Mints ruined for ever

9-Feb-2000

While I wasn't paying attention, aspartame has crept into everything. Not only do I think that it tastes nothing like sugar, I have a minor but unpleasant allergic reaction to the stuff.

I'm an infreqent chewer of gum and muncher of mints, but I do like them once in a while. While trying to purchase mints (and later gum) in the airport, I was unable to find anything that I could actually buy. The only mint that actually works and does not contain aspartame is Altoids...and they contain meat. Trident, my sugarfree gum of choice (I've not liked sugar gums since I was about 8) used to just be sweetened with sorbitol. Now it contains sorbitol and aspartame. Velamints which used to contain xylitol now contain aspartame. Velamints used to also contain meat, but the substitution is not helpful for me. Certs, Starbucks private label mints, at least three "super strong" mints that I've never seen before as well as the aforementioned brands also now contain aspartame.

I want to know what happenned in the gum and candy industry. Did consumers cry out for aspartame in all sugar free things? I sure as hell didn't hear anyone complaining about Trident tasting bad before. It seems like they've fixed something that wasn't broken to begin with, and, as usual, have wound up with something inferior by dicking around with it.

A friend of mine had a container of Penguin* mints in his truck, and I happenned to be in the market for a mint. I quickly scanned the label and saw no gelatin. I popped one in my mouth and yuck. Aspartame. If you are not "used" to Nutrasweet, it tastes like shit, just like sacharrine. I fail to see an improvement.

*said friend is a Network Engineer like most of my friends. These mints have a "Powered by Linux" label inside. Co-branding the penguin of course, but I can't help but notice that he doesn't seem to like them either since they are still bouncing around the console in his truck. They also contain caffeine, which is always an attractant to any coffee fiend -- many folks in the Internet biz seem to be very serious about their coffee, and I am among them.