Jake's Mint Chew - Reviews. 28 November 2020.

Today, we're going to be talking about something a little bit different:  Jake's Mint Chew!  These are pouched products that are completely tobacco and nicotine free.  I'm going to review Bold Brew, which is a product containing coffee, as well as the regular Jake's Mint Pouches, which contain mint leaf instead of tobacco.  These products are designed for those who may be wanting to quit tobacco or nicotine, but still experience the sensation of having a pouch in their lip.  I'm a snus user, so products like these aren't for me, but I like to review other alternatives that can help save lives.  And products like these certainly have their place!  Jake's Mint Chew products weigh 11.33g each, and their website says they average between 18-20 portions per can.  In this review, I'll be covering 7 products, but most of them have similar attributes, such as mouthfeel, flavor longevity, and effect.  In terms of effect, obviously, they don't have nicotine.  The only one you'll notice an effect from is the coffee one, because it has caffeine.  In terms of mouthfeel, they have nice, plump, moist portions that fill out the lip really well.  And in terms of flavor longevity, they all last about 40-45 minutes on average. 

The one thing that is different about each of these is aroma and flavor, so that's mainly what I'll be covering in the individual product reviews, below! 

Jake's Mint Pouches: Wintergreen

This one has a pretty present American wintergreen aroma, but it's not really in your face.  And it's balanced out quite nicely with some mint.  The flavor is a pretty even balance of wintergreen and mint.  It's not super sweet, and it doesn't have an overbearing wintergreen flavor.

Jake's Mint Pouches: Spearmint

I liked this one more than the straight mint.  The spearmint aroma is refreshing, and lightly sweet in nature.  The flavor is a straightforward, natural taste of spearmint.  It's not super sweet, and is pretty well balanced.

Jake's Mint Pouches: Straight Mint

This one smells and tastes like....mint.  I mean, what else would it be?  The mint aroma is mild, and comes across as a lightly sweet peppermint.  The flavor is a pretty refreshing taste of mint.  It's not super sweet, and comes across in a pretty mild and natural way.

Jake's Mint Pouches: Cinnamon

I rather enjoyed this one.  It was a smooth, lightly sweet aroma of cinnamon.  In the taste, the cinnamon is gentle, but it comes across lightly sweet and lightly spicy.  The mint flavor surprisingly works well with the cinnamon, and serves as a nice compliment.

Jake's Mint Pouches: Cherry

This one has a mild, natural, lightly sweet aroma of cherry with a hint of mint.  In the flavor profile, the cherry is present, but gentle.  It's not overly sweet, either.  The mint flavor is mild, and in the background, and actually works pretty well as a compliment to the cherry!

Jake's Mint Pouches: Green Apple

The Green Apple one has a present green apple aroma with a hint of mint.  It's lightly tart, and mildly sweet.  In the flavor the apple flavor is pretty natural, and gentle in nature.  I notice a mild touch of mint in the background, which serves as a good compliment to the apple.

Jake's Mint Pouches: Bold Brew

This one has a nice, dark, roasted coffee aroma to it.  The flavor is a roasted/toasty type of coffee flavor.  It's a darker coffee taste.  With this one, unlike the other ones has an effect to it.  Due to it containing coffee, it has a nice little kick of caffeine to it!

Rating and Final Thoughts

This chart may be a little small, so you can click it to view it in full size format.  But, to rank these in order from favorite to least favorite, Wintergreen at 2.65/5, Bold Brew at 2.63/5, Cinnamon at 2.6/5, Apple at 2.6/5, Spearmint at 2.55/5, Cherry at 2.5/5, and Mint at 2.3/5.  I was surprised that the Wintergreen one ranked so highly for me, but I really liked the balance of mint and wintergreen.

At the end of the day, these products aren't for me.  I'm a snus user, and I enjoy nicotine.  However, these are a great alternative for people who are looking to quit smoking, or dipping, and transition to something to simulate that pouch feeling in the lip without tobacco or nicotine in it!