Hi-Chew 6 Flavours

I am a recent Hi-Chew convert. Until about a month ago I did not even understand the joy that is Hi-Chew, since this moment of enlightenment I have discovered something essential to the eating of Hi-Chew. Either you like Hi-Chew or you don't. Upon giving a piece to a male friend I was rewarded with a screwed up face and spitting motion as he tried to get it out of his mouth.

Admittedly for the uninitiated Hi-Chew can be odd, it has the texture and consistency of a gum crossed with a chew. Sometimes it can be difficult to know whether to swallow the damn thing or not.

So desperate was I to try the Cotton Candy Hi-Chew variety that I ordered a packet from Japan through eBay, I have since oh joy of joys, found a small stash available at the Lucky 7 store at South Bank and am waiting to see if the one at Lutwyche has them too. I know that Go Go Mart on the Gold Coast has a huge range but being an hour from my house makes shopping there somewhat prohibitive.

Anyway I burble, the flavours I got were Cotton Candy, Lemon Soda, White Soda, Juicy Pineapple, Sweet Peach, and Candy Apple. As there's a bunch I've written a little blurb about each one.

Cotton Candy: This was the whole reason I got into Hi-Chew, I read an amazing review about it at CandyBlog.net and I was determined as a Cotton Candy (or Fairy Floss for Aussies)fan to get my hands on it. And oh boy, I was not disappointed!

It's creamy and sugary at the same time with gorgeous burnt sugar flavour, and the little sugar crystals add interest and texture. I really like the bounce the chew has and the simple flavour behind it, not at all flashy like say Starburst fruit chews.

The Final Verdict: 5 - Completely amazing, I've gone through two more packets since and plan to buy up next time I'm down the coast.

Lemon Soda: Interesting to say the least, it's quite a sunny yellow colour with the same bouncy feel and nice chew. No extra texture in this one and it has a very lemon flavour, but the thing that ruins this one is the strange bitter aftertaste. It almost tastes like carbonation, like the effervesence you get in a fizzy drink but at the same time it isn't fizzy.... perplexing.

The Final Verdict: 3 - These were borderline on the ratings, almost a 2 but I did enjoy trying them, just probably won't buy them again.

White Soda: I assume this to be Lemonade, kinda like Sprite I guess just not as sweet. It has a very true lemonade flavour but the same bittery aftertase as the lemon soda and that's about all I could really say, this one was kinda non.

The Final Verdict: 2 - more because it was just boring, I mean a Lemon Soda AND a Lemonade? The Lemon Soda tasted better.

Juicy Pineapple: This is one of the Hi-Chew Jr range, supposedly geared towards children's tastes. I don't really know what this means, because isn't ALL candy aimed at children? Anyway, I liked this one quite a bit, it had a pretty colour and lovely flavour pineappley but not sharp or acidic very much tasted like pineapple juice, for some reason Golden Circle brand....

The Final Verdict: 4 - very enjoyable and I'm sure I will buy it again.

Sweet Peach: I'm not a person who is into peach flavoured things, I dislike peaches so why would I like something flavoured like a thing I hate? Well I was surprised, I really liked this one, it was floral and fruity and nicely sweet. It is again from the Jr range so perhaps that's why I liked it so much, it's flavour overall was softer than most peach flavoured things.

The Final Verdict: 4 - again this was really nice, I'll buy it again if I can find it.

Candy Apple: I was intrigued to see this one as it's a partner flavour for the Cotton Candy, both festival themed. When I was little we used to get these lollipops called Rosy Apples and they were red and green and supposedly toffee apple flavoured. My senses always thought they were tasty. My senses were wrong. This candy gives a whole new meaning to 'toffee apple flavour' it's mild on the apple but definitive, has tasty little sugar morsels throughout and a subtle burnt sugar flavour, heaven!

The Final Verdict: 5 - or maybe 4.5, almost as good as Cotton Candy but not quite, definitely up there.