Elite's Alma Sugar Free Gum

Elite's Alma brand of gum was one of their first gums sold in Israel in the 1950's and 60's. It stayed on the shelves until Orbit gum became popular here in the 1990's. The Israeli public was becoming more health conscious and preferred sugar free gums and the Alma gums were not sugar free so Elite slowly stopped making them.

In 2007 as a wave of retro nostalgia filled the country Elite decided to reintroduce Alma gum, under their Must brand, in honor of Yom Ha'atzmaut. This time it was sugar free and "Chiclets" shaped as opposed to sticks of gum but the logo was the same and that seemed to do the trick for some.



Now Elite decided to add a few more flavors to this "renewed" Alma line. These 3 new gums are geared toward women. To me, the envelope packaging does seem to have a retro feminine design so I guess they succeeded on that note. The 3 flavors in this new line are Mint, Lemon and Cinnamon. All of them are sugar free and there 12 sticks per package.

מסטיק עלמה עלית

Lemon Flavor

As I opened the package and read the greeting printed inside the top flap "may you have a refreshing day" I was struck by the strong lemon flavor. I should mention the cinnamon gum had the same greeting printed inside and smelled like cinnamon gum but the flavor didn't "pop out" at me as soon as I opened the envelope like the lemon flavor did.

For the first 2 minutes or so of chewing the gum the lemon flavor was very strong. But quite quickly the lemon diminished and it was just a sweet chewing gum with a slight touch of lemon from time to time. I actually thought it was a little too sweet and would have preferred it to have a tangier lemon flavor and not be so sweet

This gum is not very conducive to blowing bubbles like the Hubba Bubba gum is but that’s ok considering this Alma gum is a chewing gum and not a bubble gum.

Bottom line: This lemon flavored Alma Gum is not tangy or sour enough for me, aside from which, I thought it was too sweet for me. So although it was not a bad gum per say, I don’t think it will be a gum I will buy again.

Cinnamon Flavor

I have always liked cinnamon flavor gum. It's my second favorite flavor after mint gums. I guess I'm not the only one because this cinnamon flavor was suggested to Strauss Elite via the "My Strauss" website that I told you about in my review of the White Chocolate Covered Kif Kef Bar. I suppose enough people "liked" the suggestion and Elite decided to go with it.

The fact is years ago Elite Must did have a cinnamon gum, on the market, that I enjoyed and I was disappointed when they discontinued it. I was hoping the new Cinnamon Alma gum would be similar to that and I was excited to try it.

This Alma Cinnamon gum is a sweet and "cinnamon" spicy gum at the same time. I would have to say to me it seemed sweeter than other cinnamon gums and I think it's sweeter than the Must one I was remembering but it's clearly a cinnamon flavored gum.

Bottom Line: The cinnamon flavor did last long enough in my opinion but, like with the lemon gum, the overall sweetness was a little too much for me. I personally would have preferred it to be a bit more "hot & spicy". I don’t know how popular hot cinnamon gum is so I'm guessing they were trying to make a flavor that would "appeal to the masses". I may pick it up from time to time but I highly doubt it will become a "go to" gum for me.

Update: You can use this 1+1 coupon to buy any of these new Alma gums at Superpharm. It's good from now until Feb. 19, 2012 or as long as supply lasts.



(source)

Pack of 12 Gum Sticks – 6.70 NIS

Kosher Parve OU approved by Chief Rabbinate of Israel

Disclaimer: All items were purchased by me. No one is paying me for this review. All opinions are my own.