YumEarth – Organic Chewys

YumEarth is sort of that hippy kid you knew in school who tried to convince you of the importance of the environment, how we are all one and to love each other unconditionally. I say that in a joking way but as I get older, I feel like we need to learn more from that attitude of caring about something beyond ourselves, and treating each other and our planet with more love. I wasn’t going to segue into anything other than using this brand as an excuse to spread a message.

Jokes aside YumEarth does indeed manage to do some pretty tasty snacks without compromising their overall brand and message. Obviously this comes at the cost of well, costs. But as someone who is in the quality over quantity phase of their life, I think I’m ok with that trade off.

These are going for that classic Starburst feel, with lemon, strawberry, cherry and orange. Going off smell alone, these smell wonderful. They don’t quite smell the same as Starburst though, and has a strangely fruitier smell that’s a little hard to pin down.

These are really soft, and don’t put up much resistance on first chew. I personally prefer something with a bit more resistance and bounce, but keep in mind this does have a short ingredient list and nothing too scary sounding. Before I get into the flavours, I think it’s important to note there’s a few things here that will likely take people by surprise. First, the pieces are very soft, and get sticky very quickly. I can see these getting stuck in between people’s teeth very fast, and that might be off putting for a lot of people. Second, these are very grainy in texture. Unlike other chewy candies that use different ingredients to make them firmer or thickeners to make it more solid, these dissolve and fall apart pretty quickly. It’s a conscious choice for the purpose of being a “healthier” candy, but note that it does have a big impact on the experience.

Lemon is very refreshing citrus flavour, but for the most part lacks the zestiness you get from a peel being added to the flavour. It’s also not overly sweet, and just slightly tart.

Strawberry is a pretty easy flavour to nail down, and this one is no different. It’s very floral, surprisingly tart, but still has a nice berry sweetness to it.

Orange is very reminiscent of an orange lollipop – it has the distinct orange flavour to it but doesn’t lean too much into the sweet or the sour, and strikes a good balance between the two. It has a nice rounded flavour, for lack of a better description.

Cherry is my favourite, and it’s no surprise. Something about cherry flavour seems to be easy to nail down. It has the distinct black cherry flavour that seems to be so easy to mimic in many candies, and it’s similar to the Starburst one but a little more vibrant and distinct. The flavour is also the one that makes my mouth water, so take that as you will.

Overall, I’m noticing the flavours are very similar to the ones they use in their other candies, which makes sense. I enjoy these mostly for the flavour, but the texture is not quite what I’m looking for in a chewy candy. On flavour alone I would get these again, but with the major caveat that these are sticky and not quite as chewy as I would like. Love the flavour notes on them though.