Wouldn’t it be clever for me to simply write “Airheads Bite”? Get it? I’m not gonna do that, because I’m a serious guy. I have principles. Also, I love Airheads. They’re a a bizarre soft-ish plank of chewy, tart, gritty artificialness. And All kidding aside, I love them.
Now the world has Airhead Bites, because every candy needs to be made into unwrapped bite sized pieces and sold in resealable bags. At least, this is the thought of the candy industry. I’m still unsure how I feel about it this trend, but what I do know is that some of them work and some of them don’t.
For instance, let’s take Butterfingers. They’re in my top 3 all time American candy bar list. I adore them. Even better than the full size bars are the tiny wrapped bite sized pieces-not to be confused with the Halloween sized small bars, which of course are also great. But the smallest wrapped size, according to one of my friends are “proof that God exists”. I’m not sure about that contention, but I do know they’re glorious- crunchy, peanuty, and exactly the same experience as eating as the full size bar in every way.
The unwrapped bag has (I think) the same tiny sized pieces. But they’re not the same-at all. Sure, the crux of the flavor profile is there, but the definition of the piece-specifically the crunch, and the harder bite on the ends-is gone. They’re fresher, softer, and…not for me. Because they’re not as good.
Which brings us us back to Airheads Bites. I have to admit, the idea of bite sized Airheads really appeals to me. A variety of flavors in small sizes means I can have a variety without gaining 2 pounds in one sitting- so I’m in. But…we have issues. Two main ones, really: texture and flavor. Kinda important.
On the texture side, these still are chewy, but there’s no grit to them-something I really like about Airheads. Additionally, flavor-wise, something’s off. I can tell you for sure, the orange flavor that’s so excellent in original Airheads is not the same in the bites. Less tang, less general wonderfulness.
There was also something VERY weird about the blackberry flavor. I tried this flavor twice just to get a handle on what was not working for me, but I still couldn’t put my finger on it- something’s off. In a very bad, confused way.
So as much as it pains me to say it, I don’t like these Airheads Bites. Yes, they’re a good idea, but if the core of the original candy’s appeal- like the case was with Butterfingers-is in its original design, then bite sized version just won’t work.
I think the blue bites are pretty close and maybe the cherry, but you are correct, the other ones are a little funky. They do have an “off” taste. It seems that Airheads went a little more main stream with they flavors to make them more appealing to the average person instead of sticking to the original flavors.