Starbucks After Coffee Chewing Gum, Cinnamon

The Starbucks After Coffee Chewing Gum is sold at the counter at Starbucks Coffee stores in their own little POP display. It comes in a variety of flavors, and is packaged in an oblong tin with a flip top on the short side. The tin, and the retro-referencing type makes this vaguely similar to the Altoids gum.

The gum itself is candy-coated rectangles, white speckled with red. The candy coating breaks away after 2 or three chews, opening up to a slightly hard gum that takes a few more chews to soften. The most surprising thing about Starbucks Cinnamon is the fruit burst that first appears when you get to the gum. The cinnamon comes after. It's a hot cinnamon, but mixed with the fruit it seems a little less strong than the stronger cinnamon gums. The fruit flavor dissolves after a few minutes, but it leaves a sweet aftertaste that mixes nicely with the cinnamon.

I personally didn't love this gum, but I offered it around and everyone else thought it was great. I don't know if it's more effective than other gums at getting rid of coffee breath, but at only 25 cents more that I paid for Orbit, it's definitely worth the price.

price: $$; rating: 3 chomps

Trident White Cinnamon Tingle

Trident White Cinnamon Tingle is an acceptable cinnamon gum, and its mid-market, no-nonsense approach is emphasized by the packaging: 12 rectangular pieces of coated gum in a foil and plastic blister pack, wrapped in a tabbed cardboard sleeve. It's an "adult" gum, meaning its over a buck for 12 small pieces.

The white coating has a nice mouth feel that quickly dissolves after the first few chews. The flavor is serviceable. It does have a tiny sugary tingle. The cinnamon has more of a cold sting than a hot one, which makes it more similar to old-school cinnamon gums like Big Red and Cinnaburst. The most unfortunate problem with Trident White is the size--you really need two pieces to feel like you're actually chewing anything substantial.

review: 2.5 chomps, price: $$

5 Flare Gum

5 Gum is a designer gum produced by Wrigley's, named after its alleged appeal to the five senses. They went all out with the packaging--the box is a sturdy but thin card stock with a matte finish and spot gloss, mostly black with a few accents of color. It has an emboss over the large "5" that adorns the front. There is a swanky little tab to keep the box closed. The package is a squat rectangle, almost square, and opens from the short end, even though the "cover" is designed in landscape format. It's a pretty sophisticated package for gum.

As soon as I opened the tabbed cellowrap of the stylish Flare package, the air became redolent with the spicy smell of sugary hot cinnamon. The gum is a full sized stick, wrapped in red foil embossed with the 5 logo. The stick bent easily without breaking. The first few chews are a little tough, and not too flavorful, but as the gum softens it released a nice sweet heat.

The package contains 15 pieces of full sized gum, making it a bargain in the adult chewing gum market.

3.5 chomps, $, other: sugar free