Carefree Original Bubble

Flavor: Some flavors in life stick with you long after a product has been discontinued or become unavailable. For example, my aunt had a glass candy jar on a shelf in her kitchen that had these raspberry hard candies in it. I have no idea what those candies were or where they came from, but the flavor of them is ingrained in my taste buds. I'll never have those candies again, but I will never forget the taste. Such was the case with Carefree Original Bubble. This was my mom's favorite gum. She always had packs of this in her purse, and I had never forgotten it. It's the perfect classic bubblegum, exactly what you expect to taste when you chew. When our mom passed away a few years ago, I went on a hunt for Carefree Original Bubble for nostalgia's sake, but it was nowhere to be found. Information on the internet was vague at best, but it hinted that the brand was discontinued. Disappointed, I resolved myself to the fact that I'd never taste Carefree again... until yesterday.

Texture: A thing of beauty. Smooth, soft and pliable - by far the best sugarfree bubble-blowing bubblegum out there. It doesn't stick to your skin when you pop a bubble, doesn't get too tough or too soft. Nothin' but love. I do seem to remember a slight bit more grittiness in the original recipe, but I kind of think that's because my mom used to buy this gum by the 18-pack and most of it was likely kind of stale by the time we chewed it.

Presentation: This is the best part of all. The gum is IN THE ORIGINAL PLEN-T-PAK. With the little red-plastic-ribbon-embedded pull tab and all. Oh, no... Carefree Original Bubble does not need the added square inches for flashy graphics, matte ribbed cardstock or bold, eye-catching fonts. 3 inches by 1 and one-quarter inch is all the space Carefree needs to proudly and simply display its logo. Like the flavor thing, I'd also resolved myself to the idea that I would never see a Plen-T-Pak ever again. How wrong I was. How very wrong, how very... happily wrong.

Overall: Traditionally, the best places to find new gum are Target and Wal-Mart. Yesterday I was in Wal-Mart, scouring the gum racks, and I came across a few new flavors of mentos, and was pretty psyched.

And then I saw it. Carefree. Original Bubble AND Peppermint. In the original Plen-T-Paks.

My elation was incalculable and uncontainable. I immediately texted Katie, "Sissy! Sissy! Carefree gum carefree gum is back zomg sissy sissy!!!!!"

As a true gum lover and connoisseur, there are very few things that can spark that kind of reaction. In fact, I can only think of one thing that could get me more excited than this. (A bunch of free gum from our "leftover basket" to the person that can tell me what that is in the comments below.) New gums are exciting, packaging changes are cool and fun... but this. This is epic.

Rating: ooooo (five gumballs)

(Addendum: Just writing "Carefree" in the title of this blog post and into the Tags made me giddy.)

Pop Rocks Bubble Gum

Flavor: The back of this package proclaims "Entertainment for your whole mouth!" Not only do I agree with this statement, but I propose that the entertainment provided by Pop Rocks Bubble Gum extends to many other senses, including smell, touch, and hearing. I mean come on, it's Pop Rocks, like, THE most awesome and fun candy I've ever had in my life. Although it is marketed as bubblegum flavor, the package comprises two parts: one part bubblegum, one part Pop Rocks. The Pop Rocks themselves are most definitely strawberry flavor (delicious), and the gum bits are Double Bubble-eque. I might argue that the package should market its dual flavor, but the surprise was so pleasant that I think it might be best keep a secret that you discover, much like the tingling sensation you discovered the day you poured some Pop Rocks into your mouth the first time.

Texture: I was skeptical about how they were going to pull this one off. Gum-wrapped Pop Rock bits? A new formula? A momma Pop Rock and a Daddy Gumball gave birth to a perfect Pop Rock Bubble Gum baby? Alas, the mixing of the Pop Rocks with small gum bits was ingenious. The Pop Rocks dissolve at the usual rate, and you're left with a really decent piece of gum that maintains texture and flavor for about ten minutes or so. I questioned the serving size (one package), as being maybe a little more than a person could handle, but once all the Pop Rocks dissolved the gum was a really satisfactory size.

