Shorts

Japan is very much a consumer culture, so companies are always putting out new products to boost interest and sales. I think the consumer wins in this situation because there will always be something new to try. But there is a down side for bloggers… candy backlog! With so many products to try, and Pocky Watch still being young we have reached our first candy traffic jam. So these lovely candies don’t get passed by, we’ll be doing short reviews of each. To make things easy to find in the future, each short will be categorized by manufacturer and brand, but will not include number ratings. We will make sure to include whether or not we will repurchase.

Crunky Popjoy
Lotte is quickly becoming one of my favorite candy companies, but these balls of Crunky aren’t anything special. They’re about 3/4 of an inch across and about 1/2 an inch thick, so not huge, but not tiny. They’re exterior is waxy and unappetizing. Definitely would not buy again.

塩&キャラメル (Salt and Caramel) Kit Kat
Even more from Kit Kat! These bite sized wafers covered in chocolate are true to the Kit Kat brand, but a little ugly. The chocolate is tasty, and the interior is a lovely salted caramel wafer. The salt doesn’t hit you to the very end, but it’s perfectly balanced. I’m planning on repurchasing if they haven’t been discontinued.
Read Jen Ken’s Kit Kat Blog’s review of Salt and Caramel Kit Kat.

ぷっちょ (Puccho) Strawberry and Grape
This duo flavor bag contains both strawberry and grape flavored Puccho. The strawberry is a basic fake flavor, but it’s not very strong. The grape is fake, sweet and tart, but like the strawberry not very strong. I don’t dislike these, but they’re not unique enough for me to buy them again.

ポルテ (Porute)
I have no idea what a Porute or Polte is but it looks kind of like a chestnut. The candy is a cookie with a blob of “whip cream”, covered in bittersweet chocolate and cocopowder. Porute are about an inch at their widest point. The candy isn’t very sweet and the cream tastes like bland unsweetened whip cream. I’m not impressed with the thin chocolate or the texture of the cream. I wont be buying these again.

チロル (Tirol)
Tirol candies are available in tins, strips, and as individual pieces. I grabbed this assortment at a local 7-11 for about 30 yen apiece. Tirol’s website has a gallery of their flavors.

Milk – I was thinking that this little square would just be milk chocolate, but it is actually a white milky chocolate candy covered with a thin layer of milk chocolate. It was too sweet for me, so I don’t think I’ll get another one.

White & Cookie Crunch – I love Hershey’s Cookies n’ Cream bar, so I was very excited about this flavor. It lived up to expectations, but wasn’t anything special. The candy is white chocolate filled with chocolate cookies. I will buy again if I can find it.
Read Snack Love’s review of White & Cookie Crunch.

クリームあんみつ (Cream Anmitsu) – Based on a Japanese dessert, I found this candy underwhelming. The gel in the center had a nice texture, but the whole thing was a little bitter. Not getting this one again.
Read Japanese Snack Reviews’ review of Cream Anmitsu.

焼きなこもち (Toasted Kinako Mochi) – This was my favorite of the bunch, and I’ll admit to repurchasing. The exterior is kinako flavored chocolate and the interior is a thin slab of mochi. The chocolate contains puffed rice for a nice crunch, and the mochi is nice and chewy. Great balance of flavor and texture.

まっ茶もち入り (Matcha Mochi) – Similar to the Kinako Mochi, matcha (green tea) chocolate surrounds a mochi center. The mochi has the same texture, but I found the chocolate to be a little grainy. The flavor was true to matcha. I think if I was in the mood I would buy these again, but matcha is kind of a rare mood for me.
Read Tasty Jaan’s review of Matcha Mochi.