The Best Hi-Chew Flavors Ranked for You to Enjoy
If you wished you could get your hands on even more of the strangely wonderful Hi-Chew flavors, listen up! To honor the 10th anniversary of the launch of the Japanese candy in the United States, Morinaga, the makers of Hi-Chew, are asking fans to vote on the next flavor release in its East Meets West Flavor Challenge.
1. Lilikoi: Based on the Hawaiian fruit, Lilikoi offers the best balance of flavors from all the Hi-Chew flavors we tried. The tart, tropical flavor is reminiscent of tropical punch, with a slight kiwi-and apricot-like taste.
2. Lychee: Juicy and authentic, lychee tastes exactly like the fruit but with a sweet, mochi-like chewiness.
3. Yogurt: Don't expect this to taste like a bowl of morning yogurt but rather more like lemon meringue. This sweet-tart flavor has a floral finish at the end.
4. Chocolate-Covered Strawberry:
Have you ever had a chocolate-covered Hi-Chew before? We hadn't, and though it's a slightly strange experience, it works. The chocolate shell cracks to reveal a chewy strawberry candy.
5. Green Apple Mint: Trick your tastebuds with this bizarre but refreshing flavor,
which reminded us of Keroppi-flavored candies we snacked on from the Sanrio store back in the day. The sweet green apple and cooling mint prove that opposites do attract.
6. Cantaloupe: Similar to Lychee, this flavor tastes juicy and authentic to the melon. If you're not big on sour or tart tastes, you'll appreciate it. For some, the Cantaloupe needed a sharper edge.
7. Dragonfruit: Tasters likened this to grape bubblegum, similar to Big Chew League. The nostalgic flavor will have you coming back for more.
8. Sweet + Sour Lemon Crunch: If you gravitate toward Lemonhead candies, you'll get a kick out of this one, which has crunchy bites studded in the chewy candy. Just beware: It's super, super lemony.
9. Chocolate Melon: The bitter tannins from the dark chocolate shell help balance the sweetness of the melon. It's a weird combo that we found we liked.
10. Apricot Peach: Though this one tastes very fragrant like soap, we were into it. You'll feel transported to the '90s... and to your grandmother's house.
11. Cranberry Grape: This Hi-Chew flavor contains real pieces of raisins throughout the bar for a sensorial surprise. It's like Smacker's concord grape jelly but with raisins.
12. Watermelon: Hi-Chew manages to make this candy taste identical to fresh watermelon slices, rind and all. For American palates, this might be slightly jarring, as it isn't anything like the artificial flavors we're used to.
13. Mango Pineapple: We were hoping for this flavor to be juicier and tarter. The tropical fruit flavors are slighted muted.
14. Banana Fizz: Your palate is in for a trip. This treat tastes like legit cola (Coke or Pepsi) complete with effervesce and banana flavor.
15. Pineapple Peach: We wanted this flavor to burst with juiciness; however, it too fell a little short in the flavor department.
16. Chocolate-Covered Banana: Of the three chocolate-covered flavors, this one was our least favorite, simply because we didn't quite love the banana taffy.
17. Chocolate Banana Split: This flavor is mostly banana-y (we didn't taste "ice cream" really) and has a finish like overripe banana.
18. Cotton Candy: We wanted this to be like BubbleYum, but unfortunately it tasted a little waxy.
19. Asian Pear: In Northern California,
Asian pears are bountiful, so we were excited to sink our teeth into this Hi-Chew. It tasted more perfume-y than like the crisp pears we're accustomed to.
20. Strawberry Cheesecake: We wanted to like this flavor, but it just wasn't in the stars. We found the sour notes with the strawberry sort of clashed. That's okay, though. There are PLENTY of Hi-Chew flavors we're obsessed with.
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(Photos via Morinaga / Hi-Chew)
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