Presentation: If it ain't broke, don't fix it. The classic Pop Rocks pouch sold me this one. And the space on the package announcing "TURNS INTO GUM" in a fun all-caps font just nailed the sale for me.

Overall: OMG it's, like, Pop Rocks Bubble Gum! What are you waiting for? Get out there and BUY a pack!

Rating: ooooo (five gumballs)

Lucky Lights Bubble Gum

Presentation: I've decided that the presentation of this gum takes precedence over its other properties, as it is presented to children as a fairly realistic looking pack of cigarettes. I seem to remember candy cigarettes changing their appearance to be less realistic, sort of like the orange tip on toy guns. I also was surprised to find bubble gum cigarettes, as I remember Lucky Lights as chalky sugar sticks that dissolved all too quickly in your mouth. Alas, these bubble gum cigarettes taste nothing like the familiar candy sticks of days gone by. But boy, are they more realistic looking. I wouldn't be pleased if my niece walked in the room with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth, brown filter and all (that is, of course, when she's out of diapers). "Oh no, Aunt Katie, it's only bubblegum!" Then we'd have to have a big stupid talk about why smoking is bad and chewing gum is good and never the twain shall meet. I digress.

Flavor: This gum is gross. It doesn't even taste like bubblegum. It's too sweet, and what little flavor it has fades almost immediately. I'd venture to say it tastes more like a cigarette than a piece of bubblegum.

Texture: Even worse. It hardened up before it even crumbled. The emphasis here was obviously on the presentation, and the makers of this gum felt that flavor and texture needn't be addressed when marketing such a self-selling, sure-thing gum like this. I mean come on, kids, smoking is cool, right?

Overall: Wrong. Boo hiss, Lucky Lights. Now I'm sure this isn't going to get kids to run out to the store and try to buy a pack of real cigs, and I'm sure it's really fun for a kid to pretend to smoke a pack (hey, I ate plenty of candy smokes in my day), but I don't think kids think smoking is all that cool anymore. It stinks, both literally and figuratively. I think the fact that I could only find this gum in a candy shop in Time Square (and a stale pack at that) is a testament to the fact that kids aren't really eating these things up anymore, and that's a good thing. Now if you ask me, I think this gum does have a chance, if only a slim one, at remaining on the market in time for my niece to actually show an interest in gum (oh, they grow up so fast...). And that's if Nicorette steps up to the plate, throws some actual Nicotine in these things, and markets them to adults who actually would care for a smoke, but know they probably shouldn't anymore.

Rating: oo (two gumballs)

Bubbaloo Bubble Gum

This review is sponsored by our friends at BestCandyStore.com!

Flavor: Oh, Bubbaloo. How I love you so. Bubbaloo doesn't mess around when it comes to flavor. This gum is labeled "Bubble Gum," and it most certainly is a great classic bubble gum flavor. I think the goo burst is a little unnecessary here, it's a little too mediciney for my personal taste, but it fades away fast enough and you're left with just the perfect bubblegummy goodness.

Texture: Bubbaloo, will you marry me? (Sorry, husband.) It's smooth in the mouth, easy to spread on the tongue, and the bubbles are phenomenal. While I certainly don't want to experiment with blowing giant bubbles and popping them all over my glasses, it's not as sticky as a lot of sugar-based bubblegums... it comes off the lips and chin pretty easily.

Presentation: It's packaged the exact same way as its sister, Bubbaloo Sour Cherry, so the same applies here.

Overall: If I were stuck on a desert island and could only have one Bubble Gum flavored gum, it probably wouldn't be Bubbaloo because it would give me cavities and there'd be no dentist there to fill them. But since I'm not on a desert island, I would probably choose Bubbaloo if I had a hankering for Bubble Gum, because I don't really want it that often and dental care is widely available.

