UHA CuCu Watermelon Salt Vanilla Candy

When Candybowl was young, he went to a summer day camp run by hippies.  Not hula-hoop-twirling, dirty-dredlock-wearing hippies, but just good snaggle-toothed, granola-eating folk into whose hands we were placed for a chain of hot summer days.

There was some weirdness, like the belief that powdered milk was healthier than fresh, or the picking up and inspecting of insects, or the grunge at the bottom of the swimming pool.  But most of it we just accepted as normal.  Like cutting the white parts off of the watermelon rinds other kids had sucked clean earlier in the day and tossing them into an aquarium so we could pickle them.

Of course, there was nothing normal about making watermelon pickles in an aquarium.  For good reason.   First, aquariums are nasty places in which fish and reptiles do terrible things.  Second, aquarium glass breaks easily.  So when we were all supposed to be eating yummy pickled watermelon rind, instead we were picking pieces of broken glass out of the broken aquarium and rinsing the rind, and hoping to god that the pieces we were eating wouldn't kill us.

Which is why the new Japanese fad for watermelon salt candies evokes a sense of longing in Candybowl.

This morsel is part of UHA's CuCu line.   Like all of UHA's candies the texture is flawless.  On sucking, one gets mild and very pleasant watermelon notes with just a hint of vanilla.

The crunch is delightful, releasing a burst of saltiness and just a little caramel.  The watermelon flavor intensifies, but only slightly, more like an increase in sourness without additional fruitiness.

And no broken glass.  An odd and pleasant treat from CuCu.  Try them as soon as you possibly can.

Sapporo Hokkaido Butter Caramel

This sublime, western-style butter caramel comes to us from Sapporo "Gourme" Foods. 

The caramel is rough-hewn and textured, giving it the appearance of a handmade candy-store candy.  However, the ingredients are not altogether traditional.  Although it contains real milk and sugar (presumably from Hokkaido) it also has millet jelly, shortening, and flavorings.

The initial flavor note is overwhelmingly sweet toffee.  There is one odd note present, reminiscent of dust from the inside of a wooden box.  Perhaps the wooden box in which they found the caramel recipe.  I don't know.

This is a soft candy, so all the action is in the chewing.  This confection has excellent texture.  Soft, not sticky, but a bit grainy.  It releases sweet.  burnt caramel notes, followed by a burst of buttery toffee flavor.  A bit too sweet, perhaps, but overall a very tasty candy. Only a tiny bit of residue left on the tooth and even this dissipates quickly.

A very nice, if conventional caramel from Sapporo Gourme' Foods.  Pick one up if you can, but don't go out of your way.

Amehana Sumiyaki Coffee Soft Milk Candy

This roasted coffee candy comes to us from CandyBowl newcomer Amehana.

According to the package, the outside is coffee powder, and the inside is a milk coffee soft candy.

CandyBowl was expecting a sweet flavor like the coating of a piece of of tiramisu.  Instead, the coating is actual dried coffee powder, which makes sucking a bitter affair reminiscent of the all-nighter stunt of eating a spoonful of freeze-dried coffee.

This is a soft candy, so there is no crunch.  Instead, this is a firm but soft, waxy confection.  During the chew, a nice, slightly bitter coffee note emerges, followed by a sweeter latte flavor.  The candy leaves a small amount of goo on the molars, but it quickly dissipates. 

With more chewing, a slightly artificial taffy flavor comes through, but the coffee flavor remains intense and milky.

This is a very nice first effort from Amehana.  Try one.

UHA 100% Fruit Juice Gummy

Here is a fruit gummy candy from UHA, a company no doubt well known to followers of the Candybowl (the blog, not the bowl or the blogger).

Make no mistake: this is not a super-soft Kasugai gummy.  Instead, it has a firmer bite closer to a Rowntree fruit gum.  Adding to the textural delight, each candy is shaped like the fruit whose flavor it bears.

Candybowl tried the grape, orange, and peach.  Grape had a very realistic concord grape flavor reminiscent of the Kanro Grape candy.   Peach, too, was fairly realistic.  Orange, on the other hand, had a slightly medicinal flavor without real orange juice or zest notes.

The 100% juice claim, while impressive and borne out by the flavor of at least some of the candies, is a bit of an optical illusion.  According to the package, each candy contains 20% of a 5x fruit juice concentrate.  The remaining ingredients is a mystery, as the printing on the package is clear on white and quite illegible.

