| Product type | Chewing gum |
|---|---|
| Owner | Lotte Confectionery |
| Country |  Japan |
| Introduced | 1983 |
| Website | http://www.lotte.co.jp/ |
Black Black (ブラックブラック, Burakku Burakku) is a brand of caffeinated chewing gum produced in Japan by Lotte that has been sold since 1983.[1] It is popular in Japan, partially due to its television commercials that star Jean-Claude Van Damme. After being mentioned by Wired in 2003, which described its effect as "Sambuca spiked with Vicks VapoRub",[2] Lotte Black Black became popular in the United States[citation needed]. The gum's name is derived from its charcoal-like color.[clarification needed]
Ingredients include sugar, starch syrup, grape sugar, erythritol, oolong tea extract, ginkgo extract, chrysanthemum flower extract, gum base, flavorings, coloring agents (cacao, gardenia), caffeine, and nicotinamide. A persistent urban legend holds that the gum contains nicotine, the misconception stemming from confusion with nicotinamide, a different substance related to the B vitamins.
- ^ "ロッテ 商品カタログ ガム, Lotte(Japan) products information of chewing gum" (in Japanese). Lotte (Japan). Retrieved 2008-01-25.
昭和58年6月に「眠気スッキリ！ブラックブラックガム」を発売 In June, Shōwa 58 (1983), the sales of black black gum started.
- ^ "What Wired staffers bought this month". Wired magazine. February 2003. p. 1. Retrieved 2016-10-02.