vitamingum Peppermint

This review is sponsored by our friends at vitamingum!

Flavor: Brrrr. I'm usually not a fan of peppermint gum, as the cooling sensation tends to be a little too strong for my tastes-- something about those Halls menthol sinus-clearing fumes that just doesn't do it for me. vitamingum, however, has produced a much more delicate cooling sensation here. It's subtle, well-balanced, and lasts as long as the other, more pungent varieties.

Texture: The pieces are a little small, but that's a matter of preference. I popped a second in my mouth and was satisfied, and discovered that a proper serving size, according to the package, is indeed two pieces. That said, it's as balanced a texture as it is a flavor, and provides a consistency that doesn't harden or stale the longer you chew.

Presentation: There's a characterization of flavors that happens in the gum world (and the candy world in general) that doesn't necessarily correspond with the natural properties of the flavors represented. An "apple" flavored lollipop doesn't really taste like an actual apple in most cases, nor does a piece of watermelon Hubba Bubba remind you of a cool wedge of fruit on a hot summer day. Take the packaging of the flavor spearmint. When you think of it, what color comes to mind? Green, right? Well, what about Peppermint? When I think of peppermint, I think of the green leafy stuff that nice ladies grow in terracotta pots in the summertime. But what about in the gum world? I did a quick Google image search on the word "Peppermint," and here's what came up:


Meanwhile, a search for the words "Peppermint gum" produced this result:

What what what? How did that green leafy plant become this crazy blue color? The peppermint plant itself doesn't even appear on any of the packages, replaced by swirls and lightning bolts and electric shock stuff. I'm guessing the blue-ness is an interpretation of the distinct cooling sensation present in peppermint that is missing in lots of other mint varieties-- a cool, glacier-blue flavor that refreshes your whole mouth and leaves you feeling brisk and alive and skiing in the alps on your coffee table! Brrr! (York Peppermint Patty commercials... anyone?) I respect this artistic rendition of the peppermint I know and love, and hey, vitamingum even puts a leaf on the pack!

Overall: It's good for you, too! (Well, it has vitamins, anyway.) Although 10 percent of your daily vitamins in one serving of vitamingum might not sound like a lot, I can't imagine chewing the entirety of this pack in any less than a day or two. So you say, (stand back... I'm going to try math) 12 pieces to a pack, 2 pieces to a serving, 10 percent of vitamins per serving and... um... well... it's still better than nothing, right? I don't know, you figure it out.

Rating:ooooo (five gumballs)

vitamingum Spearmint

This review is sponsored by our friends at vitamingum!

Flavor: The flavor here is very subtle from the get-go. It's a not-too-powerful version of the classic spearmint flavor, and it pretty much tastes exactly how you'd expect it to taste. Although I personally wish the flavor were stronger, I'm sure many people are tired of the new trend in gum that tries to slam you with flavor on the first bite and literally takes your breath away.

Texture: As Shannon mentioned in her review of vitamingum Cinnamon, in order to get at least 30 percent of all your daily vitamins, you'd have to chew six pieces of vitamingum. Now this sounds like a lot, but these pieces are so small that I can't imagine myself chewing just one at a time again. I'm not a two-piece chewer usually, but the gum disintegrates quickly and there's not much substance there. The texture, though, is a fine balance of firm and soft and lasts for at least ten minutes (...which is a good thing, because the directions on the package instruct you to chew for that long, at least. More on that in a bit.)

Presentation: Shannon described the packaging of the vitamingum line quite succinctly in her review. I have to say that my favorite thing about the packaging is that this gum comes with directions, in case you're totally befuddled by this product: "Directions: Chew gum 5-10 minutes to ensure release of nutrients." I'm a fan of really obvious directions, the likes of Pop Tarts, "Open pouch, insert in toaster, enjoy." But I suppose the vitamingum instructions aren't entirely unnecessary, as someone who is using this gum as solely a vitamin supplement might assume that a few quick bites would do the trick. I think they're really creatively written, too-- "to ensure release of nutrients" sounds very serious and scientific, as opposed to something like "to make your blood way more healthy-like."

Overall: Folks in Texas probably would not be a fan of this gum. There's nothing big here-- little flavor, little pieces, a little bit of vitamins. But not everyone is in the market for these new-fangled, over-the-top gums in shiny florescent packs. Some people are looking for a little piece of gum to freshen the breath and add a little bit of health to their day. For them, this gum is a breath of fresh air in a market dominated by gimmicks and liquid-centered-flavor-bombs.

Rating: ooooo (five gumballs)

vitamingum Cinnamon

This review is sponsored by our friends at vitamingum!

Flavor: Cinnamon seems to be a hard flavor to get right in the gum world, and a really good cinnamon gum is hard to find. I always tend to judge cinnamon gums against my all-time favorite cinnamon treat, the Atomic Fireball. To me, the Atomic Fireball was always so perfect - it had a brief period of mouth-tingling hotness, and just when you think it's getting to be too hot to handle, the sweet layer kicks in and lulls the fire into a perfect warmth. This gum is pretty similar to that - starts off awesomely strong, and settles down nicely. vitamingum really did a nice job with the cinnamon.

Texture: When I bit down into my first piece, I was concerned. Although it's a pellet, there's no discernible candy shell crunch, and the first few chews are really way too hard. Thankfully, within 5 - 10 chews it softens up nicely. The chew has a slight stickiness, but nothing too horrible. It does have a little squeak, as well.

Presentation: Minimalist, standard pellet pop-out pack. Stark white with the perfect shade of cinnamon-red. The logo is reminiscent of vitaminwater, with the space between the words removed. I've said before that I like when cinnamon gum packaging features actual cinnamon sticks, and we've got that here.

Overall: vitamingum has hopped on the Gum Friends-with-Benefits bandwagon, but instead of claims to "vigorate," "vitalize," "release energy," or any other other vibrant marketing terms other brands have conjured up, vitamingum just claims to have vitamins. In and of itself, that's pretty cool. I know that I am pretty terrible at remembering to take my multivitamin each day, and this makes me feel a little better about that. It should be noted, though, that each two-piece serving of vitamingum only contains 10% of the recommended daily value of 12 vitamins, so you'd have to chew 20 pieces of this (almost 2 whole packs) to get your 100% of vitamins for the day.

Rating: oooo (four gumballs)