Ice Cubes White Mango Kiwi Cooler

Flavor: Very mild fruit. I get a hint of mango - no kiwi, really - and it lasts for an acceptable amount of time before it fades out. The packaging boasts "WHOA! -Refreshing Mango Kiwi POWER STRIPE and Cooling Xylitol!" What? I don't know that the POWER STRIPE has anything to do with the flavor, and Xylitol is in plenty of sugarfree gums. It's just an artificial sweetener... has nothing to do with the cooling sensation that is Ice Cube's trademark. Regardless, Mango Kiwi Cooler has a pleasing flavor. I don't know that I'd trust it to cover up garlic breath, but it tastes good enough.

Texture: I never chew Ice Cubes gum, and this is why. Back when the line first came out I tried it (of course), but I haven't even really been paying attention to new offerings or anything since then. The texture begins downright awful. Now, I'm a big fan of "crunchies" in my gum, and these crunchies just don't cut it. They barely crunch, they act more like a wax, and they stick in your teeth for the first three minutes of the chew. The "cooling" of Ice Cubes, I think, detracts from the texture - it's way too grainy at first. I do have to say, though, that with persistence it does even out to a great chewable texture. If only the stupid "cooling" wouldn't stay in the back of my throat for so long, it'd be near perfect.

Overall: I was really surprized to get emails about Ice Cubes gum, since I've never really thought of it as a viable gum line and am consistently surprized to see that it still exists. Apparantly lots of people like it, and there's something to be said for that. I'm still not a fan, and I woudln't buy it to chew for my own pleasure, but I think I can be neutral enough to say: This gum's alright.

Rating: ooo (three gumballs)

Trident White Cool Mangoberry

Flavor: The hand lotion I was applying while chewing this gum was sweeter and more pleasing than this gum. The flavor, even with the first supposedly strongest bite of outer shell, was dull and distant, nondescript—a generic “fruit” base that I couldn’t put my finger on. Then came the gross part—is that… cilantro that I detect? I cleansed my palate with a Hersey Kiss and tried again, hoping that the cilantro was a fluke, perhaps a chemical reaction in my nose with the delightful hand lotion. Nay. Cool? Mangoberry? I disagree. If I had to name this gum, it would be in a white package, labeled “Fruit-like Cilantro Gum.”

Texture: Crunchy at first, mushy and decreasing in size the longer I chew. It’s your typical pop-out gum, only without the burst of flavor.

Overall: This gum is pre-packaged buy-one-get-one-free for a reason, fellow gum chewers. Let me just say for the record that I’ve never been a fan of the hard-shelled, pop out gum varieties, but I don’t think my bias has anything to do with the failure of this gum to perform. I’ll chew the rest of it one day, months from now, when I run out of gum and in a fit of desperation find it on the bottom of a pile of papers in my cubicle at work. Well, at least it’s “whitening.”
Rating: o (one gumball)