4.00 - Wrigley's Orbit: Spearmint

Orbit is a company whose TV ads advertise a clean mouth, "no matter what". Only imagine it with an exaggerated and annoying British accent, (so it is almost like "no matter wot"). Sometimes it doesn't quite work out. Sometimes it does. This is one of those sometimes it works out gums.



Listing of participants for this review: Dan, Jay, and Kevin. Special guest reviewer, Erica.

Flavor Longevity: 4.00
Jay - 3
Kevin - 4
Dan - 5
Erica - 4

Comments:
"The favor starts out mild and goes the distance."
"Lasts a decent amount of time."



Taste: 4.00
Jay - 3
Kevin - 4
Dan - 5
Erica - 4

Comments:
"Just when I think the gum might be getting weak, it reawakens."
"The sweetness of the mint was almost too much."
"Loooong."



Flavor Strength: 4.25
Jay - 4
Kevin - 4
Dan - 4
Erica - 5

Comments:
"The flavor strength to me is near perfect. I feel as if my breath is fresh after just eating the spiced oyster crackers from the breakroom."
"Decent strength. Not overpowering."



Texture & Consistency: 3.75
Jay - 2
Kevin - 4
Dan - 5
Erica - 4

Comments:
"Keeps a very nice texture. My jaw did not get tired. Was not sticky."
"Something about it bugged me. To soft, I think."
"Ok for Spearmint (which isn’t my favorite)."



Refreshment: 4.00
Jay - 3
Kevin - 4
Dan - 5
Erica - 4

Comments:
"This gum is very refreshing, when I inhale deeply, my lungs cool as the mint air penetrates my bronchial tubes."
"The sweetness of the Spearmint almost interfered with the refreshment of the mint."
"Nice and strong. Might be helping with the Longevity, given its minty taste."
"An all-around solid gum."



Overall Score: 4.00

4.00 - Wrigley's Orbit: Wintermint

Orbit: Wintermint says that is has "Just Brushed Clean Feeling". Overall, for this particular Orbit gum, that seems to be true. It was very pleasant and minty. Although I have no idea what "wintermint" is, I like it.


Rating the gum today: Jay, Kevin, and Dan.

Flavor Longevity: 4.00
Jay - 4
Kevin - 3
Dan - 5

Comments:
"Gets weaker as time goes on, but still hangs around."
"Loooong on flavor."



Taste: 4.33
Jay - 5
Kevin - 4
Dan - 4

Comments:
"Solid mint flavor."
"Not bad."



Flavor Strength: 4.00
Jay - 3
Kevin - 4
Dan - 5

Comments:
"Drops off in power in about 10 minutes."
"Pretty good. I felt it."



Texture & Consistency: 4.00
Jay - 5
Kevin - 3
Dan - 4

Comments:
"Pretty good chewing, but the smaller rectangular gums never seem to have enough gum."
"Decent. Wish there was a bit more gum to chew on for the type of chewability this gum brings, but all-around solid."



Refreshment: 3.66
Jay - 4
Kevin - 3
Dan - 4

Comments:
"Chewing after lunch made me forget my lunch flavor."
"Overall, a solid gum."



Overall Score: 4.00

3.83 - Wrigley’s Extra Fruit Sensations: Sweet Watermelon

Wrigley’s Extra Fruit Sensations: Sweet Watermelon is, yet another, part of Wrigley's gum line. This one is not only part of the "Extra" line, but also part of a sub-set line called "Fruit Sensations". We will start visiting the Orbit line of gums and take a break from Wrigley's after this one.

This gum claims “Long Lasting Fruit Flavor” & “Yesterday, impossible to fit entire watermelon into mouth. Today, not so much," which is pretty funny to have as a slogan.



A bonanza of reviewers today: Jay, Kevin, Dan, Adam, Chromer, and Erica.

Flavor Longevity: 4.00
Jay - 4
Kevin - 5
Dan - 5
Adam - 4
Chromer - 3
Erica - 3

Comments:
"Started chewing and Sweet Watermelon Flavor was very faint within 10 minutes, however the mint flavor seemed to linger much longer."
"After 20 mins, the flavor was still noticeable."
"Pretty good. The flavor hangs out for a while."
"Not as long as I would like, starts to take on the base flavor after about 15 minutes."
"Lasted quite a while."



Taste: 3.50
Jay - 4
Kevin - 5
Dan - 4
Adam - 2
Chromer - 4
Erica - 2

Comments:
"Very good for watermelon."
"Before chewing and knowing the flavor I decided to take in the aroma of the gum in its wrapper. It reminded me of what the empty bag of Fruit Loops smells like. Which I thought was a bonus. However, when I started chewing I did not care for the minty melon. I have never taken a bite of watermelon then nibbled on some mint leaves, so I am not sure why I would want gum that tastes that way."
"I like Watermelon and most artificial watermelon flavors, but I did not care for the taste of this gum."
"It actually smells better than it tastes (and this was hard for me, as I don’t like “watermelon” flavor)."
"Super delish! I usually hate watermelon flavored stuff but Wrigley’s got it right this time!"
"I'm not a big watermelon fan, but the flavor was pretty reasonable."



Flavor Strength: 4.00
Jay - 3
Kevin - 5
Dan - 5
Adam - 4
Chromer - 4
Erica - 3

Comments:
"The Sweet Watermelon Flavor is much too weak, while the mint is opening up my sinuses."
"The watermelon taste is very strong."
"The flavor isn’t incredibly strong, but good."
"Just right not too overwhelming but not too weak either."
"Seemed about perfect to me."



