eclipse Breeze Exotic Berry

Flavor: Alright, this has got to be a joke. This tastes like cough syrup. No, really - it tastes. Like. Cough Syrup. Not "reminiscent of cough syrup" or "cough-syrup undertones," this gum is full-on COUGH SYRUP. Nasty cough syrup, too. Like the kind of cough syrup that permeates your bitter taste buds and makes you shudder, the kind that you have to throw back like a tequila shot, lest your gag reflex overcome you. Apparently this gum contains "Cardamom," which according to Wikipedia, is a spice that does have medicinal properties. And you know... the longer I chew, the "spicier" it becomes, if you can call it that. It's kind of like the aftertaste of a clove cigarette. Gross.

Texture: Being a pellet gum, I expected a standard crunchy candy shell, but I was disappointed. There was no initial crunch, the chew of eclipse Breeze starts off like a stale piece of taffy. It does soften to a semi-chewable consistency, but really, but I don't really want to chew on a clove cigarette.

Presentation: The packaging is an appealing pink, with glittery-like graphics around the eclipse in the eclipse logo. (Have you ever noticed that before? It's new to me in the last few weeks - but now that I've seen it, it's all I see... much like the arrow in the FedEx logo.) The gum itself is flecked with red spots, leading me to believe it might be full of the crunchies I do so very much love in my gum, but alas, the flecks are misleading, as there are no crunchies in this gum. The gold bar on the bottom states "with Cardamom to Neutralize the Toughest Breath Odors." Inappropriate capitalization aside, I just don't get the "Neutralize" part. How does making your breath stink like nasty herbal cigarettes "neutralize" anything?

Overall: My reviews are rarely completely negative, but this gum is totally gross. I get a sense that the eclipse brand is faltering, and will soon go the way of care*free, disappearing into the gum void forever. This might be their attempt to revitalize the brand, I don't know, but the execution fails miserably here. In the Breath Neutralization War, Dentyne pure emerges as the clear victor.

Rating: o (one gumball)

International Spotlight: Watering Kiss Mint

Flavor: A colleague of mine was gracious enough to bring me back a few packs of gum from his recent trip to Japan. After I opened and inspected each pack, I knew that this would have to be my first review, mostly because I need to get rid of it, ASAP. To be blunt, this gum smells. A lot. I had to close it in my nightstand drawer because it was such a presence in the bedroom and actually inhibited sleep. But the smell itself roused many a memory in me, as it is reminiscent of the old discontinued Extra Original Bubble! I was really excited when I placed the familiar scent, hoping that this delicious, sweet, indescribably fruity gum was masquerading under a clever pseudonym. Alas, the flavor was a shock, as it wasn't Original Bubble, after all. Upon my second piece, however, once I was over my grief for my old friend O. Bubble, I decided it was a pretty delicious taste on its own. It's very very cold, and it is indeed quite wet, as wet, I'd say, as Orbit Mist. The bubble flavor does have hints of Extra Original Bubble, but is unique-- a bubblegum base, but much sweeter. The taste is a little overwhelming, but not as bad as the smell.

Texture: The texture is also similar to Extra. It's a good balance between soft and chewy, and doesn't stale or harden after at least 15 minutes of chewing (I'm not sure how it'll hold up beyond that, as I'm not planning on chewing it for much longer).

Presentation: Although the package resembles Stride or Orbit, I was delighted to discover a new gum structure-- a three-quarter size traditional stick of gum. I thought this might disintegrate into too small of a piece upon extended chewing, but it actually has a very substantial chew. The package itself is unimpressive, a sort of Photoshop-looking shape and a gray background.

Overall: Honestly, I don't think I'm going to finish this pack of gum. It's got a really intense smell and flavor, and I can't imagine having a conversation with someone while chewing it-- it's tantamount to a thirteen-year-old boy learning to wear cologne and stinking up the classroom for a few months before he understands "less is more." But it certainly was an experience that I don't regret, and the jogged memories of my special Extra Original Bubble grant Watering Kiss Mint a high-ish gumball rating.

