ok, i lied, this post is not about candy per se; let's talk about gum.

i go through quite a bit of gum. like violet beauregard (left, in her original and much preferred incarnation), i want to be chewing gum at all times. keeps the saliva flowing and is moderately successful at preventing me from stuffing my face with actual food. whereas i used to be all about the endless exotic flavors of Bubblicious or Hubba Bubba, nowadays i don't necessarily want that brief-but-intense blast of sugar so tend to stick to the sugarless stuff.

for whatever reason, sugarless gum only seems to work in minty varieties. my favorite used to be Extra Polar Ice, which has little blobby mint 'crystals' that may or may not actually extend its flavor half-life. i've since moved on to Stride Sweet Peppermint, which true to its advertising campaign does seem to last (slightly) longer than many competitors.

but i'm still a sucker for new products, so i jumped on the chance to try Stride Tangerine yesterday. apparently it's so new, it's not even on their website as of this posting.

all i can say is, i'll stick to mint. upon popping a piece of Stride Tangerine, the first thing that comes to mind is: Flintstones Chewable Vitamin (in case it ever comes up in conversation, orange Flintstones Vitamins take the shape of Fred, Wilma or The Great Gazoo...) then there's that brief period of gum nirvana, when the flavor really blossoms and you're like "OMG THIS IS DELICIOUS" and the bright tangy citrus notes really get the juices flowing, but you know in the back of your mind, just like every other gum that's disappointed you in the past, the flavor is destined to fade quickly. and you're right-- 2 seconds later, the gum reverts to tasting like a nutritional supplement. and if i am gonna chew on something that tastes like a nutritional supplement, dammit, i demand 100% USRDA of something!