The first new Choward’s flavor that I can remember in my lifetime is Guava. Introduced earlier this year it joins the current line up of flavors of square compressed sugar mints that come in Peppermint, Spearmint, Lemon and Violet.
This new version is called simply Tropical Candy. It’s not a mint at all, more of a little treat with no breath freshening powers.
The package is the same weird salmon pink of guava flesh and mid-fifties tiled bathrooms.
Chowards are not your ordinary mints. They’re exquisitely made to exacting tolerances. Build a house for your Lego mini-fig out of Altoids? Never! But these little squares are smooth and perfect with straight sides, consistent colors and crisply chiseled logos.
The best thing about them, as far as I’m concerned, is their stack-ability. They’re stable. Dependable. The same on both sides.
I’m not a guava fan. If it’s in a fruit salad, I pick around it. I’m not even keen on the musky flavor it imparts by proximity. So I wasn’t really looking forward to these.
They smell tropical, like pineapple and orange blossoms. Or a Tommy Bahama store.
They’re tangy and fruity, the flavor is a mix of melon and pineapple for those who have never had guava before. For those who have had guava, it’s authentic enough though a bit more tart.
The texture is smooth. Since they’re made with sugar and not dextrose they have a very sweet note to them with a strong honey-fruity finish.
On the whole, they’re better than I expected and they’re certainly different from other candies on the market (as are all of Choward’s offerings). They’re not minty but still leave my mouth feeling fresh (like a tropical green iced tea will); they’re not quite tangy and flavorful enough to compete with SweeTarts.
Related Candies
- Puntini Jujubes - Frutti Tropicali
- Short & Sweet: Tropical Flavors
- Starburst Baja California & Tropical
- Chuao ChocoPod Collection
- SweeTarts: Chicks, Ducks & Bunnies (2006)
- Choward’s Violet
Name: |
Guava Tropical Candy |
RATING:
- SUPERB
- YUMMY
- TASTY
- WORTH IT
- TEMPTING
- PLEASANT
- BENIGN
- UNAPPEALING
- APPALLING
- INEDIBLE
|
Brand: |
Choward’s |
Place Purchased: |
sample from Sweets & Snacks Expo |
Price: |
$1.25 retail |
Size: |
.875 ounces |
Calories per ounce: |
114 |
Categories: |
Candy, Compressed Dextrose, 7-Worth It, United States |
Man, these look great! I’d love to find some for myself.
I picked some of these up from Cost Plus and was afraid to open them at first, since I AM a guava fan and didn’t want to be disappointed….Once opened, I fell in love…If you like guava, these are a 9.5….the only reason I don’t give them a 10 is that once the wrapper is opened, there’s no good way to keep them in your purse without losing a few (I learned the hard way…sniff, sniff!)...they are a treat for eyes, nose and mouth!
Love these things! But I have a hard time eating anything less than the entire package in a day :(
guava is not my favorite but i like it sometimes. (esp. on vacation in hawaii!)
i thought these were surprisingly yummy and i love the retro-inspired packaging.
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