Another delightful candy from UHA.

Senjaku Premium Vanilla Candy

Candybowl (the blogger) has been impressed by the offerings of Senjaku, and was therefore excited to come across this confection.  It features images of ice cream on the outer package, and promises mellow milk flavor and flecks of real vanilla. 

The eager anticipation was, sadly, unjustified and unrequited.

The outer surface is rough on the tongue, but not unpleasant.  Sucking the candy reveals initial taste notes of artificial vanilla and condensed milk.  However, the milk flavor is neither as pronounced nor as realistic as the Senjaku High Concentration Milk candy, and the vanilla flavor is one-dimensional.

This is one tough pebble to chew, and leaves an unacceptable amount of residue on the tooth.  While avid readers know Candybowl is prepared to overlook a bit of gumminess, this candy simply fails the test.  It lacks other redeeming qualities that might justify giving it a break on texture.

Senjaku can do, and has done, far better.  Try their milk candy instead.

Takaoka Blueberry Chocolate Candy

Yet another in the torrent of blueberry candies coming out of the Japanese market comes to us from Candybowl newcomer Takaoka Chocolate Company.

As seen in the photo, it is a smooth and shiny ball.  It is also one of the smallest candies featured on this blog since Kanro Natury Berry.   The outside is blueberry-flavored chocolate and seems to have some kind of wax or lacquer on the surface, accounting for the sheen.  As a result, there is almost no flavor on sucking.

The morsel is soft to chew, and the blueberry chocolate shell mixes with a blueberry paste center to form a tasty fruity treat.  The berry flavor, however, is not entirely realistic and is muted somewhat by the chocolate.

This confection contains some artificial color and vegetable oil, however its main ingredients are sugar, cocoa powder, milk and milk solids, and blueberries.  Why blueberries?  Ask the Japanese.

A very nice debut from Takaoka.

Ribon Noko Nama Blueberry Candy

Shortly after completing the entry on Ribon Strawberry Yogurt, Candybowl discovered another dense-filling sweet from blog newcomer Ribon.

The outer package suggests this candy may be aimed at those seeking the purported health benefits of blueberries, since it boasts 25% blueberry juice, and an entire bag contains 880µg of vitamin A, and 230mg of blueberry extract.  Puzzlingly, it also contains 175mg of Nikko Maple extract.  Which must have some appeal to somebody.

The outer shell is not very refined, but that does not detract unduly from the mouth feel.  The initial flavor notes are blueberry, sweet, and mild Elmer's glue.  Nothing bad there, but also nothing to knock one's socks off (unless one wears socks on one's tongue).

On crunching, the berry flavors intensify.  Not a strong blueberry flavor, but a nice fruity paste.  Speaking of paste, this thing really sticks to the tooth.

Not nearly as nice as the strawberry sweets, but eating one is a small and delicious price to pay for the dubious health benefits of real blueberries.

Ribon Noko Nama Ichigo Fresh Strawberry and Yogurt Candy

This filled sweet comes to us from Candybowl debutante, Ribon.  It comes in two flavors -- strawberry and yogurt.  If Candybowl reads the outer package correctly (a big if), this candy contains 50% fruit juice.  It also contains cream from Hokkaido.

Candybowl tried the strawberry first.  On sucking, the morsel released mild strawberry flavor and hints of honeysuckle.  The mouth feel was excellent, and Candybowl could have sucked it for a long time.  But the candy demanded to be bitten.

On crunch, the delicate candy shell gave way to a creamy center.  Shell and center melded into a nice facsimile of strawberry milkshake.  It left very little residue, possibly because Candybowl sucked so long.

Moving on to the yogurt candy, it released a refreshing yogurt notes and slight citrus flavor, almost like a lemon square.  On chewing, the strawberry center overwhelmed the yogurt flavor.  This time, the residue was a bit excessive but still pleasant because of the strong fruit flavor.

A respectable and very likable candy from Ribon,

UHA Tokuno Dense 8.2 Choco Candy

Here is another dense milk candy, this time from UHA.  Unlike the Senjaku Hokkaido candy recently reviewed on this blog, this one has chocolate.  And it makes a big difference.

Also unlike the Senjaku candy, the main ingredient in this confection is sugar. However, the second ingredient is starch syrup (which Candybowl assumes is like corn syrup). After that, it's milk, cream, chocolate, cream, condensed milk, butter, etc.

