Hi-Chew Flavors, Ranked Worst To Best

If you're a fan of Starburst or other fruit-infused taffy-like candies, we hope you're familiar with Hi-Chew. As the name suggests, these indulgent little morsels are soft and gently chewable. They also offer a high concentration and immediate surge of flavor. The name is also a bit misleading in that you can't expect to be chewing on a Hi-Chew for a lengthy degree of time as you would with a stick of gum. You'll get maybe 15 to 30 seconds of pleasure out of each piece.

Over the years, Morinaga, the Japanese-based makers of Hi-Chew, have delivered over 170 variations of their signature candy, with certain varieties only available in particular regions (via Hi-Chew). The more popular varieties come in "stick" form, which is a package of just one flavor and that flavor only. That way, you're not burdened with an assortment of flavors that don't hit the sweet spot for you. (Anyone who buys Starburst just for the strawberry pieces, tolerates orange and cherry, and finds themselves throwing away the lemon will jump at this concept.)

They also come in mixed packs that run the gamut, which include their long-standing iconic flavors to exotic "super fruits" and yogurt-blended options. Not just limiting its inspiration to natural products, Hi-Chew also has cola and Ramune flavors. The brand offers a little something for everyone, though not every Hi-Chew flavor rises to the occasion. That's why we've highlighted some popular flavors that are available in the American market and ranked them.

If you have ever had a compulsion to unwrap a few or more Luden's Wild Cherry Throat Drops when you weren't even feeling sick, then you will absolutely love the Black Cherry Hi-Chew. The flavor here is medicinal with a capital M, only without the benefit of easing your sore throat or chronic cough. But maybe it's still worth a try.

On the plus side, there are faint notes of decadent Luxardo cherries (as opposed to the more common maraschino cherry), soaked in syrup and coated in booze after you've downed an Old Fashioned or a Manhattan. We guess that would make it medicinal in a very different way.

But for the most part, this truly doesn't taste remotely like any cherry one might find in nature. We also found it strange that this flavor is available in the Berry Mix despite the fact that cherries aren't technically berries. We prefer our cherries on top, but sadly, when it comes to Hi-Chew flavors, this belongs on the bottom.

Here is another flavor that offers a favorable initial impression that goes downhill once you actually eat it. Pineapple is found in the Tropical Mix bag along with the kiwi, offering a one-two punch of disappointment. First, the good news: This candy smells amazing. Open up that wrapper, take a whiff, and let tropical aroma settle into your nose holes. If this were a candle, we'd light these up all the time, but in its current candy form, it lacks that spark.

Unlike the situation with kiwi, the actual essence of pineapple is detectable in the candy, though it is competing with a distinctive presence of banana. However you want to describe the flavor, it simply underwhelms in the intensity department — it dances around your tongue and you're waiting for it to make its moment, but it's ultimately too skittish to reveal its full potential. In case it wasn't evident, we didn't exactly pine for this one. 

If you're a fan of yogurt-covered raisins, this might be in your flavor wheelhouse. While a yogurt candy may seem strange, this flavor reminds us of sherbet or a creamsicle because it's not forward in its tartness, and it's mellowed by a dash of dairy influence. It's an interesting flavor to be sure, and this version of Hi-Chew isn't necessarily one we would avoid in the future. The general category of berry comes to mind, but we're not sure we would be able to identify this specifically as blueberry in a blind taste test.

With a white exterior and an indigo interior, we figured there would be a balance of fruit and yogurt, but yogurt dominates the flavor profile, and the overall taste is muddled. If this was closer to an even split, it would be higher in our rankings, but as is, we have to rank this one toward the bottom of the pack.

Similar to the blueberry Hi-Chew, raspberry suffers from a bit of an identity crisis. You get that berry flavor for sure, but specifically what type of berry that is may be up for debate. We detect more strawberry than raspberry with even some hints of cherry (which we reiterate, is not a berry) thrown into the mix. And it should be noted that this flavor is more enjoyable than both the strawberry and the cherry.

Perhaps with a name change, this flavor would have been further up the rankings. A "mixed berry" or "fruit punch" distinction would have been more appropriate. But if Hi-Chew wants to deem this as a raspberry-flavored candy, then we have to rank it as such. Considering the disappointing taste of the black cherry, blueberry, and raspberry trifecta, the Berry Mix Bag is the biggest miss in the Hi-Chew collection. Even a supremely tart gooseberry flavor would have been preferable.

Like lemon, grape is another one of those familiar flavors that never tends to be the first pick of the candy draft. We revere those juicy orbs for wine and as our top flavor choice for jelly (particularly when paired with peanut butter and white bread), and now that we think of it, a combo version would be brilliant. (If Hi-Chew is doing yogurt hybrids, why not try a peanut butter fusion with grape, raspberry, and strawberry?)

