Hi-Chew – 4 Melon Variety
Melons. I’m loath to admit that I don’t have melons as an actual fruit very often because I’m lazy to learn how to pick the proper ones for consuming, and I find it too much of a hassle to have to chop the melon and scoop the seeds out, and slice it into easily consumable pieces. I also don’t like buying pre-sliced melons, because they are sometimes dipped into sugar water to make the outside sweet, but the inside is still sour. That and they just aren’t as fresh. It is for these reasons that I must end up living vicariously through those who do. Well, that and melon flavoured snacks.
The four varieties in this bag are the Yubari King, Furano, Shizuoka Crown, and the Andes melon. I don’t know too much about these melons other than that they all hail from various regions of Japan, and are hella expensive. During my trip to Japan we had some of the more inexpensive melons, so I doubt it was one of these four varieties. As someone who is inexperienced in melons, the Yubari and Furano appear to be variants of muskmelons that remind me of cantaloupes due to its orange flesh, while the Crown and Andes remind me of honeydew with its green flesh. That being said the only thing I’m sure of is that they are all muskmelons, on account of there being green cantaloupes and orange honeydews as well. In the absence of any other meaningful benchmark, I’ll have to use those as a comparison.
As with the other mix bags, there’s four of each flavour with the exception of one flavour that has six for a total of 18 pieces. The abundant one is the Andes melon. This leads me to believe that it is the version that the standard melon flavour is based off.
Starting with the Yubari flavour, it has that distinct, fresh melon smell to it. It has a light orange colour to it, with the inner section a milk white. It has that very distinct melon flavour, with a hint of milk to it. It almost reminds me of melon ice cream, or to be more specific, a Melona bar. Very pleasant, very refreshing, and very melony. It’s a bit standard, and one note in the delivery, but all the same I approve – it’s tasty.
This next one is the Furano – the piece looks virtually identical to the other piece. It also smells very similar, so I’m not sure how I would ever tell these apart without the wrapper. Flavour wise, I’m actually surprised that this is actually very distinct from the Yubari. While it start off with a similar sweet, melon note, something about this piece makes the sweetness not seem a strong. There’s a odd flavour that I am trying to pin down. It’s almost like it has a tinge of smokiness to it, and gives it a subtle flavour that sets it apart. The best way I can think of describing it is, when you eat a melon and you get to the space between the melon flesh and the rind. It has an aftertaste that reminds me of that rind. While not as appealing as the Yubari, I find the added complexity quite intriguing, and enjoy the effort they put into differentiating the two.
Third up is the Shizuoka Crown. This piece has a light green exterior, enveloping the same milky white interior. This one also threw me for a surprise, at how complex the flavour was. It wasn’t as simple as just sweet melon. It has a somewhat blander flavour than the Yubari, but for some reason feels more “refreshing” based on the flavour alone. It almost feels like they were going for a lighter, summer feel with this one. Not as flavourful, but it also doesn’t leave a strong aftertaste in your mouth, and has a refreshing feel to it. I could see myself putting back all four of these and not notice any ill effects or strange aftertastes.
Our final piece is the Andes melon. Once again, I have no idea how anyone tells these pieces apart from one another. It’s identical in appearance to the Shizuoka Crown. Flavour wise, it’s actually closer to the Furano than to the Crown melon. It has a similar taste to the Crown, and reminds me of a honeydew, but it’s not quite as sweet as one. It’s got a similar light, subtle sweetness, but as you chew there is a hint of almost tanginess, that you might miss if you don’t pay attention. The end result is a chew that has some variety in the flavours hitting your minds tongue similar to the Furano.
Trying to rank these four is a really tough one. While unlike some previous mixes where some of the flavours were very hard to distinguish, this mix is surprisingly well thought out in the sense that each piece is different enough that you could tell them apart by taste. The problem is I can’t seem to fully explain to you all the subtle differences between them, but rest assured if you tried them yourself you would notice it. That being said, I still feel obligated to at least try ranking them. But keep in mind that they are all quite tasty:
- Andes
- Crown
- Furano
- Yubari
My choice is due in large part to variety of the experience. I chose Andes because I liked the Crown, but Andes had some more subtleties to it that let it edge out Crown, but not by a whole lot. Crown was the mildest, but also the most pleasant, and almost refreshing of the bunch. Furano was similar to Yubari, but it was less sweet and had a subtle rind-ish, almost smoky flavour to it that set it apart. Yubari is no slouch itself, and is probably the go to when I want something with a strong, noticeable melon flavour, or I’m craving a Melona bar but I’m too lazy to grab one.
I would definitely recommend this mix if you are a fan of melon candies or snacks like Melona. You will not be disappointed. Well, probably not. Just don’t blame me if it doesn’t pan out. But you probably won’t cause I’m always right. Kind of. Maybe.