Rating: ooooo (five gumballs)

(Kosher Parve) Bazooka

Flavor: I don't speak Hebrew, but based on the comic strip that's wrapped around this piece of gum and that says in big English bubble letters "Bazooka Joe," I'm going to go out on a limb here and say this is Bazooka bubble gum. It tastes like it, anyhow-- simple, classic. It's sugar and gum base, sweet and bubblegummy. We had a request a while back from readers who were looking for kosher gum. This one was in the kosher section of our local supermarket, and it's as good as gum gets-- it's Bazooka, for crying out loud.

Texture: Come on, close your eyes and remember-- it's hard at first, then soft and grainy like a gob composed of lots of very fine sugar, and then it's hard as a rock and basically flavorless after about five minutes chewing. Also, it sort of sticks to caps (an observation I admittedly didn't have as a child, with all my baby teeth intact). Aaah, five cent childhood, how sweet you are.

Presentation: It looks just like you remember it, too. Red, blue and white paper folded along with an (presumably amusing) comic strip starring good ol' Bazooka Joe, around a brick-hard pink block of gum. The comics were never really funny, I don't recall ever quite laughing out loud. But who knows... maybe this one is side-splitting. I'll tell you what-- if anyone can translate this comic strip, I'll send you a whole bunch of kosher gum as a thank you.

Overall: I don't think I'd ever pick up a piece of Bazooka just for kicks anymore. But it sure was nice to pick up this kosher parve piece and make sure that it was indeed true to the classic original we all know and love.

Rating: ooooo (five gumballs) What did you expect? It's Bazooka.

Freshen-up Bubblegum

Flavor: Freshen-up Bubblegum is, to me, a classic, and the bubblegum flavor here stands true to the historic flavor we all know and love. The gel inside the gum isn't overly sweet, and adds a gooey burst of flavor upon the first bite. Although my pack was rather stale, I remember back in the day the goo being plentiful and lending itself to the hydrating sensation now found in gums like Orbit Mist. The flavor only lasts for a couple of minutes, but I think they were going for much more than just long-lasting flavor here.

Texture: This gum was way ahead of its time. The grandparent of the now popular liquid-filled pellet gum, Freshen-up was among the first (if not the first) commercial gums to explore the concept that gum could be more than just a chewy, flavored stick. Gum is a treat, a kind of candy, dating back to the five-and-dime gumballs cupped in the palm of a twelve-year-old boy, alongside licorice and chocolates. This gum recognized the importance of the first bite for some people-- how for some, it doesn't matter how long the flavor lasts or how malleable the chew is after ten minutes. For some people, it's all about that burst of flavor right at the start. Getting to chew it for longer than a gummy bear, well that's just an added bonus. It's a whole different market, and it's given birth to such diverse favorites as Dentyne Pure and Bubblicious Mango Peach Bursts.

Presentation: Celebrating thirty-five years on the market, this gum has always been a fierce competitor for flashier packages and cheap (although effective) gimmicks. It's packaging hasn't changed for as long as I can remember, metallic pink and an illustration of an oozing piece of gum. It's simple, unassuming, and blends in with all the others on the rack if you're not looking for it.

Overall: I have to admit that when I mention this gum to my friends, no one can ever really remember the name of it, although most do recount fond memories of a pack in their pockets in grammar school. I can't remember the last time I saw someone pull a piece of Freshen-up out of a bag and start chewing. Does anyone still buy Freshen-up? Or are the packs in the stores as fresh as the day I bought them fifteen years ago?

Rating: ooooo (five gumballs)

Big League Chew Outta' Here Original

Flavor: This is what Bubble Gum is all about. No frills, no burst of sour, no crunchies. Just pure, all-out sugary bubble gum goodness.

