Everyone knows a Life Saver – the sweet, minty or fruity hard candy with the candy-with-the-hole shape. I’m no Life Savers connoisseur, but I do enjoy them. I like being able to pop one in my mouth for ten minutes of flavor enjoyment. I’m a Life Savers sucker – not a muncher.

I recently tried a different type of Life Saver, one that you almost have to chew, one that is completely different from the Life Savers I grew up loving. These are Life Savers Gummies – the gummy worm version of this iconic American candy gone modern.

What can I say about gummy candy? It’s… gummy. Beyond that, I’ll refrain from giving my personal opinion of candy gumminess. You know if you like gummies or not. Your opinion is the only one that matters since I’m not coming over to eat candy with you. (Unless you’ll be sharing some See’s Chocolate.)

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1911 Wrigley’s Spearmint Gum Advertisement
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I’m the girl with the Spearmint Eyes. Once a Spearmint Girl, always a Spearmint Girl… only Wrigley let me down. So I’ve been on a quest to replace my first love, and it’s time for the second part of my stroll down Spearmint Lane. (Don’t forget to read Part 1 of the Spearmint Mini-Roundup.) Out of the nine varieties of spearmint gum I’ve tried, I liked only three well enough to buy them again. Does that mean that most gum is lousy or that I’m picky?

Whatever the case, I’m going to share four more spearmint gums with you today. Some hot, some mild, some made with milk – it’s all here! Come on, let’s go.

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Image from Gasoline Alley Antiques

I’ve always enjoyed studying history, especially U.S. history. When I learn something new I’m amazed at how ignorant and totally clueless I can be, even when it comes to something as simple as gum.

For years I thought Orbit gum was a relatively new product from Wrigley. Wrong!

Orbit has been around since World War II when Wrigley began shipping all of their gum production overseas to the Armed Forces. With no JuicyFruit, Spearmint or Doublemint available for civilians in the U.S., Wrigley introduced Orbit.

After the war, in 1946, Wrigley brought the big three back to the States and phased out Orbit. It wasn’t until 1976 that Orbit returned – only to Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands – as the first sugar-free gum ever released under the Wrigley name.

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Orbit Mist is a new line of gum from The Wrigley Company. It’s touted as a premium gum and contains little crystals – called Micro-Bursts – that the Orbit website says will “deliver a hydrating sensation to consumers.”

Now I can only assume that it means “to consumers who purchase and chew Orbit Mist.” When I first read the description, I had a vision of Orbit Mist boxes shooting “hydrating sensation beams” at random consumers in the grocery store. “Hello, ma’am, welcome to Food Land. How are you?”

“I’m good, tha-” (*Hydrating sensation beam fires.*) “Ohhh, I suddenly feel so… moistly healthy…”

Oh, ah-hem, I’m supposed to be writing a review. Sorry…

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Spearmint leaves image from katrinket at Flickr
Some time ago, I bought a package of Wrigley’s Spearmint gum only to discover that the flavor had been changed dramatically. To put it mildly, the spearmint flavor I knew and loved had careened downhill and crashed into a muddy, mucky river. I wrote a review of it and a review of Wrigley’s other “improved” flavors. Since then I’ve been on a search to find a spearmint gum that matches my expectations of a good, mellow, sweet spearmint.

I’ve been slightly overwhelmed by the number of brands and varieties of spearmint-flavored gum. Without even looking very hard, I’ve found nine different varieties. Who knew spearmint could taste so many different ways? Trident alone makes three kinds of spearmint gum. It’s mind boggling.

It has been quite an adventure tasting all the varieties and thinking about the nuances in their differences and similarities. I’m feeling like quite the gum expert lately. And I have the freshest breath in the county.

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