Mars Starburst Sweet Fiesta

The thought makes me cringe now, but I used to play with my Starbursts like modeling clay to create hybrid flavors. I would mold two or more flavors together, make little shapes, and eat them. The idea of handling candy so thoroughly grosses me out these days, but maybe it was part of the reason I rarely get sick as an adult.

The newest (to my knowledge) offering from Starbust is called Sweet Fiesta, and it offers a more sanitary set of hybrid flavors. The fiesta includes Strawberry Pineapple, Peach Guava, Cherry Mango, and Melon Berry. Though the flavors are different, I was certainly reminded of the recent Skittles Blenders.


I could smell the pineapple in Strawberry Pineapple, which got me excited. It had a sour, juicy, slightly woodsy flavor, and I could taste the pineapple much better than the strawberry (fine by me). It was a great combination of sour and sweet.

Peach Guava had a tropical, papaya juice-esque flavor. I could only catch a slight hint of peach, and this one was quite sweet and juicy.

Cherry Mango had a fantastic cherry flavor that seemed better than the regular cherry Starburst, but I couldn't figure out why. I didn't taste the mango, just a modified cherry. It reminded me of fruit punch.

Melon Berry had a very fake melon flavor with a richer berry background flavor. It was my least favorite flavor of the bunch, but it wasn't bad.

Overall, the combinations felt fresh, and although some of them missed the mark, it was hard for me to save any for my husband (though I managed to leave him one of each flavor and a spare Melon Berry).

Check out some other reviews at Sugar Hi and Sugar Pressure.

B+

Starburst website

Mars Skittles Blenders

Did anyone else use M&Ms or Smarties in their elementary school math classes? I think it was third grade when my teacher presented every student in the class with their own bag of M&Ms to illustrate simple lessons in percentages and probability. I'm not sure if it was effective, but it was a lot of fun. I still remember that most of the M&Ms in my bag were light brown (I'm dating myself here - this was before the blue M&M).

There are five new flavors in this mix: Melon Berry Burst, Strawberry Lime Blast, Watermelon Green Apple Freeze, Cherry Tropicolada, and Mango Lemonade Freeze. I'm sure it's no accident that those names sound like they came straight off a Sonic Drive-in menu. Now, I mention M&M math because I applied some of the same principles when I sampled this bag of Skittles Blenders. It was immediately apparent that my bag did not contain an even flavor distribution (Mango Lemonade Freeze in particular was underrepresented). Here's a chart to illustrate my point.



Strawberry Lime Blast was similar to a normal red Skittle with a hint of sour lime. It was fruity, tart, and tasty, but it wasn't terribly exciting or special.

Cherry Tropicolada reminded me of cough syrup. The pineapple and coconut flavors were present along with the strong cherry, but it really rubbed me the wrong way.


witness the distinct lack of mango
Watermelon Green Apple Freeze worked well. The initial flavor was an artificial but tasty watermelon, followed by a green apple tartness. I'm not usually a fan of these flavors, but I liked them both here.

Melon Berry Burst reminded me of grape Nerds, but with more of a blueberry flavor. I didn't get much of a sense of melon flavor from this one, and it seemed to just be a rehash of a flavor from Wild Berry Skittles.

Mango Lemonade Freeze reminded me of my favorite smoothie (I've mentioned it before), so it was a bit nostalgic (especially since I just found out that shop is closed). The lemon flavor was sour and almost hit some floor cleaner notes, but it was saved by a good, distinct mango taste. Of all the flavors, this was the most unexpected.

Overall, Skittles Blenders is a decent mix, but it didn't really offer anything new or exciting. Still, it's worth a taste for fans of Skittles and fruity candy in general. Also, it seems like every time I review Skittles, their website just gets more and more cumbersome to navigate. I guess I'm not the target demographic.

