Kabaya 5-Flavor Umami Candy (Sozai no Umami Ame)

If you listen to the Splendid Table on NPR, you may loathe hearing the words "Umami is the so-called fifth taste."  Umami is the indescribable flavor found in mushrooms, tomatoes, meats, soy sauce, and yes, MSG.  So it was quite a surprise to find a bag of candies with the words "umami candy" on the front.

This candy, from newcomer Kabaya, has five flavors: soy sauce, matcha (green tea), ginger, brown sugar, and sesame.

Searching for the Umami, Candybowl dove in straight for the Shoyu flavor.  The initial flavor note is reminiscent of a red tea candy.  But after a moment, the soy sauce flavor kicks in.  Oh baby.  Put soy sauce on a sugar cube, and this is it.  On crunching, the flavor gets more complex, with notes of brown sugar and even pecan pie.  Complex and yummy.

Next, Candybowl went for the Matcha. Earthy, grassy, and delicious, almost the equal of the Ujinotsuyu tea candies featured on the candybowl oh-so-long ago.  A bit less complex, but very very nice.

Sesame was just as delightful.  The initial flavor notes are reminiscent of the black sesame soup sometimes served as a dessert in Hong Kong.  But chewing brings in flavors of toasted sesame seeds (there are real black and tan sesame seeds).  And -- dare I say it -- the fifth flavor.  Mmmmmmm!

The crunch is excellent, dissolving quickly and leaving a small amount of delicious gum on the tooth.

How can you possibly go wrong with this candy -- lovely, realistic flavors and an excellent texture?  And soy sauce to trick the unwary!  Candybowl is in love.  (Also riding a bit of a sugar high, but in love nonetheless.)

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.

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.