Retro Sours Tangerine 2.12oz Tin

The first thing that stood out to me about these was how close they are to the old Altoid Sours. The packaging, tin design, candy size, and even the flavor profile feel extremely similar. The tin has the same sturdy, compact style and is easy to open and reseal, which makes it convenient to keep in a purse or small bag. The candies themselves are small and both the candies and tin are made with the classic orange tangerine colors you would expect. When you first start eating one, the tartness is very intense and hits immediately. After about 20 to 30 seconds, the sourness settles down into a sweeter tangerine flavor that tastes much smoother and more mild. Since they melt slowly, each piece lasts longer than I expected for such a small candy. These definitely have the consistency of a true hard candy. There is no soft chew to them at all. If you chew them, they crunch apart instead of turning chewy. They also leave behind a slight aftertaste from the sour coating, but I did not find it unpleasant. One thing I did notice is that because they are very acidic, eating a few one after the other can make the inside of your cheeks cause that peeling effect that many tart and acidic foods can do. It was not overly irritating for me and they are pretty gentle overall, but it is something worth keeping in mind if your mouth tends to be sensitive to acidic foods like ketchup. The tin holds quite a bit of candy considering its size, and because the flavor is so sour and long lasting, I usually only eat a couple at a time. The container itself also feels durable enough that it could probably be reused later for small items or storage.

I got these because they look identical to the Altoid brand tangerine sours which were a childhood favorite of mine. These little hard candies are good.. but don't quite match the original. They are very tangy at first but that sourness fades to a sweet, fruit flavor. I like them well enough. The tin is convenient so will keep them in my to go bag.