Hi-Chew – Sour Lemon
As I get older I notice a few changes that surprise me. Some things are to be expected, like everything starting to get a bit looser, saggier and flabbier, but some things came as a surprise. For example, I’ve noticed my body has a bigger reaction to spicy foods – my eyes feel puffy after spicy foods and I tear up a little now. Perhaps most shocking though, is that I actually get a little sweaty from sour foods now. If sufficiently sour, the top of my head gets a little moist. It’s really weird, as it’s just the top of my head.
I mention this because this Sour Lemon flavour is something I’ve tried before, and I’m 95% certain if I have it again at this age a very specific biological response will be triggered. This flavour has actually been around for a very long time. I still remember getting this as a kid. I like to think of it as the progenitor of the umai chew line that’s supposed to be a bit different in that they have small bits of candy crystal pieces to help enhance the flavour and texture for a slightly different experience.
As I’ve said before, I’m not crazy about sour or very tart citrus flavours, but I keep coming back to this one for some reason. Maybe I’m just a glutton for punishment. These are quite tart, and sour, but not the kind that leaves your mouth with that weird back of throat feeling where there’s an overload of malic or citric acid. Instead, this one builds after just one or two pieces, and you can feel the spots developing on your tongue, where you can tell if you have any more your tongue will start feeling sore or cut. The sugar crystals are actually the sweet part, and help to balance the rather tart profile of the piece out. To give you an idea of how tart it is, my scalp tends to get a little sweaty from really sour or spicy foods and snacks. This one is borderline sweat inducing. Just borderline. It’s enough to make me wince slightly.
The texture is basically the same as a regular Hi-Chew with the exception that the sugar crystals inside add both flavour and texture. On the texture front it adds an ever so slight crunch to change things up. It’s not like hard candy or anything, as it’s very soft and breaks apart easily. I’d say it’s even softer than pop rocks, so the odds that you bite a stray piece the wrong way is very low.
The fact that I don’t enjoy citrus very much, but come back to this particular flavour every once in a while should tell you I thoroughly enjoy this, despite it making my scalp a little moist. I imagine if you enjoy sour or citrus, this will be a home run for you.