Texture: If nothing else, being a gum blogger has taught me that I have absolutely no idea how to chew Big League Chew. It's never been a gum to me, it's always been a game. The only time I've ever chewed Big League Chew in my life is when my sister or best friend and I have picked up a couple packs and had a contest to see how much we could fit in our mouths without gagging. (We always ended up gagging. It was disgusting.) As a result, it's really difficult for me to objectively blog about the texture - I've never had any idea how much of it I'm supposed to eat. I've had a few wads of it in preparation for this review, and no matter how small of an amount of shreds I chew, it always seems to be too much. From what I think I can gather, this gum starts off really soft. Like really soft, to the point where I feel like it's going to liquify. After a good 45-60 seconds, it starts to firm up and become a more enjoyable chewing experience. Bubbles with Big League Chew are fantastic. I've always maintained that BLC was the best gum for bubble blowing, and although recent gums like Hubba Bubba Bubble Tape Triple Treat give BLC a run for their money in the bubble-blowing category, BLC still remains tops in my book for bubbles.

Presentation: What can be said about Big League Chew's packaging? It's flawless. Now that I'm sitting here analyzing it, I don't understand how Big League Chew is still being manufactured, what with all the overprotective parents out there. BLC is shredded to look like chewing tobacco, and packed in a foil pouch... like chewing tobacco. It was created in the early 1980s to discourage the use of chew and provide a fun alternative. I can understand the mentality and the reasoning in the early 1980s, but in today's "Joe Camel Must Die" society I'm surprized that this has slipped through the cracks.

Overall: C'mon. It's Big League Chew. Who doesn't love Big League Chew?

Rating: ooooo (five gumballs)

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)

Glee Gum - Bubblegum Flavor

Presentation: The packaging of Glee Gum is a really cute retro style box. It features a gleeful guy, jumping for joy at the prospect of chewing this All Natural Gum Made With Rainforest Chicle. Yum! The box contains 18 pink 1/2" x 1/2" pellets. It should be noted that if opened correctly, the packaging is really convenient and recloseable. The first pack I opened, I did it wrong, and now I have to be really careful that all the gumz don't fall out. Be sure to press in the little tab and lift the whole side of the box off.

Flavor: A really pleasant, stereotypical bubblegum flavor. This is a sugared gum, so it's not surprising that the bubblegum is spot-on. It fades pretty quick, and that rainforest chicle is all you're left with - and it's totally the blandest of the bland gum base. It's not bad, though... there's no bitter back-of-the-mouth bitterness, just blah.

Texture: A mild pellet-shell crunch is followed by a nice, albeit slightly waxy, textured chew. The texture holds up far longer than the flavor does, which isn't saying much. It binds nicely and doesn't fall apart or get too hard.

Overall: I'm nursing my 3-month old daughter, and recently we've discovered that she has some food allergies, which has severly limited what I can eat at the moment. Right now, I am off dairy, soy and eggs. Imagine my shock and heartbreak when I discovered that nearly ALL gum I had lined up in my Gum Review Queue had a suspect ingredient - Soy Lecithin. In fact, 99% of all gums have this ingredient in them. It's been quite a challenge to find soy-free gums, and the Glee line is by far the most varied. That being said, beggars can't be choosers. While it's not the greatest gum in the world, for those with soy allergies, this is definitely a viable, chewable choice.
Rating: ooo (three gumballs)

Special Feature: The Bubble Trials

Christopher, A friend of GumAlert, alerted us to the fact that although we've reviewed multiple bubblegums, we rarely touch upon the bubble-blowing qualities of the gum. This is an element that we've absolutely neglected, so I've gone out and bought a variety of sugarless bubblegums to compare.

In this special post, I'll be comparing the bubbles blown by six different brands of sugarfree bubblegum: Bubblegum Trident, Stride Uber Bubble, Extra Classic Bubble, Orbit Bubblemint, Wrigley 5 Zing, and the yet-to-be-reviewed Sugarfree Bubble Yum.

