Orbit Sangria Fresca Gum

I know I said I wouldn't do another gum review for a while, but while cooking, I found this pack of Sangria Fresca in my cupboard and just couldn't resist. It literally came out of the woodwork. If you're curious, this was the 13th flavor of Orbit I tried.

This one smells and tastes like Kool-Aid. I can't really place the fruity flavors, but there's definitely citrus going on. I don't taste any wine, so I don't think it passes for Sangria, but it's still pretty tasty gum.


The texture is good, but I'll admit I didn't chew it all the way, because I'm not keen on gum right now. Orbit gum is pretty dependable (except for that pomegranate) and I've had this before and remember it having a decent life (at least 10 minutes of flavor) and it never got soft and sticky.

It doesn't have a mint flavor, but it doesn't leave your moth feeling stale, so this one is pretty good. Better than Fabulous Fruitini, which was released at the same time.

A-

Orbit Website

Orbit Fabulous Fruitini Gum

In my quest to taste all current flavors of Orbit gum, I've come to my penultimate flavor. Although it's not the newest, I had just never gotten around to trying it. I figure the snack blog is a good enough excuse.

This time, it's Fabulous Fruitini. What fruit is it going to be? The smell is a little reminiscent of PEZ, but I wouldn't recommend smelling the whole box, it kind of smells like paint. Smell 1 stick. Unwrapped.


The gum is quite tangy and juicy! I think I can taste pineapple and banana right off the bat, but I'm not really sure what other fruits are in play here. It kind of reminds me of Fruit Stripe gum, only without as much artificial color. Compared to other Orbit flavors, though, the flavor was gone kind of quickly, maybe only 5 minutes of good, juicy chewing. There is a slight background mint that keeps it from tasting stale, though, which is great.

The texture is similar to that of the Strawberry Mint: firm but not hard, smooth, and squeaky. I'd place this one in the bottom third in the Orbit deliciousness spectrum, where Lemon Lime is on the bottom and Citrusmint (or Raspberry Mint) is at the top.

Only Crystal Mint is left now. It might be a while, since I now have 4 packs of Orbit at home to chew, and my jaw is tired from all this gum reviewing. Not to mention I'm getting a little worried about what the sorbitol will do to me.

C-

Orbit Website

Orbit Strawberry Mint Gum

The Orbit gum reviews continue! Next, we have another limited edition flavor, Strawberry Mint. I will admit I have tried this one before (it was the 12th out of 16 I tried) but I just had to blog about it, because it's one of my favorites.


The gum smells like strawberries. It might not be the most genuine strawberry smell, kind of like a Strawberry Shortcake doll might smell, but it's a good smell! The gum tastes great, too, it captures the sweetness and tartness of the perfect strawberry - not too sweet, not unripe, it's just delicious. There's a slight mintiness in the background, but it's not the main event. This one is right up there with Citrusmint and Raspberry Mint.

The flavor hung around for a pretty long time, maybe 15 to 20 minutes or so before just becoming minty. It's got a good, springy and smooth texture and it was making my teeth squeak. I know they're not really getting much cleaner, but it's a nice sound. I really wish this one wasn't limited edition! This is the epitome of fruity-mint, though, so I'd stay away if you aren't into that.

A+

Orbit Website

Orbit Positively Pomegranate Gum

In my quest to try every flavor of Orbit gum, I've never had so much difficulty tracking down a flavor as I had with Positively Pomegranate. Once Amanda mentioned it in a comment on the Stride Sweet Berry review, I knew I had to try it. It was nowhere to be found at Target, Walgreens, or Kroger, and I couldn't even find it online! Finally, I found a mention on a blog of someone getting it at Wal-Mart. I don't really go there often; oddly enough, it's not conveniently located near my apartment. But I finally made it out to Wal-Mart and lo and behold, found the gum!