The form is not as elegant as UHA's cucu candies. This may owe something to the engineering required to get the choco into the dense milk.  Initial taste tests were excellent. Clean, fresh, sweet milk. The flavor is not terribly strong on sucking, but there are no off-notes to detract.

On chewing, it explodes with chocolate flavor, releasing a chocolate syrup that creates the confectionary illusion of a hot fudge sundae inside your mouth.  Wow. 

This is a very nice candy.  Try one now.

Senjaku Hokkaido High Concentration Milk Candy

Candybowl remains miffed that when a milk candy last graced the bowl, nobody took it. Things are different this time -- that package featured a cow, but this one does not.

The japanese character on the front of the packages means "dense." As in high-concentration. Not a description of the people who couldn't figure out that a cow signifies milk (not meat) flavor.

There's nothing fancy about this candy. Perhaps reflecting a Hokkaido peasant lineage, this milk candy is rough-hewn and unrefined in appearance.

The only taste is sweet, delicious milk. Looking at the ingredients list, it's clear why: this candy contains milk, whey, condensed milk, and cream. Indeed, if Candybowl reads the package correctly (a big if) it contains 35% milk. The candy loses marks for having corn syrup as its main sweetener, but there's nothing unnatural in the flavor.

The crunch is very nice, with an acceptable amount of gumminess. The flavor intensifies into notes quite reminiscent of vanilla ice cream. Mmm ... ice cream.

Mmmm.....

Kasugai Gokusho Shogi Low Calorie Candy

Here is a low-calorie candy from Kasugai. It comes in two flavors, grape and lemon.

Sugar free candies have vastly improved over the past few years, and this candy certainly follows that trend. It contains a low-calorie sweetener called erythritol. Candybowl is happy to try anything once, and is happy to report this sugar substitute gets it done.

Almost. The first reaction to the grape candy is "very tart." Artificial grape, like Now & Laters. It is clear that "no sugar" means no mercy from the sourness. But since they are just one calorie each Candybowl tried the lemon, which is supposed to be sour, and it was.

The crunch is fantastic. Chips slough off at the slightest contact with a tooth, and pulverize into a clean (and very tart) sand. No residue at all.

Good candy.

Kanro Changing? Candy

Leave it to the candy geniuses at Kanro to come up with such an unconventional boiled sweet. This changing candy offers three flavors -- grape, apple, or soda flavor followed by a plunge into unknown flavor territory.

Starting within the realm of the knowable, the apple candy tasted initially like apple. Not totally realistic apple flavor, but close enough and without some of the chemical notes that can afflict some artificial apple flavorings. Upon sucking, another fruit flavor, slightly more realistic, melted through. Candybowl will not say what it is, for it would then no longer be a surprise.

This morsel has a slightly rough appearance, but is smooth on the tongue. The crunch yielded no surprises, and left an acceptable amount of residue on the tooth. Having waited for the second flavor to come through on the sucking, Candybowl discerned no additional flavors in the center.

A fine offering from Kanro. Try one and see where it leads you.

UHA Matcha and Azuki CuCu Candy

As Candybowl has noted, UHA's Cucu line includes some of the most elegant hard candies around. So it was a pleasant surprise to find this Matcha and Azuki bean candy. Matcha is powdered green tea, and azuki is a red bean often used in Japanese desserts.

Initial flavor notes are very mild green tea and cream. Upon further sucking, slight notes of bean emerge. The crunch is, of course, excellent. This is where the bean flavor really shines, overtaking the tea and forming a delicious, earthy blend.

The package features a dog made out of cubes of candy. Why not?

Another great candy from UHA.

Sakuma Lemon Koritto

This lemon candy is understated, with its unassuming cellophane twist package. However, it ranks among the finest confections Candybowl has encountered.

It has an attractive triangular form, and is adorned with an "S," presumably for Sakuma. According to the diagram on the package, the outside is lemon flavor and the inside is "saku saku milk." (Before the mind starts racing, Candybowl would like to point out that online translation of sakusaku is "crispy.") It is mottled yellow because of its white filling.

This sweet is smooth on the tongue, releasing a pleasant, mild lemon flavor that reminds Candybowl of lemon italian ice. There are no odd notes, just natural lemon. Which is unsurprising, considering that one of the ingredients is lemon juice.

The candy crunches beautifully, releasing a burst of milky flavor. Although crispy milk usually is a sign of problems, in this case it completes a very nice candy. The added flavor note is not fresh milk; perhaps powdered or condensed would be a better analogy. A tiny but very stubborn lump on Candybowl's molar is the only thing keeping this candy from perfection.

