Tag: Tic Tac

What is it?

Tic Tacs, the diminutive mints, took its first sip of the soda world with a 2020 Coca-Cola flavor. It must have worked because here I am now in 2023 talking about the new Sprite Tac Tacs. Two of the great small pleasures in my life are Tics Tacs and Sprite, but I would never have thought to combine them, so I was glad that someone did. Initially, anyway.

How is it?

The buttery yellow color of these Tic Tacs didn’t get them off to the best start for me. I don’t think I’m alone in immediately associating Sprite with its iconic dark green bottle. While I’m sure this lighter, brighter shade was meant to allude to the citrus flavor (and it probably also didn’t hurt to distinguish these from one of Tic Tac’s most famous varieties, Wintergreen), I found the hue too banana-y to bode well.

The taste did start pretty decent, sweet and lemon-lime-y. Sure, there was a bit of an acidic aftertaste, but the main notes were crisp enough that I was able to mostly ignore it. But since a Tic Tac’s sweetness comes from its smooth outer coating, you’re ultimately going to be sucking on it long enough to dissolve that (about a minute, in my experience) or just biting through it directly. Either method reveals the coarser, more powdery inside, which here is quite sour, and chemical-tasting enough that I’d call it actively unpleasant.

Anything else you need to know?

I get that sourness is theoretically appropriate for a citrus-based flavor, but these just don’t remind me at all of Sprite, a soda I define more by its fizziness and mild sweetness than by any resemblance to the harshness of an actual lemon or lime.

Conclusion:

When I’m going for a Tic Tac, I typically want either to feel refreshed or to get a little burst of tastiness. This flavor doesn’t provide either of those things, so I can confidently say that I won’t be purchasing it again, and I’d even go as far as to state that I hope these lemony Tic Tacs are out of the limelight entirely soon.

Purchased Price: $1.59
Size: 1 oz
Purchased at: Wawa
Rating: 4 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 mint) 0 calories, 0 grams of total fat, 0 milligrams of sodium, 0 grams of total carbohydrates, and 0 grams of protein.

What are they?

The Simpsons and Tic Tac have partnered on three new flavors – Donut (Homer), Blueberry (Marge), and Bubble Gum (Bart). Each package contains yellow mints with various expressions of each character. In the spirit of the show, we’ll call them “meh-mojis.” Or “e-DOH-jis!” Or, “shut up and get on with the review, Vin.”

How are they?

Donut is probably the flavor you’re wondering about most, so I’ll go more in depth on it. It smells like maple and is the least “minty” of the three. My flavor parallel might sound weird, but it reminds me of Toasted Marshmallow Jelly Belly with a touch of chocolatey leaning sweetness. Don’t expect the flavor of Homer’s favorite pink (Strawberry?) glazed donut. Once you chew ’em, a little menthol mint kicks in.

Blueberry is along the lines of Tic Tac’s normal fruit efforts, starting out authentic and sweet but then getting bitter. There is more of a lingering minty-ness to these that I could’ve lived without.

Bubble Gum is the best of the three by a decent margin. It tastes exactly like the Orbit Bubblemint chiclet style bubble gum if you’ve ever had those. There is a big menthol finish that cools the mouth and is the most successful mint integration of the bunch.

Is there anything else I need to know?

A donut-flavored Tic Tac is a cute little gimmick, it serves as much purpose to me as that “single serve” indentation on the Tic Tac lid. Blueberry is decent, but it falls near the bottom of Tic Tac’s fruit efforts.

Conclusion:

For a show that has been on for approximately 63 years, the only food brands I can even remember The Simpsons pairing with without looking are Butterfinger and 7-Eleven, so I’m glad I bought these. I’m enough of a Simpsons nerd that I’m keeping the boxes as “collector’s items,” because why not? Grab the Bart Bubble Gum pack.

