Kasugai Cafe au Lait Season

Japanese confectioners' affinity for coffee candies goes back decades. Not content merely to produce "coffee flavor," manufacturers produce a range of flavors , like Blue Mountain and Sumiyaki charcoal roast. Kasugai is no exception although, as here, their reach sometimes exceeds their grasp.

This mixed bag of candies contains four coffee varieties -- Austria, France, Italy, and "Barugi" ( バルギー). Being that sort, Candybowl tried France, with a taste of Barugi to round out the picture.

France started with pleasant notes of cafe au lait, but delivered more complexity neither with the passage of time, nor upon chewing. Barugi tasted almost the same, but sweeter, almost like a sweetened Turkish coffee.

These candies are big, in the same league as Flower's Kiss or the oafish Hirano candies. Candybowl does not say a candy has failed the crunch test lightly, but this one most certainly did. Kasugai should be proud to associate itself with gummy candy, but not this kind of gummy. If you have fillings, eat at your own risk.

The slogan on the bag says "the taste makes me sense the season." Perhaps Candybowl now knows what the season of discontent tastes like.

Ujinotsuyu Kyo-Ame Green Tea

These handmade green tea candies come to us from Japanese tea manufacturer Ujinostsuyu. So they ought to taste like tea, especially since they contain just three ingredients: sugar, millet jelly, and tea. And they do taste more like tea than any candy that has graced the candybowl (althugh the insipid red tea candies came close).

The confections come in four tea varieties, each a popular type of Japanese tea.

Candybowl tried Genmaicha, a blend of tea and roasted rice. Perhaps Candybowl was expecting some variant of the buttery green tea flavor found in green tea ice creams, and in Kasugai's green tea candies. Whatever was expected. this candy delivered something different: a dry, slightly bitter, green tea flavor with distinct leafy notes, along with cereal notes (probably the rice). While the flavor is certainly more reminiscent of real tea leaves than most green tea candies, one might question whether it is a flavor well suited for a confection.

These candies are hand made. The human touch ends only after the candy has been poured and kneaded by hand (see step 3). As a result of all of this loving care, the external appearance is alluring, with a tight ball-of-twine appearance similar to nama ume ame candies.

The crunch is excellent, with each bite fracturing off a piece from the whole without undue effort. It is here, with the sugar fully extended across the palate, that the natural tea flavor finds its purchase. The candy leaves a bit too much residue on the tooth, but that is not a disqualifier.

Altogether an interesting and tasty candy.

Lotte Drink Mix Candy

Candybowl first encountered Korean snack company Lotte in the early 1990's. They specialize in making knock-offs of famous candies, crackers, and cookies. It is therefore fitting that Lotte should be the ones to manufacture (apparently licensed) candies based on famous Japanese soft drinks.

Candybowl tried the CC Lemon, Bikkle, and Dekavita flavors.

CC Lemon should taste sour and lemony. But the candy version lacked real lemon flavor, and had an off note that Candybowl could not identify. Abrasive cleanser? Lemon Joy? Not good. And not sour, either.

Bikkle is a yogurt drink, The sweet's initial flavor, however, is of cotton candy. And although there was a slight sourness suggestive of yogurt, every time Candybowl tried to think of yogurt, memories of cotton candy rushed to the fore. The yogurt flavor did make a strong showing during the crunch test.

Dekavita had a nice citrus tone to it, but more off notes. Further citrus-scented household products came to mind. But the flavor was pleasant enough, and had a kind of sparkle on the tongue that compensated for some of the strange flavor notes.

None of the candies fared well in the crunch test. These boiled sweets fractured nicely, but then left an excessive amount of goo on the tooth.

These sweets have received good reviews from certain eaters, but Candybowl is not feeling a whole Lotte love.

UHA Cucu Jiyugaoka Pudding Candy

This candy, has two names. In English, it's "Cucu Pudding". In Japanese, it's自由か丘 which, according to online translation, means "Freedom Hill." (Candybowl can say for sure that "自由" means freedom.)

The package promises the flavors of "custard pudding and bitter caramel" and it delivers. The first taste will be familiar to those who fondly recall Hunt's Pudding Cup. But no hint of artificial flavor, or any of the play-doh notes that can afflict even confections made with real milk.

The excellent fracture reveals the slight bitterness promised by the package. The cube is slightly smaller than other candies but, since this is part of UHA's Cucu line, the rest of the crunch test basically writes itself. A bit of gum on the tooth, but otherwise this is a very refined candy.

One more thing. This candy contains caffeine extract.

Which all leads to the question, why "freedom hill"? Anyone?

Postscript 6/25/09

Jiyugaoka is a neighborhood in Tokyo's Meguro district. There is a theme park called the Jigukayoka Sweets Forest, from the people who brought you the Curry Museum, Osaka Noodles City and Gyoza Stadium. Sweet.

Kanro Natury Berry

Followers of the Candybowl (the blog, not the person) may be excused for thinking that far too much praise is heaped upon Kanro. Yet denizens of the Candybowl (the bowl, not the blog or the person) realize this is because their candies are so delicious. Hirano may deliver bulk, and Kasugai certainly has the distribution network. But Kanro can-do.

This is a soft candy, and the form factor will be immediately recognizable to those who chew Ice Breakers gum.

The initial taste impression, without chewing, is of light fruit perfume. Like smelling a peach (which, as an aside, would be a great title for a collaboration between the Allman Brothers and Spinal Tap). But this is a soft candy, not a boiled sweet, so pre-mastication flavor is hardly the end-game.

Biting into the candy, the perfume continues, but augmented by sour cranberry and general sweetness. This may be because the candy contains chips of dried cranberry and globs of real honey. And real cream. The finish is clean -- to quote Shelley, "nothing beside remains."

A sublime candy. Try it while they last.

Kanro Yuzu Tea Candy (Hachimitsu Yuzu Cha Ame)

This delightful treat is made from yuzu, a citrus fruit peculiar to Japan. Candybowl has never had real yuzu, but is informed that its peel is often used as a garnish, or steeped in water to make a tea.

Unsurprisingly, the initial flavor notes are of citrus, reminiscent of lemon zest. The candy also has a very slight menthol flavor, which Candybowl found very slightly off-putting. Overall, however, the flavor is pleasant.

The center has a more intense flavor, probably because it is made with genuine yuzu peel. It has some solids in it, but the texture is still quite clean. Like most of Kanro's candies, the candy shell has a good crunch with an acceptable amount of residue on the tooth.

Ever-innovative Kanro printed a sweetness/sourness gauge on the package. This confection ranks neutral on sweetness, but "+1" sourness. Sounds about right.

This morsel made Candybowl feel like the Japanese candy industry will never run out of new and delicious ideas. Maybe it will do the same for you(zu).

Kasugai Black Candy

Candybowl is calling it -- the Japanese candy market has become obsessed with brown sugar. And Kasugai is riding the trend with this pleasant morsel.

This candy contains sugar and brown sugar and, it seems, very little else. For reasons which should mostly be clear, it tastes like slightly burned brown sugar. This is a double-edged sword -- on one hand, the caramel flavor is deliciously reminiscent of foods ranging from creme brulee to toasted marshmallows, but on the other hand, it tastes a little burned.

The piece is large, crushes nicely and does not leave an undue amount of residue on the tooth.

The back of the package removes any doubt about what this candy is and how come it tastes so good (like a Black Sugar Candy should).

If you could see this clearly (apologies), you would see the entire process, from sugar cane to boiler, to factory, onto a Kasugai truck, and into the mouths of happy children.