Rating: ooo (three gumballs)

Orbit Peppermint

Flavor: I've been chewing and reviewing an awful lot of peppermint gums lately, but this peppermint is a little different from the rest. Peppermint flavor is hard to explain, so I don't know how much sense this is going to make, but the flavor of this gum is a little more "wintry" than the other peppermints. It's got the cool breath-freshening sensation, but a really nice, warm undertone. As usual, the Orbit flavor really lasts. I've been chewing about 20 minutes now, and I can still taste the initial flavor burst.

Texture: While the chew itself is alright in terms of malleability, it doesn't really lend itself to "playing with" in the mouth. If you try to spread it over your tongue, it gets thin and "webby" too easily. The gum also has a slight squeak, though nothing that would make me self-conscious in a business meeting.

Presentation: I keep meaning to pick up my Orbit in their new funky packaging (which deserves a post all to itself, I think,) but I always forget, or it's not around when I pick up a pack. This particular pack is standard Orbit "mint gum" packaging: Blue metallic inks and a centered brand logo. Nothing fancy, nothing special.

Overall: As far as peppermints go, this one's fantastic. I do have to take a point off for the weird texture, but that's really my only complaint. I can see this being a lot of people's favorite gum.

Rating: oooo (four gumballs)

pür gum - pomegranate mint

This review is sponsored by our friends at pür gum!

Flavor: First and foremost, it's important to note that this gum is all natural and sugar free, as discussed in Shannon's review of pur peppermint. That said, the fruity variety does leave something to be desired, as the first bite is reminiscent of children's Tylenol and fades not even five minutes into the chew. If pressed to define the flavor, I might go with "pomegranate," although I do feel that on the whole most pomegranate flavors are just sort of generically sweet and appeal to that "this is interesting and good for me" side of society. Pomegranate, these days, is like bikram yoga, or the term "green--" a fad for the health-conscious, trend-following public.

Texture: For a sugar-free, all natural gum, pur is really a stand-up competitor. I'd say that one pellet provides a rather insubstantial chew, and a second pellet would probably be necessary for an optimal experience. It doesn't stick to your teeth like a lot of natural gums, and it doesn't go hard like sugary gums.

Presentation: It's as simple as the gum itself-- it says what it is and that's what you get. Aspartame free. No artificial flavors. No artificial colors. Ok, so an umlaut and the word "pomegranate" is slapped on there for a marketing pull, but you've got to have some kind of gimmick nowadays, what with Stride Shift and React stirring up such controversy and gathering so many followers. This line is Canadian, but I think on sheer composition alone, could stand a chance in the big scary world of U.S. sales and marketing.

Overall: Glowing compliments aside, I'm not crazy about this flavor. I think in time, this company may compose a much more enjoyable fruity variety. For now, this one just is no fun to chew. I graduated to adult Tylenol long ago, and was never so thrilled with the flavor of chewables to seek it out in gum form any time soon.

Rating: ooo (three gumballs)

Oh! And only one day left to enter the big contest!!!

pür gum - Peppermint

This review is sponsored by our friends at pür gum!

Flavor: A clean, refreshing, natural tasting peppermint. The initial punch is pleasantly strong, without too much of a nasal-clearing menthol sensation. It mellows into a long-lasting minty chew.

Texture: Your standard pellet crunch, followed by a period of a slight too-tough texture. Upon prolonged chew, say 5 minutes or so, it does soften up to a more pleasant malleability, although it remains a firmer than average chew from start to finish. This might not be a bad thing to some chewers, though. I know that I myself occasionally prefer to chew a gum that has a bit less "give" to it.

Presentation: Absolutely minimalist. No fancy graphics, just plain text in a sans serif font that's easy on the eye. I love this packaging, though I suspect that one might look a tad pretentious when pulling this out of your purse or pocket to share. "What kinda new-wave freaky gum do you chew, man! Just gimme some Trident!"

