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.

I’m not going to lie to you. Just as with my last review, I’m a little biased. Next to Pocky, Puccho is by far my favorite Japanese candy. It’s gotten to the point where I have to physically force myself to buy other candy.

What makes Puccho so perenially delightful? To start with, UHA (which stands astonishingly for Unique Human Adventure) releases new flavors at a rate only rivaled by Nestlé’s Kit Kat brand. I’ve been buying flavors rather regularly, trying not to repeat myself, and I’ve come no nearer to trying them all than when I started. Sadly, this summer’s flavors (including the fantastic 塩レーモン [Salty Lemon]) are moving off the shelf, leaving me to review two of my favorite flavors, コーラ [Cola] and ソーダ [Soda].

Puccho packaging is, in a word, adorable. Ten foil-wrapped Pucchos gather in a brightly colored pack.  I’m a sucker for mascots, and Puccho’s emoticon-esque gummies, a different one for each flavor, are some of my favorites. When plastic phone danglers started to come with the candy a few months ago, I was sure to pick it up.

Similar to Hi-Chew or a softer Starburst, Puccho is at its heart a chewy candy, although never with the boring fruity flavors of those American lines. The genius, or at the very least odd, twist of Puccho is the inclusion of tiny flavored gummy balls, small enough to swallow without notice, or, if one is so inclined, to bite into several smaller pieces. They’re fun, and, even after you’re on your fiftieth pack, unexpected.

Cola and Soda are both part of Puccho’s しゅわ [fizzy] line, as easily noticed by the maru in the ‘pu’ being replaced by a glass of 1950s American soda. The fizziness is readily apparent. As soon as you start chewing, little fizzy pellets make their presence known on your tongue, like chalky Pop Rocks, or an Alka-Seltzer. The effect doesn’t last long, but it does add to the illusion that you’re drinking soda pop.

The candies themselves taste surprisingly, to an American brought up on ‘banana’-flavored candy, like the things they represent. Soda feels like sweetened, slightly limon-y seltzer water from the fountain. Cola is a fair approximation of a flattened Coca Cola (not my preference—as a member of the Pepsi Generation—but this is Japan we’re talking about).

To my mouth, both are a little too bland to eat by themselves. I’d reccomend pairing one or the other with a fruit candy, or even chocolate. These are not my favorite Puccho flavors, but huge points have to be added for the fizzy pellets. Between those, the gummies, and the enjoyable candy itself, both flavors get a half-grudging thumbs-up. Perhaps the next flavors I review will leave me more inspired.

3/5

Read Candy Addict’s review of Cola Puccho.

Read Candy Blog’s review of Cola Puccho.

Buy Puccho from J-list.