Purchased Price: $1.19 each
Size: 1 oz.
Purchased at: Harmon Drug
Rating: 5 out of 10 (Donut)
Rating: 6 ouf ot 10 (Blueberry)
Rating: 8 out of 10 (Bubble Gum)
Nutrition Facts: (1 mint) They are usually 2 calories per mint without much else.

While perusing the candy shelf for a breath freshener, there’s one brand I usually tend to avoid – Tic Tac. That is of course until I saw their new – dare I say genius – flavor variety.

Tic Tac and Universal Studios have partnered on a Limited Edition Minion version of their “artificially flavored fruit mints,” and all your favorite Minions are here – Overalls that look like a goatee Minion (aka “Heisenberg Minion,”) Furrowed Brow Minion, Ol’ One Eye, and last but certainly not least, Bob – the eponymous Minion gracing the box.

Who doesn’t like the Minions? I know kids definitely love them. I can imagine every child under three throwing a tantrum after their mother refuses to buy them a box, and it’s all because Tic Tac had the brilliant notion to paint little black faces on each mint.

I can sit here and praise this marketing stroke all day, but these are meant to be eaten and not played with, right?

The flavor here is passionfruit, which is disappointing considering the only words I remember the Minions saying in English were “bottom” and “banana.” These should be banana flavored. I expected them to be banana flavored. Why aren’t these banana flavored?!

Sure “banana-mint” doesn’t sound all that appetizing, but does “passionfruit-mint”? These aren’t even minty. I’ve always found Tic Tacs to be very liberal with their usage of the word “mint” when it comes to the fruit varieties.

Like most Tic Tacs, the flavor is great at first, but quickly becomes nearly unappetizing. This is the point I usually just chew them to get it over with. They’re much better when consumed that way. That’s a good trait of the Tic Tac, it’s a softer mint that won’t wreck your teeth.

Fruit Tic Tacs tend to get sour the longer you keep them in your mouth and these continue that trend. The sour hint remains for a good 5-10 minutes after eating them. Tic Tac mint varieties have a similar characteristic. White Peppermint starts with a delicious vanilla taste, then devolving into an easily recognizable artificial mint flavor. I have to imagine I’m not the only one who chews these after a while.

Tic Tac fruit mints as a whole haven’t been all that impressive. Orange stormed on the scene and took the game over, but its successors have never really stacked up. These passionfruit-flavored ones aren’t bad, and for all I know can be 100% authentic to the actual fruit which I’m not sure I’ve ever actually come in contact with. I should seek them out, because I can use a little more passion in my life…but I’ll save that for a different blog.

While I’m discussing Tic Tacs, I’d be remised not to mention their main problem – the packaging. Tic Tacs are a pain in the neck to carry around in your pocket, lest you want people to know you are approaching from four blocks away. What other mint turns you into the Human Maraca? You might as well be that Minion who impersonated the fire truck siren. “Bee-do, bee-do.” See, I saw the movies!

So all in all, these aren’t too bad. The idea definitely outweighs the flavor. I can’t get over how simple and brilliant this partnership was. They get bonus points for that alone. When you pair that with a decent flavor, they’re worth dropping a buck on if only as a conversation starter. Don’t forget to use that little indentation on the lid to share with your co-workers – every internet list has informed me that is a “life hack,” because who doesn’t want like one Tic Tac at a time?

Kampai! (Minionese for “Cheers.”)

(Nutrition Facts – 1 mint – 2 calories, 0 calories from fat, 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 0 milligrams of sodium, 0.5 grams of carbohydrates, 0 gram of fiber, 0.5 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.)

Item: Limited Edition Tic Tac Minions
Purchased Price: $1.01
Size: 1 oz.
Purchased at: Harmon Discount Drug
Rating: 7 out of 10
Pros: Quite possibly the most impulsive of the buys. Heisenberg Minion. Tasty enough. Genius cross marketing.
Cons: Sour. Tic Tac pocket rattle. “Fruit-mints.” Not banana flavored. Limited Edition. Passionless life. Life-hack lists.