Overall: pür gum is a new gum from Action Candy out of Canada. Their claim to fame is that it's all natural and sugarfree, a quality I haven't seen yet from a gum. It proudly boasts "no artificial flavors," "no artificial colors" and "infused with antioxidants" on its packaging. And an interesting side note - the ingredients list does not include soy or soy lecithin, a quality I was hard-pressed to find in gum when I was eating soy-free a couple months ago due to my daughter's allergies. In fact, it was downright impossible for me to find a gum that was soy-free and sugarfree. And speaking of the ingredients list, there are only seven - seven! - ingredients in this gum, and all of them are easy to pronounce! The pack of Trident I happen to have closest to me has sixteen, no less than half of which are chemicals. This is a groundbreaking idea in gum, and it doesn't taste half-bad, either. If this were a Dentyne or Orbit White pellet, it would probably only get 4 gumballs due to the texture, but when you weigh in the multitude of benefits this gum packs, the good certainly outweighs the one negative point. Bravo, pür.
Rating: ooooo (five gumballs)

Extra Peppermint

Flavor: There's really nothing special to say about the flavor of Extra Peppermint, because it's really not designed to be a special kind of gum. Extra Peppermint is an Everyman's gum - the kind of gum you mindlessly pick up when, on your way to the beach at 7:30 on a Saturday morning, you're standing on line at the 7-11 waiting to pay for your iced coffee and you realize that you forgot a pack of gum and the only munchies you have to eat on the beach are Pepperoni Pizza Combos. (Wow, that turned into way more of a run-on sentence than I had anticipated.) It's just a peppermint gum, a simple breath freshener. And as with most Extras, the flavor lasts an extra, extra, extra long time.

Texture: It starts off almost frighteningly soft, but within a minute or so it firms right up.

Presentation: You know how sometimes you stare at a word for too long, and it starts to become a weird non-word, and doesn't even sound right to say? That's what's happening to me looking at the packaging of this gum. It's just your standard pocket pack that most gums come in these days, but something's weird about it. Did they recently change the font of the Extra logo or something? Anyway, the package is as simple as the gum, little more than a logo and some blue peppermint leaves. It might as well be all white and have a Dharma logo on it, it's that generic.

Overall: Ashley on our facebook page requested this gum, and I'm pretty happy that she did. Being Gum Girls, our gum queues are often long and stocked with crazy flavor concoctions so it's not often that we get to go back to basics with our gum. We're just never faced with that "oh MAN I just need some GUM" dilemma - we always have gum. Chewing this pack of Extra Peppermint has been a really pleasant change for me, and while there's no bells and whistles and you're not likely to have an "experience" chewing it, it's just a really good gum that gets things done. Much like Trident Original, I feel like I would be being unfair if I didn't give it five gumballs.

Rating: ooooo (five gumballs)

P.S. Don't forget to enter our contest! You only have until June 30th!

http://www.gumalert.com/2010/06/win-gum-prize-pack-from-gum-alert.html

GumAlert FAQ

We've had a recent influx of visitors, emails and comments lately, and we thought that it might help our readers if we had an FAQ. Please to enjoy.

Do you work for the gum companies? Can I suggest a new flavor?
No, we don't work for any gum company, we're just a couple of girls who like to to chew gum! We'd love to hear your gummy ideas, though!

I work for a gum company. Can I send you samples of gum to review?
Sure! We love free gumz and we'll be happy to review it, just know that our reviews will always be honest and truthful. Send us an email at gumgirls@gumalert.com and we'll work something out.

I have a gum or candy blog, too! Can I be added to your "Friend of GumAlert" links?
We'd love to check out your blog! Send us a link and we'd be happy to give it a read. If we like it, we'll link it! Generally, it has to have been around for a while. If you have only a few posts or have been blogging for only a short while, we probably won't link you. But keep it up!