Bubblegum Trident
In my initial review of Bubblegum Trident, I noted that this "might as well be a chewing gum." This description still fits. When you first start chewing Bubblegum Trident, the consistency is really hard, and the bubbles are small and thick. After you chew for about 5 - 10 minutes, the texture of the gum softens and the bubbles increase in size but remain a hard, thick, almost latex balloon consistency. However, the bubble pops and you're right back to a hard wad. Makes my teeth hurt, in fact.
oo (two bubbles)

Stride Uber Bubble
This one is also tough to chew, and it has a slightly grainy consistency that makes blowing bubbles near impossible. You can barely spread the gum around your tongue before it forms tiny little holes in it. I chewed it for about 15 minutes and it stayed way too firm.
o (one bubble)

Extra Classic Bubble
"Made With Real Bubbles" is printed on the inside of the packaging, and that's pretty gross if you stop and really think about it. Anyway, this one is a much softer gum when you first bite into it, but again, it firms up to the point where I worry about my dental work. I had such high hopes for the bubble potential when I first started chewing it, but I was quickly disappointed. I think I blew about 3 bubbles before my jaw started to hurt and I gave up.
o (one bubble)

Orbit Bubblemint
Still hard to chew, but definitely easier to spread. Bubbles are decent, but get thin and pop really quickly, and are really sticky. Since it's technically supposed to be a bubble-mint hybrid, if you blow a big bubble that doesn't pop and try to "suck" the bubble back into your mouth, your sinuses are blasted with mintyness. Similarly, if you pop a bubble just right and the air blows into your eye, it stings quite a bit.
oo (two bubbles)

Wrigley's 5 Zing
This gum fools you into thinking you're going to get great big awesome bubbles, but they fall short every time, popping with a loud, disappointing SNAP when you just start to fill them up with air. Also very sticky.
o (one bubble)

Bubble Yum Sugarfree
Bubble Yum is one of the main sugared bubblegums, so they know what's what when it comes to bubbles. However, once again the bubbles are sub-par. This gum has the opposite problem of the others: it's too soft. I feel like it might blow a decent enough bubble, but it wants to slide right off your tongue with the slightest pressure from the air.
oo (two bubbles)

Conclusion
Now that I've chewed enough xylitol in one sitting to make me nauseous, I think I can say with some certainty that sugarless bubblegum is more about the flavor of bubblegum, and less about the actual blowing of bubbles. If you're in a bubble-blowing mood, you gotta bite the bullet and risk a cavity and pick up a pack of Big League Chew or Bubble Tape.

Trident Bubblegum

Flavor: Basic bubblegum. Trident doesn't do anything too fancy here like some of the other new bubblegums... there's no tang, no sour-to-sweet, it's as basic as basic gets. Think Bazooka Joe.

Texture: When I get a gum with a texture this bad I often wonder if I happened to pick up a stale pack. On first bite, it's really hard, and it takes quite a while to soften up to a chewable consistency. And from there, it remains hard. I think any respectable bubblegum should be soft and malleable from the get-go, and stay that way for at least 20 minutes. A bubblegum that doesn't easily lend itself to bubbles is hardly a bubblegum at all.

Overall: Other than the fact that this might as well be a chewing gum, it's alright. Certainly nothing to write home about. There are far better bubblegums out there.
Rating: oo (two gumballs)

Hubba Bubba OUCH!

Flavor: What does it matter? It's bubblegum. I'd even go to far as to call it a superior bubblegum. (Most sugarfree versions of sugared brands of gum are superior, as a general rule. I long to find sugarfree bubbletape again.) But, big deal. It's impossible to rate this gum objectively.

Texture: Good. Great. Fine. Awesome. Who cares?

Overall: Okay, here we go. I'm hoping that anyone over the age of, say, 25, can feel me on this one.

I vividly remember OUCH! gum when I was a kid. It was most definitely sugared gum, of the fruity variety (though it wasn't a very strong fruit flavor - I actually think it was more bubblegum than fruit.) It came in a band-aid tin which made it completely awesome to a kid. It was an actual metal tin that I remember re-using for other gum, candies, change, whatever.

