I never thought I’d describe a candy like this, but these Hi-Chew “Strawberry Flavor” are like rubber, but in the best way possible. While I would put them in the taffy category of candy, I wouldn’t call them taffy. They’re much more rubbery than taffy, but not so rubbery that they hurt your jaw trying to chew them. It’s like you’re chewing the most satisfying piece of rubber one could chew. As you chew it more it turns more and more into a classic taffy texture wise, but those first few bites are just magical.

Flavour wise these strawberry cubes are pretty good. I wouldn’t describe it as an ultra realistic strawberry flavour, but as fake flavours go it’s tasty enough. There’s also a slight tart aftertaste that I think represents strawberries very well. I kind of wish there was something revolutionary about the flavour because the texture is so great, but I guess you can’t have everything.

Visually is the place where I would say that these Hi-Chew’s fail. They’re not ugly, but they’re not nearly as good looking as the package would suggest. I was expecting a bright white tube bursting with a deep red centre. The tube was white, but the centre was very pale. It was also not very bursting, and was fairly misshapen. It was a skinny colourless cube.

It would take very little to make these amazing. I’m surprised that a Japanese company would produce such a boring looking candy, based on the many beautiful Japanese candies I’ve seen in the past. Having said that, if you find these I would recommend trying them out even if they look pretty dull.