Texture & Consistency: 3.83
Jay - 4
Kevin - 4
Dan - 5
Adam - 2
Chromer - 4
Erica - 4

Comments:
"Little too chewy at first."
"At about 5 minutes I did notice the gum start to toughen up, but not too much. It is ok, for blowing tiny bubbles, but the gum is very sticky on the lips."
"As with most of Wrigley’s gums, I wish there more to it. The serving sizes are a bit on the small side."
"Good chewing."
"Excellent chew."
"A nice, chewable gum."



Refreshment: 3.83
Jay - 5
Kevin - 5
Dan - 5
Adam - 3
Chromer - 3
Erica - 2

Comments:
"Very enjoyable."
"I was surprised by the amount of saliva produced in the first couple of minutes of chewing, which I thought was kind of gross."
"This gum definitely does something to my mouth. My mouth does feel moist, though the taste is not that refreshing if you ask me..."
"Kind of dries out my mouth."
"It really 'watered' up my mouth. Kind of nice if your mouth was dry to begin with."



Overall Score: 3.83

3.70 - Wrigley's Extra: Polar Ice

I guess, "Polar Ice" has a strong cool minty flavor. I just figured it would taste like regular ice. :) The gum makes a claim that the gum has "Long Lasting Flavor", and I will tell you now, the gum rated the highest in the blog yet for flavor duration, with a ranking of 4.5!



Listing of participants today: Jay, Chromer, Dan, and Adam.

Flavor Longevity: 4.50
Jay - 5
Chromer - 4
Dan - 5
Adam - 4

Comments:
"Lasts a long time, true to claim."
"The flavor is still going as I wrap up my 20 minutes. I am going to keep going..."
"Even after 20 mins, the flavor is still going strong."
"It lasted over 40 minutes!"



Taste: 3.00
Jay - 4
Chromer - 2
Dan - 2
Adam - 4

Comments:
"Tastes just like Pepto. Not the best taste association to have, unless you had some really good experiences with the pink stuff."
"Very minty, but it takes a few minutes to get used to."
"This is a good all around gum. Especially when taste testing other gums, if you were to take in a bad tasting gum, you could quickly grab a piece of this and restore the peace back in your mouth. This is a good “safety net” gum."
"It's too bad that the flavor lasted so long, it tastes like Pepto."



Flavor Strength: 4.25
Jay - 4
Chromer - 4
Dan - 5
Adam - 4

Comments:
"Pretty strong – about right I guess."
"Strong, but not “pain while drinking cold water” strong."
"The flavor strength is exactly what I would expect from any gum and I can hold other gums to the standard this gum sets."
"Pretty overwhelming!"



Texture & Consistency: 3.25
Jay - 3
Chromer - 2
Dan - 4
Adam - 4

Comments:
"Has a solid gum feel."
"Went a bit rubbery within about 5 minutes."
"The consistency is fine, I only wish the piece were a little bit larger."
"I kept grinding my teeth on it because it was too thin."



Refreshment: 3.50
Jay - 4
Chromer - 1
Dan - 4
Adam - 5

Comments:
"If I can look past the taste, it actually feels nice in the mouth."
"Nice cool feeling."
"Definitely a refreshing gum. I could chew this everyday."
"I’m thirsty!"



Overall Score: 3.70

1.70 - Fruit Stripe

Fruit Stripe gum. I remember being a kid and eagerly anticipating getting some more Fruit Stripe. It was fruity, the gum actually had different flavors in a single pack. I remember trading my lime for orange and thinking it can't get any better than this. Then I grow up, and realize, I haven't had any Fruit Stripe in over 20 years, maybe even 25! So I bought some for Now, Chew On This...

Fruit Stripe proclaims boldly on the package: "Now Longer Lasting Flavor". It also comes with some "tattoos" of the zebra in various colors, I suppose to further appeal to kids.



Listing of participants raters today: Jay, Kevin, Dan, and Adam.

Flavor Longevity: 1.00
Jay - 1
Kevin - 1
Dan - 1
Adam - 1

Comments:
"Gone after about 5 minutes."
"It faded fast. Almost all gone by the 5 minute mark."
"Flavor gave out less than 5 minutes after chewing. This gum brought the weak sauce!"
"Flavor disappears after about 60 secs of chewing...to maintain flavor, you must keep adding pieces of gum..."



Taste: 2.00
Jay - 2
Kevin - 1
Dan - 2
Adam - 3

Comments:
"Yuck!"
"Remember when this gum was “The Gum”? Well it sucks now. Either poor judgment early on or the quality has degraded."
"Not the greatest taste. So-so at first, but when the flavor goes out it tastes like you are chewing a ball wax. I had to spit it out after a few minutes."
"I would give this gum a much higher score for taste if it lasted longer. The immediate taste in your mouth is great, I highly enjoy it. However, due to the very short duration of taste I am highly disappointed in this gum."



Flavor Strength: 2.00
Jay - 2
Kevin - 1
Dan - 3
Adam - 2

Comments:
"Hard to rate “none”."
"Pretty weak to begin with. Never tasted fruity..."
"Okay, I guess."
"Again, the flavor strength is great at the beginning, but very quickly tapers off."



Texture & Consistency: 2.25
Jay - 4
Kevin - 1
Dan - 1
Adam - 3

Comments:
"Kind of like chewing a paper wad."
"The chewing itself was okay. Never became too mushy or too rubbery."
"Gum has a weird texture. You cannot pop the gum or blow even the smallest bubbles with it."
"The gum is soft and easy to chew."



Refreshment: 1.25
Jay - 2
Kevin - 1
Dan - 1
Adam - 1

Comments:
"Too bad there wasn’t a negative scale."
"Normal, typical refreshment. I couldn’t wait to get rid of it though."
"This gum sucks and almost made me hate life. I really hated it and threw it out after just a few minutes."
"Definitely not a refreshing gum."



Overall Score: 1.70