The gum itself was wrapped in a paper wrapper that had a printing of a band-aid on it. Why this was awesome, I have no idea, but it was indeed quite awesome. I remember feeling like I was the shizz when a classmate would be all, "Got any gum?" and I'd whip out my band-aid tin of OUCH! gum and hand them a piece of band-aid wrapped sugary goodness. Oh, it was awesome.

Apparently, Hubba Bubba bought the rights to OUCH! gum years later and redesigned the package. I feel like this redesign was after my time, as I don't remember seeing it or tasting it. I can't tell you much about it, but I found this picture online:

So what we can deduce is: OUCH! went corporate, but Hubba Bubba had the brains to, at the very least, continue packaging it in its signature metal band-aid tin. I can't speak to the sugar content (anyone know if the new verson was sugarfree?) or the taste (it looks like there are three flavors in the pack - grape, watermelon and strawberry) but the look new look was fun, whimsical, and nostalgic.

But now. Now! Oh, Hubba Bubba. What have you done??

It's just a friggin' pack of gum! It's a pack. of. sugarfree. bubblegum. Who cares? The only thing reminiscent of the OUCH! gum of my youth is the band-aid on the front of the package, and the OUCH! logo. And that's where it ends. The front of the package proudly declares, "Games INSIDE!" and you open up the pack to reveal:

Oh, big WHOOP. "How Many? How many crutches are outside the emergency room?" And you have to search through the crudely drawn picture to find the 5 obvious crutches. There's a little bubble "LOOK FOR MORE GAMES IN PACKS OF OUCH!" as if the 0.4 seconds of fun I had searching for crudely drawn crutches would be enough to draw me back to buy more OUCH! gum. Hardly. There's not even any band-aid printing on the gum wrappers. It's JUST. GUM. Katie and my husband both think that the "OUCH!" logo on the front of the package actually works as a reason NOT to buy the gum - that it's some kind of super sour gum that will hurt you by chewing it.

Oh, I have been hurt by chewing OUCH! gum, Hubba Bubba. But not on my tongue, in my heart. No matter how flavorful this gum may be, no matter how perfect the bubbles it blows or how long the consistency lasts, Hubba Bubba has struck out big time with this one. They haven't even tried. I implore you to boycott OUCH! gum, and just buy Extra Classic Bubble if bubblegum flavor is the hankering you have.
Rating: o (one gumball)

Stride Uber Bubble

Flavor: Stride Uber Bubble is a nice bubblegum, but that's about as far as it goes. As I've mentioned in past reviews, Katie and I are on an ongoing quest for a gum as good as our long-gone all-time favorite, Extra Original Bubble. Uber Bubble teases you with tanginess, makes you think that it's going to give you a hint of semi-sour, but it just levels out to be your plain old bubblegum. Like I said - it's nice, but I don't see what's so special about this bubble that they felt fit to call it "Uber."

Texture: It's definitely chewable, albeit a little bit too firm for my taste. From a bubblegum, I expect more blow-friendly pliablility to maximize bubbles.

Overall: There's something wrong with this gum. I have meant to review it sooner, but every pack I bought has gone bad somehow. Once the protective plastic is removed from the packaging, you have a period of about two weeks to chew it. (Which, probably, is not a problem for most chewers, but I as a Gum Girl always have no fewer than 5 packs of gum with me at all time.) After a couple weeks, the gum turns like... wet? It gets all sticky and disgusting in the packaging and is completely inedible. It happened to three packs of Uber Bubble I have bought, and if this didn't happen it would have rated at least a 3, but most likely a 4. This weird problem aside, it's one of the better tasting bubblegums on the market right now.
Rating: oo (two gumballs)

Extra Classic Bubble

Flavor: It's going to be extremely hard to review this gum without comparing it to the greatest gum of all time, Extra Original Bubble (may it rest in peace.) It's your basic bubblegum. It's got a fantastic bubble gum flavor, and if you're a bubblegum person, this is probably in your regular rotation, if not your favorite. On first chew, it's soft and sweet, and it's hard to believe that it is, indeed, sugarfree. I'm reminded of the taste of a pinch of bubblegum Big League Chew. Excellent.