I wasn't expecting the box to be white, but I suppose a pomegranate color would have been too easily confused with Raspberry Mint. After the surprising box color, the second thing I noticed was that this gum packs a powerful scent. I could smell it through the plastic wrapper, and it was almost sickeningly sweet. This was very concerning. However, after removing the wrapper, I was relieved to find that the box smelled better, fruitier and less oppressive. In fact, the scent was almost a dead ringer for Bath & Body Works Midnight Pomegranate (floral notes included). I actually didn't try the gum right away, so it sat for about 30 minutes while I finished my tea. My whole apartment smells like this gum. This scent is strong.


The gum itself is a nice pale purple, although I was hoping for a darker color. The taste is actually pretty good! Fruity, tangy, and although it's been a long time since I've had a pomegranate, it tastes like Midnight Pomegranate smells (minus the floral notes), so I'm guessing that's good. There's no mint in here, so that's a plus if you're not a fruity/minty combo fan.

Once thing I didn't like was the texture. It's not very springy as gum goes. In fact, it's stickier, softer, and gooier than gum should be. It doesn't bounce back when you chew it. I don't know if that has to do with how they flavored it or what, but it is kind of disappointing. I'm not the only one who thinks so (1 2 3 4, etc.).

So, it doesn't top the list of Orbit gums I've tried, but it's not at the bottom either. I would have liked it more if it didn't scent my apartment and had a better texture.

Now, my Orbit count is up to 14/16 flavors tried.

C (because of the texture thing)

Orbit Website

Orbit Maui Melon Mint Gum

I think I've mentioned before that I love Orbit gum. Well, I was looking at the Wikipedia page for Orbit and discovered that, of the 16 existing flavors of Orbit gum in the US, I've tried 13. Not too shabby!

I also learned that Orbit was introduced in 1944 as the best Wrigley could do during rationing, reintroduced in 1977, and then again in 2001 (when I started chewing it, seeing as I wasn't born until the 1980s).


In this first of four Orbit reviews, I'll cover Maui Melon Mint. When you smell the gum, all you smell is Doublemint. I love Doublemint, though, so that's a perk for me! It actually takes a while for the melon flavor to kick in at all, and it's very subtle. If I didn't know it was melon gum, I'd think it was just mint. I'm guessing it's watermelon by the color of the box, but I do taste a little honeydew. Mostly, I taste Doublemint. It has a great texture, though, lots of bounce and firm without being hard.

So, if you're looking for a true melon gum, I guess I'd recommend the Ice Breakers Kiwi Watermelon over this, although this Orbit is actually more cooling for the mouth. I really wish this had more melon flavor. It does give you that "just brushed clean feeling" though.

B+

Orbit Website

Extra Fruit Sensations Strawberry Banana

I don't know that it's fair for me to rate strawberry banana flavored things, because I'm just not keen on banana flavoring. Sometimes the strawberry mellows it out, and if it's very authentic, then I have no problems at all, because real strawberries and bananas actually taste great together.

This gum was not very authentic. The first taste has the strong tingle of cherry-flavored liquid medicine, and I really want to call it Cherry Pepto Bismal or a cherry throat lozenge with a liquid center. It's not strawberry or banana. In any case, it's a tangy red flavor. I guess at least it was a strong flavor, though it's not really a plus here. Once that dies down, it's got that stale, rotting banana taste of Bubbleyum chewed too long.


This gum was not sensational. Two other friends tried it and neither went wild, but I know some people like the taste of cherry medicine. If not, pass on this one.

D

Extra Website

Ice Breakers Spearmint Ice Cubes

Well, I finally tried a kind of Ice Cubes that was "Whoa!" worthy, but not in a good way. This gum was so minty, a flavor crystal got lodged in my throat and it burned. Not a pleasant sensation. I'll have very nice breath, though, so I suppose it has that going for it. Aside from that, I found the spearmint to just be too sweet. I'm sure it's the artificial sweeteners doing it, but it reminded me of green Starlite mints, and I wish it didn't.

Again, my complaint is the same: these packs seem like a rip-off. Also, I'm partial to fruity/minty combo gum, so maybe I'm being too harsh.

B

Ice Breakers Website