Wrigley's Kona Crème: Who Wants Coffee Breath?

By Hanna Aronovich in Food on May 9, 2006 1:56PM

Taste testing so you don’t have to, Chicagoist went on the front lines of the convenience store aisles to check out Wrigley’s new Doublemint Kona Crème gum. The Sun-Times reported that Wrigley has rolled out its new coffee-flavored gum to 7-Eleven stores nationwide.

Chicagoist picked up a pack for $1.20 and was surprised to find hardly a trace of caffeine in the gum, but rather coffee powder. Now, we’d like to set the record straight on something here. Yes, coffee sales are up, but not because of its flavor. People primarily drink coffee to wake up. Caffeine is key. Sure, we like a little coffee ice cream as much as the next person. Maybe even a coffee-flavored hard candy. But can food manufacturers please stop throwing coffee flavor into every snack food?

That said, Kone Crème has a fairly pleasant, sweet coffee taste. But, we turn to gum for one reason only - to give our breath that minty fresh goodness. And, Kona Crème comes up short on mint. Not to mention the aftertaste is objectionable (um, yeah, gum is supposed to get rid of coffee breath – not cause it).

Wrigley said they won’t be rolling out the gum more broadly just yet, and we think that’s for the best. However, despite our disappointment with the gum, all was not lost. We did purchase our first Slurpee of the season. And, we’re happy to report, no coffee Slurpees in sight.