the long haul. I've been chewing for about 15 minutes now, and there's no sign of cohesion loss.
Presentation: It's a pleasant teal blue color reminiscent of the Caribbean Sea, fading into large pictures of an orange, grapefruit and pineapple. Like Orbit Berry Red, the package boasts "TASTES LIKE REAL FRUIT." I don't know what the gum companies are thinking with this logic. It doesn't taste like real fruit. Sucralose, Aspartame and the like will never taste like naturally-occurring Fructose no matter how they combine them. And truth be told, I think that chewers are okay with that, but I don't think we're okay with being misled.
Overall: I feel really bad for Extra, they're like the bastard stepchild of gums. Extra is a really great gum, but they're falling into the background of Orbit, Stride and Trident. It's a damn shame, because Extra really does put out some great flavors, and Sweet Tropical is at the top of the list. I'm just afraid that it will fall by the wayside and be outshined and overlooked for a fancy new 5, or an old favorite. If you see this one on the checkout line, pick up a pack. You won't be sorry. And if you are, just send the rest of the pack to me. I'll get rid of it for you.
Texture: This is what it's all about. It starts off nice, and stays malleable, and perfectly tough. There is a brief interlude of borderline too-toughness, but it's so brief that it's barely noticeable. Most Fruit Sensations flavors will eventually soften and degrade until the wad is a thousand pieces of gag-inducing plasma balls that you'll be coughing up for hours, but this one stays nice for the long haul. I've been chewing for about 15 minutes now, and there's no sign of cohesion loss.
Presentation: It's a pleasant teal blue color reminiscent of the Caribbean Sea, fading into large pictures of an orange, grapefruit and pineapple. Like Orbit Berry Red, the package boasts "TASTES LIKE REAL FRUIT." I don't know what the gum companies are thinking with this logic. It doesn't taste like real fruit. Sucralose, Aspartame and the like will never taste like naturally-occurring Fructose no matter how they combine them. And truth be told, I think that chewers are okay with that, but I don't think we're okay with being misled.
Overall: I feel really bad for Extra, they're like the bastard stepchild of gums. Extra is a really great gum, but they're falling into the background of Orbit, Stride and Trident. It's a damn shame, because Extra really does put out some great flavors, and Sweet Tropical is at the top of the list. I'm just afraid that it will fall by the wayside and be outshined and overlooked for a fancy new 5, or an old favorite. If you see this one on the checkout line, pick up a pack. You won't be sorry. And if you are, just send the rest of the pack to me. I'll get rid of it for you.
Rating: ooooo (five gumballs)
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7 comments:
At our Science Olympiad National Tournament, our coaches gave us each one pack of gum. My friend chose this and I chose Orbit Pina Colada. We traded some pieces of gum, and I liked this gum much better than the Pina Colada.
Aren't extra and orbit made by the same company?
just so you are aware, this flavor only is on clearance at target, so i think that may mean they are getting rid of it or something. :( sawwy, but i agree it is veryy goood.
I just got my braces off yesterday, so my mom bought me two packs of gum. I bought this and the 5 watermelon. This outshined the 5 by a longshot. Very good gum, and it brings back good memories of pre-braces.
I just found this flavor this past month, January 2013. It is my favorite so far. I found some 5 Swerve that is very very close, but it has a slightly different texture than the Extra Sweet Tropical. It has a great Mango flavor. Also, the texture is perfect to chew all day. I usually chew the same gum all day, just adding new sticks every few hours. May favorite flavor, by far.
I purchased a boatload of Sweet Tropical in May 2013 and am running low now and have not been able to find it anywhere, retail or online
This has been by far the my favorite gum scince the day I picked it up in the supermarket who knows how many years ago. No need to go in description here, but we can all definitely agree that it's the best gum, at least the best fruit flavored gum. In fact, it was my birthday present for 2-3 years. I would recieve 1-2 of the 4 packs. But going "gum shopping" recently, I realized that Extra pulled the plug on it's Sweet Tropical. Which is their worst mistake possibly ever. It seems that Extra is going to be only basic flavors. I wish someone would've told us it was leaving because I would've stocked up. I've checked countless websites and all I've gotten was, "This product isn't in stock and we don't know when or if it will be restocked." This really made me mad, and made me want to boycott gum, but who am I kidding? I am the biggest gum obsesed person. But scince that fateful day, I've been forced to try out other gums and other brands. To say the least, I was disapointed. The only one I truly liked was Trident's Lime and Raspberry Layers, which scince I checked, isn't sold in our stores anymore. Orange (or any basic [1] fruit flavor) was just to plain, and got disgusting after a while, and didn't provide the mix of flavors Sweet Tropical did. I have always hated Mint flavored gum (that includes Polar Ice), so I wasn't especially drawn to tasting those. And I have to say, flavors like cheesecake and pumpkin pie don't exactly draw me in. Even if I liked those flavors, the gum was gone far too soon; something I blame on Trident and Orbit and their money wanting ways. At least Extra, the whole stick satisfied me for at least 2 hours before I had to add a tiny price of the next stick, allowing me to go possibly the whole day with 2 sticks. Meanwhile, companies like Trident force 92nd to use 2-3 of their sticks to make the equivalent of one Extra stick! And even then, the flavor doesn't last as long, and about 30 minutes in, just becomes a hard, gross, flavorless glob. When you pop the gum (Trident's Raspberry) in your mouth, it's always so over powering, something you get 28th every gum, but I think it's the strongest with Trident. I just have to say I'm disappointed wth you Extra.
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