I own an online candy store. Can you add a link to my store on your blog?
We're sure that your store is great, but we don't like to direct our readers to online merchants that we are unfamiliar with. What you can do is send us some gum samples for us to review, and we'll add a "This review has been sponsored by..." link on the review itself. (Just know that our reviews are always honest and truthful.) If the relationship grows positively, we'll add a link to your store on our sidebar.

I have a product or website that I would like to advertise on Gum Alert. Can I give you money to put an ad on your site?
Even though Trident Layers would like you to think that gum lovers prefer to be paid in gum, these gum lovers prefer to be paid in money. Send us an email and we'll let you know our rates and policies.

You guys haven't reviewed my all-time favorite gum! What gives?
We probably just haven't gotten around to it yet! Send us an email and let us know what you want to see us review!

OMG there's a new gum out! Have you seen it yet??
No, we haven't!! Awesome!! Email us and tell us about it! Where did you see it? Did you try it? Was it good?? We always have our eye out for new gums, but we could always use your help in seeking out the cool new gumz.

I feel very strongly about a new gum or gum commercial I saw on TV, and I would like to post about it in your comments section using bad words and racial slurs. Is that okay?
While we love to hear your opinion about gum, our reviews, and gum culture as a whole, we want gum fans of all ages to be able to enjoy Gum Alert, so we ask that you keep your language in the comments section at a PG level. If we think something is offensive, we're going to remove your comment.

How do you guys decide what gum to review, and how do you review it?
We usually go in this order: Samples companies send us, new gum, requests, and then anything else. We'll try to mix it up if we get a few packs of the same brand or flavor, though, so we don't do too many of the same thing in a row. We only have one rule when it comes to doing the reviews, and that is that we must be chewing a piece of the gum while we review it.

Are you guys related?
Yes, we are sisters, unfortunately for our parents.

Don't you have anything better to do than write long-winded blog posts about gum?
Not really.

Get a life.
That's not a question.

Why do you do it?
We started GumAlert in April of 2009 because we thought it would be funny. We thought that the ultimate goal would be to get free gum from gum companies, but that happened pretty fast. Now, our goal is to attend the Sweets and Snacks Expo in Chicago in 2012. (We still love to get free gum, though. That never gets old.)

Does Trident Layers have pork in it?
From what we've been able to ascertain, Trident Layers does have a form of gelatin in its ingredients that is derived from pork, as do many other types of gum. Your best bet would be to contact the manufacturers directly just to make sure, if you avoid pork for religious or other reasons.

Aren't you worried about artificial sweeteners?
Kind of. We chew a lot of gum. Really, a lot of gum, and we do sometimes question the safety of sweeteners. That being said, we're not experts on the risks and benefits, and wouldn't want to sway anyone one way or the other. We recommend that you do your own research and make the educated decision that's best for you regarding your personal consumption of artificial sweeteners.

What's the flavor of Stride Mega Mystery?
There's a rumor that a Stride employee leaked the flavor as Strawberry Daiquiri. We don't taste that particularly, but we do think that it has a definite tropical drink flavor to it.

Is Stride Shift Berry to Mint good?
No.

Is Stride Shift Citrus to Mint gross?
Yes.

What's so special about 5 React gum? What does it do?
Right? We have no idea.

Can you eat gum wrappers, like Trident, Stride or Orbit?
We're not sure the official answer to this one, but we don't recommend eating any gum wrappers. We don't think it would taste good, and it certainly would mess up the texture. EDIT: Brian from Candy Addict referred us to this post in his blog with the definitive answer. Thanks, Brian!

What is your favorite gum?
Shannon's favorite gum is Extra Polar Ice. Katie's favorite gum us Trident Minty Sweet Twist. However, we like all kinds of gumz. We're partial to sugarless gum because we don't like the dentist very much, but the amount of xylitol running through our bloodstreams on any given day might eventually make us sick, too.