Greek Chewing Gum

A synonym for Greek chewing gum is mastic.

ELMA Mastic Chewing Gum

ELMA Mastic Chewing Gum contains only natural sweeteners in addition to mastic. They are the only chewing gums on the market that do not contain artificial antioxidants BHT and BHA.

ELMA stands for ELliniki MAstiha (Greek mastic). Because ELMA chewing gums contain a high proportion of natural mastic, they differ in taste and consistency from industrially produced chewing gums.

The mastic is a natural product and this has been partially transferred to the end product, in this case ELMA chewing gum.

ELMA chewing gum contains only natural flavours

• ELMA Classic
• ELMA Sugarfree
• ELMA Dental
• ELMA Spearmint
• ELMA Lemon
• ELMA Rose
• ELMA Cinnamon
• ELMA Cappuccino

ELMA Chewing Gum you can buy here

Mastic gum tears

Raw mastic in its original form is raw resin crystals extracted from the mastic tree.

The drops of mastic resin are poetically called mastic tears and the mastic tree is called the weeping tree.

Mastic gum crystals represent the original form of the raw material known as "Chios mastic". In this form, it is collected from the trunk of the mastic tree and from the area below, and after storage, it is cleaned and sorted to be used directly or processed into powder or oil.

The appearance of mastic tears

The drops of fresh resin on the trunk and branches of the trees are soft and clear. They gradually harden and turn dark when exposed to air. When purified, mastic tears are usually amber in colour, ranging from brown to golden to almost transparent with a yellowish tinge.

The shape of the largest mastic tears resembles a small, bulky flat. The smallest pieces of raw mastic, on the other hand, are shaped like small, smooth beads.

The size varies greatly, ranging from a few millimetres to large pieces over 3 centimetres in diameter. For commercial purposes, the mastic is packaged according to the size of the crystals.

Currently, 3 fractions are used (there used to be 7 fractions):

1. Small ones with a diameter of 3 - 5 mm
2. Medium ones: 6 - 8 mm
3. Large: larger than 8 mm

The texture and consistency of mastic crystals is similar to other resins. Some pieces are very soft and sticky, others are hard and brittle. Of course, it softens with heat, and you can significantly reduce its stickiness by cooling it.

What can you chew instead of gum?

Alternatives to commercial chewing gum? What can you replace chewing gum with? Mastic is the way to go!

Chewing mastic, pieces of mastic, is the original way of using this resin from the mastic tree. If you really want to get to know mastic, you should try chewing it. After all, chewing mastic gum is the real thing and mastic is the only truly natural chewing gum.

Not only is mastic itself a BIO product, but all the processes involved in growing and harvesting mastic are completely organic.

Mastic has a woody to fruity flavour and its aroma is rooty-sweet.

If you want to try mastic, choose medium sized pieces first. Chewing mastic is not rocket science, but then again, it's not the commercial chewing gum you're usually used to.

Buy mastic online