An excellent debut from candymaker Sakuma.

UHA Puccho Budo & Ichigo Candy

This whimsical candy comes to us from UHA, makers of the elegant CuCu candies reviewed here. It comes in two flavors, strawberry (ichigo) and grape (budo).

As seen in the photo, out of the package it looks like a piece of cut taffy with jam in the middle. Or a very pale jam-filled cruller. Or a pig in a blanket where the pig is jam and the blanket is taffy.

Initial taste tests failed. This is a soft candy, and there's not much going on until it's chewed. Once chewed, it released flavor notes of sour, artificial grape/strawberry, bologna. and candle wax. And at the end, a piece of harder jelly filling.

Further inspection being needed. Candybowl took a fresh piece and nibbled away the white wrapper to reveal the jam center. Clearly, the wrapper is the source of the wax and bologna flavors. What Candybowl could not have predicted, however, was that the hard jelly filling is not like a sausage at all -- it's a series of small pellets. Those jelly pellets have the texture of a Rowntree Fruit Gum, and account for the burst of fruit flavor at the end.

In sum, an odd candy with some clever engineering, but far too flawed to receive high marks from Candybowl.

Iwasa Amazake Sweet Wine Candy

Although this is not the first time Candybowl has encountered an alcohol-flavored candy (for example, cabernet sauvignon candy), it still comes as a surprise every time a new one shows up. Candy and childhood seem so closely intertwined that adult candy seems wong.

There is very little wrong with this candy. It comes packaged in a relatively stark black and white wrapper -- no snorkeling dogs here. And its appearance is smooth and striated, like the delightful nama ume ame plum candies. It has the slightest point at the end, as though it was twisted off at the end like a sausage. On the tongue, it seems not so much rough (it is not smooth) as coated or frosted. All good, so far.

The initial flavor notes are as follows: sake. No surprise: zake = sake. That's it, like sipping a cold, sweet glass of sake. Maybe cheap sake (e.g., Ozeki), but this is a candy, after all. After a while the sake flavor recedes a bit, so on to the crunch test.

This is one tough candy to get a molar into. After a concerted effort, Candybowl managed to break it into several pieces. And those pieces, once crushed, re-formed into a hard and sticky lump. Loyal readers know how much Candybowl hates crud on his molars.

Elegant packaging, beautiful candy, a refined flavor, and a failed crunch test. So what's the final take? Try it yourself and see.

Senjaku White Soda Candy

With Japanese candies, form and flavor are not exactly life partners. Sometimes a very clever package holds a so-so candy, and vice-versa. Not so here -- this confection is wonderful inside and out.

The outer package and candy wrappers are alluring, adorned with shimmering blue and gold foil. The label boasts "three kinds of white soda flavors," white soda, grape and apple. (Although Candybowl denies that "white soda" can be a "kind of white soda flavor" this is not the place for such pedantry.)

The beauty carries through to the candy itself, which has a nice, smooth outer surface with a bit of powder coating. Unlike recent offerings, it is smooth on the tongue.

Candybowl doesn't like artificial apple, so naturally tried the apple flavor. Initial flavor notes include bubblegum, celery soda, urinal cookie and apple. Not artificial apple, but real red delicious apple. Unfortunately, the other flavor notes mask the apple flavor.

The crunch is as good as any candy reviewed here. Although this candy, like the Kasugai fruit sweets, contains baking soda, that is not apparent in the crunch. Nevertheless, this candy fractures wonderfully and leaves very little residue.

A fine effort from Senjaku Candy.

Chikuho Fruits Candy

This bag of mixed fruit boiled sweets has four flavors -- apple, lemon, strawberry, and ume (plum). Candybowl tried the strawberry and the ume.

The strawberry flavor gives off initial flavor notes of strawberry. Not real strawberry, but not totally artificial and actually quite pleasant. The outer surface is not perfectly smooth, but is pleasant on the tongue. So far so good.

Ume tastes inscrutable and mysterious. Not like a plum. Not like salted plum. Not plum. What is it? Try and see.

The crunch is acceptable, with the candy fracturing into small pieces that quickly deteriorate into a grainy mess that leaves too much gum on the molar. The flavors remain the same, a bit more intense, but notthing much to blog about.

A conventional effort from Candybowl debutante Chikuho.