Hi-Chew – Mystery Fanta
Mystery flavours are a thing everywhere in the world, but I feel like they are bigger in North America and the west vs. Asia. It’s because of that rarity, when I see one in the Asian snack aisles I perk up a bit and get curious. Usually not curious enough to want to risk my wallet on it, but I figure Hi-Chew can only be so bad. Worst case scenario I have a weirdly flavoured chewing candy. It still wouldn’t be the strangest thing I’ve purchased from Hi-Chew…
I don’t know how these mystery sodas work, but from what I can taste I can clearly identify the strong ramune base that Hi-Chew usually uses for soda flavours. Along with that distinct flavour, I taste something that is more on the citrus side, and while not quite an orange or lemon, I am somehow reminded of something sweeter. The only thing I can think of that is citrus adjacent but not overly tart or zesty is grapefruit. Ultimately though, the ramune flavour is so strong that it sort of overpowers whatever this mysterious flavour is, which I still think is intriguing and makes me wonder what it actually is. I am fully expecting to be humbled and find out that it’s nothing close to what I suspect.
It may sound a bit callous, but because of the ramune flavour, I am not really fussed about what the actual mystery flavour is, and it’s taken me out of the immersion and trying to figure it out. It just feels tainted.
The texture is no different from the usual, which is to say, the pinnacle of chewy candies, at least at this current point in time. Maybe some day we find a cost effective and safe way to consume some material or chemical that ends up even chewier, but for the time being this is the top. Debatable how safe it is now, but that’s another issue. My point is these have that signature bouncy taffy like texture that we’ve come to know and love, and realistically the distinguishing factor comes down to flavour here.
I am not one who cares too much about mystery flavours, as it’s usually something I wouldn’t have guessed anyways because of how difficult it is to emulate certain flavours. Having said that, I enjoy the texture like every other Hi-Chew product, so I am unlikely to get this one again. The flavour is serviceable but ramune flavours are just not my thing anymore.
