Hi-Chew – Superfruit Mix
Some people will probably roll their eyes at me when I tell them that even among Hi-Chews, there is a stark contrast between pieces manufactured for different markets. It sounds really snobby and bougie to say, but it’s something I believe in fervently, and I don’t think anything can prove to me that’s not the case, unless I saw the exact same ingredients from a box go into two separate packages. And maybe not even then. It’s interesting how psychologically we respond to things that prove our belief otherwise. But not this time, because I KNOW I’m right. My heart and gut are in alignment on this, and they never are. That’s how you know it’s legit. Something about the Japan made ones feel and taste fundamentally different to the ones manufactured in outside markets like Taiwan. Trying to explain this to people who haven’t had extensive history and experience with both will think I’m also a flat earther.
Thankfully I know I’m not alone if I am crazy. A few other individuals have volunteered their opinions to me, unsolicited. This tells me that at least I’m not the only one who thinks this is true. Having also done blind taste tests of similar flavours side by side, I can indeed confirm through purely anecdotal experience that Hi-Chews made in Japan are very different from those in the US or Taiwan. I say very different, but to a lot of people I guess they won’t notice much of a difference. Or if they do, they might just write it off as inconsistent batches.
I’ve been eating Hi-Chews for what seems like over a decade now, and I’ve largely avoided spending my own money on non-Japanese Hi-Chews. In fact, I often won’t even bother trying a Hi-Chew if offered to me unless it’s from Japan. I know it’s probably confirmation bias, but surely there is a demand for Hi-Chews from Japan, otherwise specialty stores wouldn’t be selling the same flavour of Hi-Chew from Japan at a premium over the other ones manufactured in China or the US.
I’ve talked a lot about the differences, but I should probably give more context on what the actual differences are. First off, let me say that I don’t consider it so much a case of Japan Hi-Chews being superior, but it’s more that the texture and flavour is more to my liking. Japanese Hi-Chews are chewier and have a bouncier texture to them, almost like chewing gum. Except that you can swallow it. I find the flavours are also more subtle and nuanced. Hi-Chews manufactured in Taiwan and the US tend to have a different chew to them; the chew is softer and more along the lines of a chewy taffy. It’s still chewy, but it kind of bottoms out quicker and doesn’t have the same bounce that the Japanese ones have. The flavours are also not as subtle, but are more vibrant and come across stronger. I can see why, as different markets prefer different tastes, but it just so happens I value the more unique texture and flavour profile of Japanese Hi-Chews.
Now that I’ve gotten yet another mini-rant out of the way, let’s get on to the actual review. I bought this Superfruit Mix out of two needs – the inability to source reasonably priced Hi-Chews at this time, and the inability to find the Japan equivalent for the dragon fruit and acai berry flavours. Well, that and I figured it’s been long enough and I should see if there have been any changes to the Hi-Chew formula in Taiwan.
As I understand it, this mix came about when Hi-Chew did a poll on what flavours people wanted in the North American market. Apparently dragon fruit was a winner, and that’s how it came to be in one of the standard mixes here. Truthfully I got this mix mostly to try the dragon fruit flavour. As someone who frequently consumes the actual dragon fruit, I find the flavour of it to be fairly faint, and almost non-descript. To me, dragon fruits are more about the refreshing, light texture than anything. I’m curious how you turn it into a candy.
This mix has 18 pieces – 5 acai, 6 kiwi and 7 dragon fruit. The package indicates that flavour mix may vary, but I assume they will typically have a similar breakout. Something I noticed is that upon opening the bag, I’m hit with a pretty pleasant fragrance. This is a stark contrast to my experience with the Japanese bags, where the smell is locked firmly into the individual wrappers.
Something that is a bit of a gimmick or selling point, depending on who you ask, is that these pieces are littered with chia seeds. There’s a whole thing about health benefits of chia, but I think more than anything, the chia seeds are supposed to simulate the seeded texture that these fruits have. Dragon fruit at least, is littered with tiny black seeds, which are pretty much the same as chia seeds in texture.
Since I’ve had the equivalent to kiwi in the Japanese version, I’ll start with that. This piece smells overwhelmingly of green apple. I had to do a double take on the package to confirm I didn’t open the wrong bag or something. While I had a similar issue with the Japanese version of kiwi, that one was a different variety of kiwi so while it was very “apple” like, it was still somewhat distinguishable. Much like the smell, this also tastes overwhelmingly like green apple. I think the biggest difference, and the only way I can rationalize this as kiwi is the after taste. Green apple typically leaves a very tart, sourish aftertaste in the mouth. This one is far less pronounced, and is more like green apple without the tail end. It’s unfortunately not kiwi enough for me to see it as anything other than slightly modified apple. I’m not crazy about this piece, but mostly because I don’t like green apple too much.
Acai berry has long been held as a super fruit with lots of nutrients and antioxidants. I haven’t had the berry itself, but have had it in drinks and smoothies. My experience with the berry (a-sai-EE as I like to pronounce it), is that it is kind of like a blackberry, but with more of a smoky, earthy flavour to it. It’s why the smell of this flavour is throwing me off. It smells more like a nice fresh cranberry than anything. The flavour is actually very pleasant, but not at all what I would expect from a real acai berry. The taste is more akin to a sweet cranberry, with little to no tartness. There is no distinct, smoky, earthy soil like flavour to be found either. While I don’t know that I would call this acai flavour, I do quite enjoy it as a flavour itself. It’s got a very nice well-rounded taste to it, but it’s kind of like eating some sort of frankenberry flavour – it tastes like the best parts of a few berries, but I can’t distinguish exactly which ones. Still, I really like how this one tastes.
Finally, we have dragon fruit. As I mentioned earlier, I have extensive experience with the fruit itself, so I’m curious how they translate that into a fruit chew. I’m not really expecting it to taste like the actual fruit, since that would make for a pretty bland chewing candy. As I expected, the flavour is not at all what I was expecting. I can’t even really describe what I’m tasting. It’s like some sort of melon-ish flavour, but also berry? Some sort of melon-berry?! I really don’t know what this is, but I can say it’s quite tasty. Not as tasty as the acai berry, but not bad for some sort of weird fruit concoction I can’t even wrap my brain around.
In terms of the texture for all three pieces, it’s fairly close to how I remember it. The pieces have a slight greasiness to the outside of them that reminds me of those chewy candies I got as a kid that came in wax paper to keep from clumping or getting paper stuck to the candy. The chew is more like a creamy taffy than chewing gum; the chew isn’t as firm or bouncy as the Japanese version, and is like a taffy that has a nice creamy finish to it. The chia seeds add a little bit to the immersion of eating an actual fruit, but don’t detract from anything. I kind of like it actually.
If I had to rank these flavours, I would go with:
- Acai berry
- Dragon fruit
- Kiwi
The acai berry kind of surprised me. While none of the flavours taste exactly like I would expect the actual fruit to, they were surprisingly tasty, for better or worse. I say that because, on the one hand authentic flavours are to be applauded, but on the other hand, acai and dragon fruit don’t make for very tasty or appetizing candies. For me, the verdict is, if I can get the flavour sourced from a Japan factory, I’ll pay the premium. But if the flavour isn’t readily available in Japan, then I’ll consider getting the Taiwan made versions. It’s not ideal, but it’s also good for getting that fix to hold me over. Do I sound like a drug addict?