B-

Skittles Website

Lotte Double Berry Cheesecake Toppo

In a world of endless Pocky-like snacks, Toppo is one of my favorites. I usually like it better than Pocky (with the exception of those fancy dessert mousse types of Pocky), so I was excited to try a new flavor.

However, in a world of endless desserts, cheesecake is not my favorite. Oh sure, a bite is good, but it's often just too rich for me - even New York style (though it is better). It could have something to do with the lactose intolerance, but if I'm picking the dessert, it's almost certainly not going to be cheesecake.


The Toppo smelled strongly of cheese (yep, I took a Lactaid) but not cheesecake. The cheese flavor was quite subtle and didn't seem like cheesecake at all. Mostly, I tasted the strawberry and blueberry flavors, but they had a slight soapiness about them.

The pretzel was standard, slightly sweet and salty Toppo fare, with a slight preservative-like aftertaste. The whole thing left a little oily residue behind, but it wasn't bad. The soapy berry flavors turned me off, and I definitely prefer regular chocolate Toppo to this limited edition.

B-

Orbit Perfect Peach and Berry Red

Despite my recent lack of Orbit gum reviews, I have continued my quest to try every flavor. Orbit has made that rather difficult lately, with the barrage of new flavors released in the past few months. I've tried them all, but some of them slipped through the review cracks. Don't worry, things are under control at Gum Alert!

But I did review two of the new flavors, Perfect Peach and Berry Red. I liked the bright packaging, and both seemed like good flavors for summer. I haven't seen much peach gum, so I was especially excited for that one.


Perfect Peach smelled sour and juicy, and the initial flavor was pretty strong and fairly authentic. I was reminded of a sour, not quite ripe peach. The gum felt cool but not minty. The chew was nice and bouncy without being too tough, but most of the flavor was gone within a few minutes. B


Berry Red smelled so much like medicine. It didn't taste as quite as strong as it smelled, thankfully. The gum was tangy and juicy, with a false mixed berry flavor that reminded me of bubble gum. Again, the texture of the gum was good, but it lost flavor quickly. The gum was chewable, but too medicine-like for me to buy again. C-

Orbit website

Stride Shift Flavor Changing Gum

Despite its permanent place in my purse, it's been a while since I have reviewed chewing gum. Recently, it seems like gum companies are branching out with some interesting new products, Stride Shift gum included. My conscience dictates me to mention that these were free marketing samples, and that I am not being paid to write this (or any) review.

The packages certainly are eye-catching, and the colors had a very 1990s feel, probably to appeal to people of a certain age. I wasn't sure how Stride would pull off the flavor changing, but I'm a fan of fruit-mint combination gum, so I approached them without fear.


The initial orangey flavor of Citrus -> Mint was a mild citrus with hints of tropical fruit. It reminded me of orange suckers (specifically Dum Dums), especially because there were little crunchy bits in the gum. The mystery of the Shift was solved! The crunchy bits had a tart, citrus zip to them, and the chewier bits carried the mint. I suspect the food chemistry here aims to have the fruity bits dissolve before the mint, which was a sweet peppermint that I couldn't quite place. For a bit, I was getting punches of both flavors, but it only took a couple minutes to transition completely from orange to mint. From then on, the mint flavor lasted a very long time, and I was sick of chewing gum before the flavor was gone. B-


The Berry -> Mint smelled like strawberry and grape. At first, it tasted very sugarfree, but the initial flavor wasn't bad. I tasted blueberry and strawberry with a hint og mint. Again, most of the berry flavor was gone after a few minutes, leaving the gum minty with bursts of non-descript tartness. The final mint was the same sweet peppermint as the citrus, and again, the flavor lasted quite a while. B

I was a little obsessive about chewing up all of the flavor bits, so I could see that if you weren't, the gum might taste a bit weird. Still, Stride tried something new, which is always commendable. But unlike Stride's Eternal Melon (which I should review), I can't say that I'd seek these flavors out again.

Check out reviews of Citrus and Berry at GumAlert for another point of view.

