Name: Glee Gum (Tangerine)
Brand: Verve, Inc.
Place Purchased:
Price: $.33
Size: 18 pieces
Type: Gum
The package says “Finally! An All Natural Gum!” Yes, but there are reasons that we improve on nature sometimes.
Maybe it’s that I have dental work (crowns & filling) that I find this gum unappealing, or maybe it’s that it’s bland.
Made from natural chicle (the original ingredient in gum), this is gum the way our ancestors chewed it. The flavor of this batch is orange. I expected it to taste like aspergum and luckily it tasted more like orange candles. It’s slightly waxy, very sweet but has a good chew (if you avoid your repaired teeth). The flavor fades quickly and leaves a bland beige gummy material in your mouth. I have no idea if real chicle can be digested.
I’ve also tried the standard mint flavor, which has a longer lasting flavor but the same stickiness.
Rating: 5 out of 10.
Name: Dagoba Chai
Brand: Daboba
Place Purchased: Whole Foods
Price: $2.29
Size: 2 oz
Calories per ounce: 110
Type: Chocolate
There was a small selection of these organic bars at Whole Foods. Some are single origin and some are flavored, like this one. Basically I see chocolate in two different ways, some chocolate is for snacking and some is for savoring. It expected this to be savoring chocolate, however, I found it to be extremely snackable.
The Chai bar is milk chocolate with chai spices and ginger. Opening the package I found the spicy aroma quite evident. Not overly any particular spice, it smelled more like a spice cupboard. A little like pumpkin pie, actually.
On the tongue the chocolate melts easily and is immediately sweet. The mix of flavor is not intense but really a great compliment.
I plan on buying some more Dagoba chocolate again. I think I’ll try their tasting squares.
Rating: 8 out of 10.
PS - One of the problems with this candy is that every time I hear the name or see it or type it, it reminds me of the Weird Al song called Yoda (to the tune of the Kinks’ Lola). It starts with the line, “I met him in a swamp down in Dagoba.”