Texture: At first, it's fantastic. It's soft and congeals into a nice wad. But on further mastication, it firms up a little too much. I fear for my fillings a bit with this one for a couple minutes. But fear not, and do not give up the chew - it softens back up into a delightful chewable gum, and allows for small-to-medium sized bubble blowing. Now, despite the taste, this ain't no Big League Chew, and you're not going to be getting Big League sized bubbles out of it, but it does the job.

Overall: A fantastic choice for a bubblegum. Extra gums usually go one way or the other - they either get it really right, or really wrong - and they got this one really right. I can't give it five bubbles for a couple reasons - the interlude of firmness, and out of respect for my beloved Original Bubble. If Extra comes to their senses and brings back Original Bubble, I may someday revisit this review and bump up the stars.

Rating: oooo (four gumballs)

Orbit Bubblemint

Flavor: Sweet, traditionally bubblegummy, a really fine saccharine representative of what usually is a very sugary treat. It’s a pleasant flavor that lasts until you decide to throw it away, and even lingers for a good long while after you’re done chewing—which is a good thing, unless you’re sick of it. It’s such a strong flavor that it’s the kind of gum I can only have once in a while, but that I do crave from time-to-time. It’s like a really strong food dish (to me, like Indian food, for example), one that you love to eat but not every night of the week.

Texture: It has a really nice smooth texture that goes mushy but in a good way. The mushiness is just malleable, it doesn’t crumble in your mouth. It’s a different kind of chew, soft, yet stable. However, you’d expect a bubblegum flavor gum to entice you to blow bubbles, whereas this one does not. When I *do* try to blow bubbles, they’re sticky and difficult to peel from your lips after they pop.

Overall: One time I bought a pack of this gum and I felt like it was the most amazing gum I’d ever had. The bubblegum flavor was so sweet and cooling and long-lasting, the texture so smooth and malleable that I looked forward to chewing it and concentrated on chewing it, oftentimes while doing nothing else (This was during my college years. I had a lot of free time.). But once the pack was gone, I didn’t buy it again. It’s such a distinct bubble flavor that I just got sick of it. I’ll admit that it’s my best friend’s (and probably our only reader’s) favorite. She buys it by the can (the hard-shell variety of this gum is available in a little plastic jar by the dozens) and chews it regularly. I don’t know—it’s good, refreshing, I buy it all the time and recommend it to bubblegummers.
Rating: oooo (four gumballs)

Wrigley's 5 Zing

Flavor: Touting itself as a "sour to sweet bubble" on its outside cellophane wrapper, 5 Zing is just that. On first chew, it's a bit tart and really stimulates the taste buds. Its sour is a pleasant sour, not overly pungent like some other "sour" gums. After a few minutes of chewing, the sour fades to a nice standard bubblegum flavor that you'd expect to find coming from Wrigley's.

Texture: The texture of 5 Zing is just fine. Nothing special, it works. It stays uniformly firm with continued chewing - it doesn't turn mushy or too hard. It has a slight tackiness to it that I find a little annoying, but it's nothing that would stop me from buying and chewing this gum regularly. Since it's a bubblegum I feel obligated to rate its bubble-blowing abilities... and it rates poorly. The gum is too soft and the bubbles too thin to be able to blow a bubble with any size to it. They call it a bubblegum, but I definitely think that this is more of a bubblegum-flavored chewing gum.

Overall: I haven't been a big fan of Wrigley's 5 line since its inception. I've found the mints to be boring, and the cinnamon just run-of-the-mill. The introduction of 5 Zing changes my opinion of the line drastically. It's a change from the ordinary, a unique chewing experience. I look forward to trying their other new flavor, Solstice (a warm and cool winter) as soon as I see a pack on the checkout line stands.

Rating: oooo (four gumballs)