Stride Gum Website

Skittles Fizzl'd Fruits

While filling up at a gas station on the way to see a concert, I stopped in the attached convenience store and was shocked and thrilled to find Skittles Fizzl'd Fruits. Since I wanted to consume them right away, I took pictures in the car, with the candy on my lap and in my hand.

These have been on my mind ever since Cybele's Valentine's Day 2010 candy tease, as I love Skittles and almost all fizzy candy. Unfortunately, the grocery stores near me are very slow to receive new items (they just now carry Crazy Cores on their shelves), but I always forget about gas stations. With pay at pump, I hardly have a reason to go inside and look at all the new, overpriced candy (these Skittles were $1.39 US).


One whiff of the open bag told me that the flavors were the same as the Wild Berry Skittles, so I won't go too deeply into how the flavors differed. They had the appearance of Sour Skittles, but the effect was entirely different.

These were very fizzy on the tongue - surprisingly fizzy! You have to suck on them a bit to get the true effect, but it made me think of a berry soda (close to the point of bubbles up your nose, but without the pain). Fizzl'd Fruits were tasty, nostalgic, and fun. If you like the berry flavors, definitely check these out. I prefer the original fruits, but it was nice to see a new spin on a different flavor set. Now, I wonder if they can combine fizzy with sour?

There's also a review of these at CandyBlog.

A-

Skittles Website (note: it's very graphic-intense)

Diet Mountain Dew UltraViolet

While listening to the radio, I heard a commercial for Diet Violet Mountain Dew. I was mildly interested, since it's rare for Mountain Dew to release a flavored diet soda. When I got to work the next day, a friend told me it was available in the snack stand, and I had to sample it.

When I poured the soda, the bubbles at the top (do you call it "head" when it's soda?) were blue, as you can see in the following picture. The drink itself was a pale violet color, much like the various non-diet violet Mountain Dews of the past.


There was a generic berry smell to the soda, but it smelled stronger than it tasted. The first notes were a bit medicinal, giving way to a fuller, but nondescript, berry finish. Unfortunately, I was painfully aware of the artificial sweetener throughout drinking, even more so than with regular diet Dew.

I have to give Mountain Dew an A for effort for putting out a new diet soda flavor, but I don't think I'll choose it again. There are other diet sodas I like much better (Sunkist Diet Sparkling Lemonade, for example).

B-

Mountain Dew website

Berry Blast Mike and Ike

The last kind of Mike and Ikes in my trio of reviews was sadly the worst. I am a big fan of real berries, but these were very disappointing. The back of the box claims that they are "bursting with fruit juice flavor!" That means exactly what it says - the flavor of fruit juice.

Once again, there are five flavors, and I'll take a look at them individually. I tried one of each to see without looking at the box to see if I could guess the flavors, but the only one I got was strawberry.



Blue Berry is noticeably not "blueberry" and it fits, because it doesn't taste like blueberries. It reminds me of a Dum Dum flavor, I'm just not sure which one.

Wild Berry doesn't really mean much to me, either. This one is green, and doesn't really taste like a berry. It's just vaguely fruit punchy.

Strawberry is very Chupa Chups strawberry - if you've ever had one of those suckers, you'll know what I mean. It tastes like how a strawberry car air freshener smells.

Mixed Berry is pretty forgettable. It's certainly not bursting with flavor and it's just vaguely berry.

Red Raspberry doesn't really taste like raspberries, either. It's missing the tangy flavor that I love in raspberries and it just tastes sweet.

So, these were pretty disappointing and forgettable. At least my curiosity about the various flavors of Mike and Ike is somewhat satisfied. I heard the Tangy Twister kind is good...

C-

Just Born website

Mars Starburst Tropical

I should know by now to be wary of "tropical" versions of things. I learned my lesson many years ago with Tropical Skittles. But I guess I forgot that lesson when I bought this bag of Tropical Starburst. Let me break down each flavor.

