pür gum - eXcitemint

This review is sponsored by our friends at pür gum!

Flavor: This has got some serious power! Nasal-clearing, breath-freshening, throat-cooling awesomeness in a pellet. It's one of the stronger mints I've tasted, and it's just fantastic. Go ahead - eat that garlic bread. With pur in your pocket, you've got nothing to worry about. The flavor has nice longevity, also - mellows a bit, but stays flavorful and minty.

Texture: Starts off a bit on the tough side, but softens up as you chew. It should be noted that one pellet is kind of small, it takes two to get a nicely-sized wad.

Presentation: As with other pür gums we've reviewed, this is your quintessential no-frills packaging. pür lets the gum do all the work, as it should be.

Overall: If this gum weren't aspartame free and soy free, it would still be an awesome gum. The added health benefit of no aspartame, and the awesomeness of an option for the soy-allergic are icing on the gumcake. Another win in a fab line of gum.

Rating: ooooo (five 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)