Hi-Chew – Sweet and Sour Watermelon

Hi-Chew is a worldwide phenomenon, so it’s no surprise that the western hemisphere has certain regional flavours and varieties that originate here and aren’t a thing in Asia. Hi-Chew decided to do some cross pollination to see if any region specific ideas can succeed in other parts. This particular flavour is bringing the ever popular sour watermelon over to Japan.

I generally don’t associate sour with watermelon in nature, and it really only seems to come up in the confectionery world where we make sour everything. Like sour watermelon slices, which by the way are tops. I guess in that aspect it makes sense that watermelon, which is largely a staple in fruits and fruit flavours in this hemisphere would be much bigger here. Not that watermelons aren’t around in Japan, but they certainly seem to favour certain other fruits more. Interestingly enough they indicate that the flavour is a bestseller in the UK, whereas I would have expected it to be the US.

The flavour is interesting in that it’s a really good balance between sour and sweet. The two layers appear to be different variations of watermelon, with out being sweet and the other being sour. You end up with a flavour experience where it waxes and wanes between sweet and sour, and it leaves you guessing which one will hit next. The sour isn’t too strong, but enough to make your mouth water and compliments the sweetness quite well. The watermelon flavour is also done quite well here. Watermelon in general is a flavour that is easy to do, but also easy to err into very artificial territory. Thankfully this doesn’t register as artificial and does the balance in flavour quite well.

Texture is standard Hi-Chew affair, which is a good thing, trust me. You can accuse me of bias or favouritism, but I have been actively looking for a true rival to Hi-Chew in the texture department as far as chewy candy goes. So far I have yet to find out that emulates that same bouncy, taffy like texture while also avoiding the teeth-gap-stickiness the way they can. I will not rest until I find it, but as it stands Hi-Chew is still the golden standard. It really is best described as a satisfying, bouncy chewing gum but in a format that eventually dissolves and melts away so that you can swallow it.

So are these good? Yes. I can see why they are so popular and admittedly I do enjoy them a bit more than the normal, straight forward watermelon. These are on the list of repeat buys.