Mango Melon: I don't really taste mango, but I can kind of taste the melon (cantaloupe). I don't think either fruit is as sour as this tastes, though.

Royal Berry Punch: Tastes a lot like clear gummy bears, but not good ones. I don't really taste berry at all, actually, although the first bite was almost cranberry, in a bitter sort of way.

Pina Colada: Very plastic-y taste. I think it's from the attempt at tasting like coconut. The pineapple is almost there, but the sugary taste is overpowering.

Strawberry Banana: I liked this best of the bunch. It tastes very artificial, but at least it does hit its target of strawberry banana. Not that it's a very tropical combination.

Starburst is one of those candies that was better as a child. Now they all just taste too sweet. I can still eat the originals, although too many gives me heartburn, as I recently discovered. If I get the urge for Starburst again soon, I won't pick Tropical.

C

Starburst Website

Stride Sweet Berry Gum

I have a problem with chewing gum. I like it too much. Packs of good gum last me only a couple days because I just chew and chew, which isn't good for the jaw. My favorite is Orbit gum, in pretty much all flavors, and I plan to review some in the future. But today, thanks to a friend, I have Stride Sweet Berry gum.

The website says "Is it strawberry? Is it raspberry? Or maybe it's blueberry? Who knows?" Well, I know. It's Wild Berry Skittles. Imagine putting half a pack in your mouth at once, and that's just gum smells like when you open the box. The actual flavor isn't all that intense, but I suppose it is fairly long lasting. Like a dull roar. It's just not a flavor I enjoy, and I gotta say, I like the Orbit Raspberry Mint better. There's not a hint of mint at all in the Stride, and I suppose that's not a bad thing, but it left my mouth feeling a little murky.

It'll do in a pinch, but I don't think I'd buy it.

C+

Stride Gum Website

Ice Breakers Berry Sours

Ever since I was little, I've loved sour candy. And it was never sour enough for me. Lemon Warheads were great until the sour powder went away. Okay, so I don't enjoy having my mouth cut up by sour candy anymore, but I really love these Ice Breakers Sours.

I've had a couple different kinds, and this berry pack is by no means my favorite, but it's the one I have now. As far as I can tell, all the kinds I've had are eqyally sour, and I just wanted to note that the package says "Caution: sour level may cause irritation to the mouth." That's how you know it's good.



The package is glittery, which is always appealing. There's the "to share" side with the big opening, and the "not to share" opening, which never really works for me. The flavors are listed on the front, but that doesn't really help. One of my only gripes with Ice Breakers Sours is that it's really hard to tell which one is which flavor, especially since these all look pretty similar. I'm going to guess as best as I can. Honestly, I usually just blindly shovel these things into my mouth.

Raspberry Lemonade: This one is the easiest to identify because of the yellow flecks in it. The raspberry flavor is good and reminds me of blue raspberry Blow Pops, but the lemonade part is a little bit like lemon Pledge, so this is probably my least favorite of the three. I'll still eat it, though. Note that it's represented by a purple lemon on the front of the container. This flavor is the sourest.

Berry Splash: It was hard to tell this one from Strawberry, but if you get very close, you can see it has purple and red flecks, suggesting multiple berries. I still taste strawberry in this one, with maybe a hint of blackberry? It's hard to tell. This one is very good, as there's no cleaning solvent taste. It's not very sour. I'd have to call this one my favorite.

Strawberry: This one seems to only have reddish/magenta flecks. Call me crazy, but it actually does taste like strawberry. Because it's a bit sour, it almost tastes like strawberry lemonade you might get at a place like Red Robin. This one is the sweetest and the least sour, and if it had been just a bit less sweet, it would have been my favorite.

All in all, these are good but not great. The Fruit Sours that come in the bright green container pack much more of a punch. They used to have some fantastic ones with margarita flavors, but unfortunately those seem to be discontinued.

B+

Ice Breakers Website