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.