Double the Flavor, Double the Fun

Review by: Do

I tried some new gum this week....I know....very exciting stuff!

1.) Stride Shift - Flavor changing gum. I thought it could be really cool, like in the original 'Charlie & the Chocolate Factory' when Violet tried that experimental gum that tastes like a 3 course dinner. I was hoping for better results than she had.

The flavor I chose was citrus to mint. Well, it definitley is a citrus-y flavored gum. Not a great flavor, but tolerable. So, if I keep chewing it changes to mint, right? Okay...chew, chew chew. The only real thing I noticed was that the flavor goes from tolerable to just not good. At one point I thought I felt a bit of 'menthol' when I was breathing in air, but by that time the taste was bad and I had to throw it out. The citus is so strong, that even if it did change I probably wouldn't be able to tell.

I also had my 12-yr old son try and he agreed that it was just citrus, not mint.

End results: If you like citrus gum, give it a chew. I didn't notice any change in flavor.

2.) Rockstar Energy Gum - Iced Mint. My husband loves the Rockstar energy drinks, so when I saw this gum in the local convenient store, I couldn't pass it up. Although I bought it for my husband, I was curious too, so I tried this 'energy gum-loaded with caffeine, taurine, and B-Vitamins'.

Wow...it is definitely minty!! So far so good. But the longer I chewed, which really wasn't very long, I started to notice a funky, bitter flavor. I also didn't notice any increase in my energy level. Serving size is 2 pieces, which is equal to 80mg of caffeine. The pieces are 'giant' and I really can't imagine chewing 2 pieces at once.

My husband says it's okay to start, minty like a normal gum, flavor runs out very fast, and then the gum instantly tastes rotten (his words were a little more 'colorful'). He didn't notice any energizing effects, but then he drinks a lot of energy drinks so he didn't think that was too odd. He said he would not recommend the gum.

End results: I don't care for this gum either, and at $2.50 a pack (10 pieces) I don't think I'll be buying it again.

For now, I'll be sticking with the basics. Trident and Dentyn have never done me wrong, and I think I'll be better off chewing on them.