On its own, however, grape, which is available in a stick package and as part of the Original Mix Bag, might be a little too intense. That undeniably grape-iness brought us back to fond memories of sipping Welch's Grape Soda but also to grape-flavored Dimetapp, which wasn't exactly a highlight of our youth (what is it with Hi-Chew and medicinal flavor notes?). Food of the gods this is most certainly not, but it's a perfectly fine flavor.

This entry covers the other half of Hi-Chew's Soda Pop Mix (accompanied by cola soda). Not particularly common to find in the U.S. unless you happen to have an Asian supermarket in your vicinity, Ramune (or at least its original formula — it has many varieties) is a citrusy soda. It originated in Japan in 1884, per Kotaku, and has a unique flavor reminiscent of sparkling lemonade spiked with a ton of syrup, with maybe a hint of ginger. It also comes in a very distinct bottle, and if you've ever cracked one open, you likely haven't forgotten it. Rather than having a bottle cap, a marble is pushed through the top to release the carbonation and open the mouth, and as you drink, the marble rattles around in an enclosed chamber.

While Hi-Chew's take on Ramune does replicate the tangy soft drink rather well (and decidedly more so than the cola soda rendition), we'd rather pop the marble on a real deal bottle of the stuff and have some ice-cold liquid refreshment.

Here is another rare exception where the Hi-Chew variety's coloration is turned inside out. Its açaí flavor has a dark magenta coating with a snow white middle (which isn't exactly similar to the actual fruit, which has more of a pale greenish-white grape interior with plenty of black seeds to boot).

If you're not familiar with the flavor of açaí, it's a bit similar to blueberries or blackberries with a tart skin but a sweet finish. That's true here, too. There's almost a Sour Patch Kids quality of having to grit through a millisecond of mouth-puckering sourness before you get to the sweetness.

You can try the açaí flavor by purchasing the Superfruit Mix pack, which includes the very appealing dragon fruit flavor and the much-less appealing kiwi flavor (and like its two neighbors, this one has chia seeds too). It also comes in a stick if you want to enjoy it on its own. And obviously, even though the real deal açaí is billed as a superfruit, the only benefits you'll get from the Hi-Chew version will be a teensy and temporary sugar high.

If we're being honest, this doesn't taste very much like yogurt at all, but that's probably for the best. The flavor is more reminiscent of sweetened condensed milk, a dessert ingredient that you might sneak a taste of when you're baking, but "sweetened condensed milk" doesn't roll off the tongue or fit on the packaging quite as nicely as "plain yogurt."

If a yogurt-forward candy doesn't sound appealing, don't be deterred. We're ranking this toward the top for a reason. Although it really doesn't taste like yogurt, it does have a very light tanginess that adds a nice balance to the sugar content. We also detected slight notes of vanilla in the finish of the chew.

This is exclusively part of the Yogurt Mix pack along with strawberry yogurt and blueberry yogurt variants. Although the latter two may sound more exciting, our vote for the best of the bunch is the plain Jane version.

We knew the green apple Hi-Chew was a winner right away, as the candy exhibits an intense "orchard in your mouth" sensation upon first bite. Though it doesn't quite nail the supreme tartness of a Granny Smith apple, we think a reason it works so well is that the inspiration for the treat isn't intrinsically sweet. The vast majority of the Hi-Chew line-up consists of riffs on already-saccharine subject matter, and sometimes, it's better to add a spoonful of sugar to what's tart. We wish there had been just a bit more of a puckering quality to the candy, but that's the only knock we have.

Apparently, Morinaga knew they had a winner on their hands because this is one of the most common and abundant Hi-Chew flavors Stateside. It appears in the Original Mix bag along with mango, grape, and strawberry, but if all you crave is green apple, you can also buy a stick of just that.

Featuring a white interior and a cotton candy pink outer layer, the pink grapefruit Hi-Chew is a true candy success. Everything just goes right with this one. For starters, the flavor is undeniably pink grapefruit, and the juiciness of the fruit is perceptible throughout the entire chewing experience. Unlike its Sweet & Sour Mix cohorts, this follows through on both promises. In particular, the sourness shines through without causing a pucker-up reaction. (If you're familiar with Sour Patch Kids, this doesn't quite hit that citric acid high — think of it as the junior version of that iconic candy when it come to that tang.)  

That balance carries over to the polarizing bitter notes of grapefruit. Somehow, Hi-Chew was able to highlight the bitterness of the fruit without overwhelming your taste buds. Just like Jamaican Ting, one of our favorite sodas of all time, this successfully captures grapefruit's best qualities in a delightfully sweet (and slightly sour) package.