UHA Uji Matcha Azuki Milk CuCu

Without shame, I'll admit that the pictures of gorgeous marbled cubes on the front of this bag drew me in. Of course, the matcha flavor didn't hurt at all, since it never takes much convincing to make me buy matcha sweets. These were under $3 at a Japanese import grocery store.

The little cube dog on the bag said Cute Cube which is probably the origin of the name, CuCu. The candy is supposed to be a medley of Uji matcha, Hokkaido azuki, and condensed milk.


The candies were shaped like dice, and though they weren't quite as pretty as the picture on the bag (the actual white stripe was rather dull), they were still lovely candies. The matcha flavor was strong and immediate, with buttery and rich hints of condensed milk. There were some hints of azuki flavor, but they served the matcha well.

They never got sharp like some candies can, and they maintained their rounded cube shape throughout the entire smooth melt. The packaging was super cute, too, but I wish the wrappers were clear so that I could admire the marbled cubes in my candy dish. These were delicious, and I had no trouble eating 2 or 3 in a row. It's yet another example of matcha done well by UHA.

Check out another review at The Candy Bowl.

A

UHA website

Lion Kuma Chara Candy

The cute factor is something that greatly influences my shopping habits. These bear candies were provided by Tsunami.hk, but had I seen them in a store, I would have at least considered buying them because the bag is so cute.

There were four flavors: caramel, salt caramel, almond caramel, and honey caramel. When I was little, caramel hard candies (like Werther's Originals) were boring and for grown ups, but the bear shapes make these a little more kid-friendly.


Caramel was buttery, smooth, and surprisingly rich and milk for a hard candy. It did taste a bit like a Werther's Original, but because of the bear shape, the edges got sharp fairly quickly.

Salt Caramel, a trendy flavor from a couple years ago, smelled and tasted salty, and it was a nice variation from the regular caramel. It was salty throughout the whole melt, with the same creaminess.


Almond Caramel was very buttery and milk, and though it had tasty hints of roasted almonds, I would have liked a stronger almond flavor, perhaps with some cherry notes. As it was, it was hardly distinguishable from the regular caramel.

Honey Caramel immediately tasted like honey. It had the same creamy texture and melt, but the floral honey flavors went well with the caramel and really set this one apart. It was my favorite of the bunch!


May I just point out that the best part is the little round tail? How cute! Rather than rate these separately, I've given them an overall grade. These would probably please fans of caramels, hard candies, or bears.

A

Lion Website

UHA High Concentration Matcha Milk Candy

Another product included in the generous sample pack I received from Tsunami.hk was this UHA Matcha Milk candy. Despite my love of matcha, I had never tried these before - probably because the packaging never jumped out at me. Many UHA products (like Puccho) have eye-catching, colorful designs, but this Matcha candy is clearly marketed to adults. For the record, I'm an adult and colorful packaging full of cute mascots nearly always works on me.

When I opened them, I wasn't sure if they were chews or hard candy - they looked like they could go either way. After a tentative bite, it was obvious that they were hard candy. My memory could be failing me, but I think this is only my second true hard candy review.


The candies didn't have much of a smell, but they had an immediately rich and milky matcha latte taste. The flavor was very authentic; just like a thick matcha milk drink (despite containing artificial flavoring). The grassiness was well balanced with cream, and the sweetness was just right.

It's such a shame that the dull packaging put me off, because these are some of the best matcha hard candies I've ever had! The richness prevented me from having too many in a row (2 was plenty). I'm not much of a hard candy person (thanks to my dentist), but I don't think I'll have any trouble finishing these.

A

UHA website

Kanro Ramune and Cola Candy

I've never been big on hard candy, with the exception of two kinds: sour candy and fizzy candy. Both is even better. But actually, the first thing that drew me to these candies was the "cute bottle shape" advertised on the front of the bag. The fizz just sealed the deal.

There were four flavors in the pack (Ramune, cola, pineapple, and green apple), based on soda and Ramune flavors. The pineapple seemed especially exciting, because I was reminded of the pineapple Fanta I used to drink before it disappeared from the shelves of Target.


I was disappointed that the colors of the candy were so muted. The photo below is pretty accurate, and I had been expecting something a little more vivid. Still, as promised, the bottle shapes were very cute. Here is the rundown of the flavors.


Cola (brown) was first on my list, because I hadn't had any cola flavored candy in a long time.I'm surprised there isn't more cola candy in the USA, because Coke and Pepsi are so popular. Anyhow, the flavor was very typical for cola candy, like a super-sweet sip of cola. It was fruity and tart, and the fizzy texture mixed in with the hard candy was really fun, especially because the fizz foamed in my mouth. My only complaint is that the hole in the center (presumably for the fizzy stuff) made the candy get a little sharp (as in cut the roof of my mouth) as I ate it.

Pineapple (yellow) was such a disappointment. It tasted like a white gummy bear or a cheap sucker, in that the pineapple flavor was dull and hardly tart at all. It was not a true pineapple flavor at all, with maybe too much pina colada influence. The fizz was still fun, but this one lacked the little bit of sour bite that the cola had.

When I bought these, I didn't really look at the flavors hard, and just assumed the pale green was melon (common in Japanese candy). Unfortunately, it was actually green apple. The favor was a decent fake apple, though my experience with apple soda is limited.

Ramune (blue) was last, and for those not familiar, Ramune is a popular Japanese soda with a lemony flavor. The candy was like the soda - fizzy and sour. I tasted lemon and lime, and was really pleased with the tartness.

The cola and Ramune flavors really stood out for me, even though the other two weren't bad. I would probably buy these again, but I have had better soda fizzy candy overall (such as the Kasugai Jiwa Jiwa soda candies).

B, but cola and ramune alone would get an A-.

Lion Cream Soda Candy

In Japan, the term cream soda refers to melon cream soda. Personally, I am a big fan of melon soda, because there's something very exciting about a neon green beverage (like Ecto Cooler). These candies were purchased for me by my sister, and were made by a company called Lion. I've linked their website at the end of the review, so if you visit, prepare yourself for an onslaught of cute.

As with many imported snacks, there was a large nutrition label pasted over half of the package, so I couldn't really see any of the candy description. The little blurb the front says it's pleasantly creamy, more or less.


The open package had a vague melon aroma, and the candies themselves were individually wrapped and were about the size of a Jolly Rancher. Maybe if I had been able to get the nutrition label off I would have known, but these were fizzy candies! I was pleasantly surprised by the fizziness, and the flavor was exactly like melon soda. If you've never tried it, it tastes like honeydew melon in the same way that Sprite tastes like lemon.

The flavor was fantastic, sour, and bright. The candy wasn't creamy at all, but had a cream filling. However, it was so runny that as soon as there was an opening in the candy shell, it slid right out before I could taste it! The little bit I did sense was very weak, and was drowned out by the melon and the fizziness. It didn't add anything for me, and I would have rather the candy been solid melon soda all the way through. Still, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend these if you come across them, just don't expect the pleasant creaminess.

B+

Lion Website