Hi-Chew – Mini

There is a ton, and I mean a ton of candy that is marketed towards kids. Actually now that I think about it, aren’t all snacks marketed towards kids? Maybe it’s my generation, but I feel like a lot of the things I grew up with have stuck with us and what was previously aimed at just kids is now aimed at adults who were once kids. The best example I can think of is LEGO, with the average age likely being much higher these days then back when I was a kid. I sometimes wonder if a similar phenomenon happens with snacks and candy, or if I’m just in a state of arrested development. I prefer to think it’s the former.

These little morsels are small, and remind me of little fruit snack pebbles or pellets. They also vaguely remind me of those little pellet sized gumballs I would get in Asian specialty stores where they come in a cheap looking tin with a bunch of colourful flavours. Except unlike those, these won’t end up just being chewing rubber in my mouth after about 5 seconds. Actually, I’m not sure if these will last that long. Lettuce find out.

The flavours in this particular box are grape, melon, orange and soda. I am into all the first three flavours, but the last one leaves me hesitant as it usually does. I’m sure part of it is because I’m now older and (maybe) wiser, but the soda or ramune flavour is usually very off putting for me because of how fake it is, and it doesn’t do much for me.

The texture of all these is not quite what I expect from Hi-Chew – they aren’t particularly chewy, and are a bit on the stickier side. With the standard Hi-Chew, as well as the premium line that are much large balls than these, there is a distinct bounce in the chew to them. These seem to lack the bouncy chew and these are more like if you added a candy shell to Starburst. They tend to end up really stick very quickly, and the candy shell doesn’t do much other than keep that stickiness at bay.

The flavours on the other hand are pretty true to the standard ones, which is unsurprising. With the exception of ramune which I dislike, all of these have the same qualities that make the normal Hi-Chews mouth watering. The flavours are quite vibrant and strong.

So what do I think about these? While they don’t match up to the classic Hi-Chew experience, or that of the other lines like the premium pouches, these are a fun way to get a quick hit and sate that chewy sugary addiction that so many of us are afflicted with. Plus it’s convenient so I can’t knock it for that. I would do these again if I decide to hike into the wilderness or get lose outside of modern society for extended periods of time.