A (minty) blast from the past. (Ferrero Tic Tac)

Member Name: Smyles

Product:	Ferrero Tic Tac
Date:	02/04/08 (134 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Taste great, handy container, don't lose their taste.

Disadvantages: Mouth isn't as fresh afterwards as with chewing gum.

Ok, so, Tic Tacs. Let me start by saying that I am aware that this might not seem like the most fascinating of products on which to write a review, however, in my defense, I feel that these good old faithfuls have really been unfairly ignored in recent times. Proof of that is the fact that no one has even bothered to review the humble tic tac for the last 2 years! Well, this review will change all of that!

If you're anything like me, you know exactly what a tic tac is, what the packet looks like etc, but you couldn't for the life of you put your finger on the last time that you actually had one of these little bundles of joy in your mouth. Well, that was me until about 48 hours ago anyway.

I remember tic tacs being popular when I was a kid, but since then they seemed to have disappeared off the radar, replaced by the ubiquitous Extra chewing gum. I like extra, it may be a poor substitute for actually brushing your teeth but it does make your mouth feel fresher. However, I do not think that Extra fulfills all my mint needs. Firstly, it loses flavour (anyone else think that this is starting to happen faster and faster with Extra too??), secondly it can look tacky in certain situations to be chewing gum, and thirdly there are only a few sticks in each packet.

Enter Tic Tacs.

They are sweet, they are smooth on the tongue, they contain only 2 calories per tic tac (as if I really cared, but just letting you know), and best of all they are seriously minty! These are all good things! Add to that the fact that they come in a super handy little plastic container, that doesn't come open and drop pellets throughout your bag, and the fact that there are probably about 20 tic tacs contained in every box, and you have yourself a seriously viable mouth freshening option here folks!

The first taste when you put the tic tac in your mouth is clearly sweet, it is also more spearminty than pepperminty I would say and has (I don't know if this is just me) an almost caramelly undertone, only very slightly though. This then fades away to a slightly stronger peppermint taste and that minty 'airy' sort of feeling fills your mouth and gets stronger as you suck, or even stronger of course if you chew them. The mintiness is enough to overcome the taste/smell of whatever you ate for lunch but isn't going to have you rushing for the bin and calling the fire brigade on the way.

Depending on whether you suck or chew, one Tic Tac will last 2-3 minutes up to maybe 8 minutes and it in no way loses its flavour before it is entirely gone.

The only downside really (and where it is slightly behind chewing gum) is that once it is entirely gone, your mouth is left feeling minty but not entirely fresh. It's almost as though there is a slight residue or something on the tongue. This may be because of the extra sweetener in the mints. The mintiness and that slight cool feeling do definitely linger in your mouth though.

It may be important to you to know that there are no artificial colourings in these mints. As for me, it's just important that they taste good.

These are not something that I would buy every week or carry with me at all times, but it is certainly nice to rediscover an old favourite and realise that they're just as good today as they were when I was a kid. If you haven't tried tic tacs in a while, pick yourself up a pack - you might be surprised!

Summary: As good now as they were when I was a kid.