Hi-Chew – Mint Lime

To date, I’ve yet to come across a lime mint that I enjoy enough to become a repeat buyer for. I mostly blame Fisherman’s Friend. No, that’s not some weird family friend that gave me repressed memories, it was a brand that was quite popular in North America for it’s strong menthol flavour to really clear the sinuses and soothe the throat. I’m actually not sure if it’s still a thing, because I rarely see people use them. I feel like people prefer something that tastes pleasant and fools them into thinking it works. Basically just sucking on minty hard candies.

I still remember the first time I had one, and the swift kick in the tonsils I got from having it in my mouth. I vaguely remember trying it out with my cousin, and his eyes watered and he had to spit it out because it was basically burning our tiny kid throats. I guess it was a lesson in food for us – just because something looks nice or smells nice, doesn’t mean it will taste nice. A Fisherman’s Friend is much preferable to say, trying cleaning fluid. Why do they make those things smell so good?!

These are pretty tiny. Smaller then the Hi-Chew premium balls. I guess that’s a good thing for something like mint. Even the pouch is fairly small and compact, so it’s easy to stash away in a small bag or what have you.

These are encased in a hard outer candy shell of mint. The mint flavour is overpowering, to put it mildly. The flavour really hits you in the face, much like a strong throat lozenge. I’m getting Fisherman’s Friend vibes from this. This mint is no joke, and you will feel fresh to death after one of these. The lime on the inside is fairly standard affair, being very tart and zesty without being very sweet. Though to be fair it’s hard to judge the lime flavour on it’s own with the strong minty lingering mouth sensation.

The texture is like a gumball. A really minty gumball. The outer layer is fairly thin, and gives way to the soft chewy taffy inside pretty fast. The chew of the centre is quite soft as well, more so than the usual Hi-Chew. These actually kind of remind me of a Mentos that doesn’t start off stiff as a rock, and is much softer to start.

While I don’t like these as much when I chew them right away, I enjoy it a lot more if I let it sit and melt away the mint layer in my mouth, leaving the lime chew behind to do it’s own thing without getting completely overshadowed by the mint. These are definitely a great way to punch your mouth with a strong refreshing mint to wake you up.

These aren’t bad for what they’re trying to achieve, but they also aren’t cheap. Especially for a small pouch like this, it’s not what I would consider great value. Would I get these again though? Unlikely. I don’t think of Hi-Chew when it comes to mint, and I’d probably get something more traditional or proven to refresh me or soothe my throat. Maybe even a Fisherman’s Friend. But preferably not.