Rev 7 Natural Peppermint

Flavor: Aaaaah.  A truly refreshing mint sensation.  York Peppermint Patty commercials from the days of yore would do it justice-- pop one piece in your mouth and you're skiing in the Alps.  It's the starlight mint without the gritty sweet stuff that stays on your teeth afterward.  It's just a good, clean, cold mint.  We're not fooling around with any gimmicky names here.  We're talking about a gum that's called "Natural Peppermint," not some weird, abstract name like arctic concussion or polar bear explosion that all the other gums seem to be sporting these days. It is what it is-- peppermint.

Texture: As Shannon mentioned in her review of Rev7 Spearmint, the texture in Rev7 is different than other gums, presumably because of its water soluble nature. I actually think it's a really good texture, it's just not something we're used to.  A few pellets, and I was sold.  This is a good sized pellet, with a nice firm bite. Considering what I imagined when I heard it would dissolve in water, I was very pleasantly surprised.

Presentation: They went the Dentyne Ice pellet pack route, like most pellet gums these days. I kind of wish pellet gums would get a little more creative and wow me with a new kind of packaging. There's an awful lot of wasted plastic here, and I can't help but think there's got to be a more efficient (and probably cooler) way to package gums like these.  Just sayin'.

Overall: My only complaint is that there aren't more pellets in each pack. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm back to the bunny slopes.

Rating: ooooo (five gumballs)

Rev7 Spearmint

This review is sponsored by our friends at Rev7!

Flavor: This is a classic spearmint flavor, pretty much spot-on what you'd expect.  The initial crunch of candy coating gives you a pleasant rush of minty goodness, and it settles down to a nice, breath-freshening cool.  I've chewed this gum for an hour or more, and the flavor, while it slightly wanes, never diminishes entirely.  

Texture: This is where it gets a little iffy.  Rev7 is a different gum than anything out there today.  It's touted as "removable gum," and I have to say that I've never had to scrape any gum remnants off my lips.  I haven't had any experience with carpets, sofas or flooring, so smear into surfaces at your own risk.  It's also degradable -- the little asterisk on the back of the package explains, "*Our laboratory tests show that Rev7 gum removes easily from a range of surfaces and disintegrates into a fine powder within 6 months using mild agitation in water."  Now, I'm not about to sit here and agitate my used wad in water for 6 months, but I have no reason to believe this isn't true.  This could be really big in terms of the environment.  If this catches on, can you imagine a world with no gum splats on sidewalks, or annoying episodes of pulling gross gum out of the treads of your sneakers?  The caveat here is that all of these awesome benefits come at the expense of the texture.  It's a little weird.  NOT bad, just weird.  The non-stickiness of it makes it a little more waxy than other gums, and it doesn't hold its shape as well.  For example: I tend to fiddle with my gum in my mouth, and form it into a sphere with my teeth and tongue.  That's hard to do with Rev7, because it doesn't really stick to itself, if I'm making any sense.  Anyway, the first few times I chewed this gum I was a little taken aback, but I very quickly got used to it.  Now, when I chew other gum, the texture of THAT seems weird.  I've shared this gum with my co-workers and they all agree: The more you chew it, the more you love it.

Presentation: Less than stellar graphics on your standard pellet pack.  Nothing to write home about here, but Rev7 isn't about image.

Overall: A friend of Gum Alert wrote us a few months back letting us in on this little-known new gum.  As Gum Girls, you know we always have our eyes on the prize, always looking for that next Big Thing in gum.  This could be it, guys.  I'm impressed... really impressed.  When I was corresponding with my friend at the Rev7 company, I warned him that our reviews are always honest and truthful, and that we've actually contacted companies who have sent us samples to ask if they really wanted us to review the gum -- it was that bad.  He responded with, "I know you'll like it.  Everyone does."  And he's right.  Everyone likes it.  I think you will, too.  I toyed with giving this gum only four gumballs because of the strangeness of the texture, but really, that is a small, small issue for a product with such potential.  Bravo, Rev7.

Rating: ooooo (five gumballs)

Stay tuned in the coming weeks for a special giveaway from Gum Alert -- We've got lots of Rev7 and we want to share it with YOU!