Hi-Chew – Momotaro Green Grape
Hi-Chew cranks out multiple flavours on a near consistent basis. I’m honestly surprised I can even keep up with half of all the stuff they release. I have it on good authority that grape is their most popular flavour. I say this because they crank out multiple varieties of grape all the time. Some of these are re-releases yes, but they also release ones that are new or limited edition. The release today seems to be something new, or at least I have only recently noticed it.
A little background – momotaro grapes are native to the Okayama region. Many of the best, premium grapes (expensive) in Japan hail from Okayama. Momotaro gets it’s name from it’s appearance. Momotaro roughly translates to peach boy, and was the name of a famous Japanese folklore hero. He was called peach boy because he was apparently born from a giant peach. This variety of grape is called momotaro because of it’s appearance – it is quite large, and the shape resembles a peach in shape. With the distinct shape that could easily be confused for a peach, or as I like to refer to it, peach butt, it’s easy to see how it got it’s name. Imagine eating a grape that’s almost the size of a small peach…
The smell of these is very similar to the other green muscat flavours I’ve tried. I’m not sure about the other pieces, but these ones boast 78% real fruit juice content, so there’s that. These ones have a less carbonated smell to it. By that I mean, some of the other muscat flavours I’ve reviewed have a smell that would make you think that it’s carbonated. These ones have a more balanced, almost earthy smell. Like you were sniffing a bunch of them while still on the vine.
The flavour is quite similar to any other muscat flavour, but a bit less “carbonated” if that makes sense. The flavour is a bit smoother, and rounded. There’s no tartness to it, and it finishes pretty clean, without much after taste. The texture is a little softer as well, and I’m not sure if it’s just my pack or it’s supposed to be. It’s a bit softer and doesn’t have quite as much chew or bounce as the normal pieces I’m used to. This however, makes it very dangerous; I found myself about 6 pieces deep before realizing I ate that many pieces. I guess that’s a side effect of having a softer piece with a strong flavour but almost no aftertaste.
To no one’s surprise, I would do these again. It isn’t different enough from the other muscat flavours that I would tell you to specifically seek these out, but they are good enough that you won’t regret getting them. Just be aware that you will plow through these very quickly if you aren’t careful. Unlike other flavours like apple there is almost no aftertaste. Other than that, these get a big thumbs up from me.
