Icebreakers "Lift" strawberry gum

sugar-free dragée



Taste: The supposed full name of this gum is "Lift {your spirits}", which is not only a rather unneccessarily cutesy use of punctuation, it's a pretty ambitious thing to ask of a gum. Since gum in general tends to lift my spirits, however, I'd be a pretty easy sell on this point. Or so you'd think. This gum does taste somewhat like strawberries, but they'd have to be very poor, very unripe strawberries. There is virtually no sweetness, but it is tart. It's also very bitter. I think the vitamin C and green tea advertised on the front isn't just a supplement, it's the extent of this gum's flavoring ingredients. On the upside, the flavor goes away after about five minutes--well, except for the bitterness, which stays for about ten.
Texture: Whether because the candy coating on this gum is far too thick or the gum itself is simply brittle, "Lift" tends to crumble at the very first, and much effort had to be made to keep myself from swallowing half my gum before I even got to chew it. The servings are minuscule, even if you have two pieces at a time as suggested in the nutrition facts. (Seriously, why?) Once you get over the crumbliness, it's nice and soft and everything, but when it tastes that gross, who really cares?
Final Notes: If you want a good-for-you, fruity tasting chew, buy a bottle of Flintstones vitamins.
1/10