Kanro Pure Lemon Cola

Pure is one of my favorite Japanese candy brands. If you like sour gummies, Pure is definitely worth a look. It's very cheap in Japan (around 100 to 120 yen, if my memory is correct), and pretty cheap in import stores in the USA, too. I bought this flavor at Mitsuwa Marketplace for just under $2.

Since I'm not a big soda drinker, I'm not sure if I've ever had actual lemon cola. I will have to give it a taste on my next Sonic run (preferable to committing to a 2-liter bottle or a 12-pack of cans).


These gummies did not smell good. The lemon scent seemed artificial and bordering on floor cleaner. Thankfully, they tasted much better than they smelled. Both the lemon and cola flavors were distinct and well-executed.

Both flavors were tart and tasty, and the gummies had that firm but chewy texture that I've come to love. The lemon cola flavor was different and fun, and these would be sure to please sour gummy fans.

A-

Pure website

Damian Allsop CH2OCOLATES Cinnamon & Lemon (Cola) Compact Bar

When my sister-in-law visited London, she said she took great care in finding me a special treat as a souvenir. She's such a sweetheart, and she found the perfect thing: chocolate made without cream and butter! She picked up this bar with the help of a gracious employee at Liberty, and it was made by Damian Allsop Chocolates.

The idea that such a thing exists had never even occurred to me, but this chocolate is made with water. In addition, the flavor combination of lemon, cinnamon, and cola felt fresh and unique. The chocolate was a lovely taupe color, freckled with cinnamon and popping candy.


The chocolate itself was firm with a light, soft melt. The first flavor I tasted was a mildly sour lemon. As the white chocolate melted, its flavor emerged, along with a hint of cinnamon, reminding me of a cinnamon roll. The white chocolate was unlike any other white chocolate I've had. It wasn't too sweet, and had a rich vanilla flavor that went well with the cinnamon.

Finally, the cola flavor was present in crunchy popping candy. It had a fruity, cola flavor with a hint of molasses, and the gentle popping candy made for a fun finish. The chocolate wasn't sticky and had a clean finish. The CD-style shape and packaging were cute, but with a product this tasty and unique, it felt like a bit much; the chocolate spoke for itself.

A

Damian Allsop Chocolates website

Morinaga Cola Hi-chew and Canned Pineapple Hi-chew Jr.

In the past, the flavors of Hi-chew Jr. that I've tried have had tiny, tooth-shatteringly hard sprinkles in them that make them too treacherous for me to enjoy. Thankfully, these two flavors of Hi-chew, provided by Tsunami.hk, were sprinkle free!

The yellow package of Hi-chew Jr. is Canned Pineapple flavored, and the small (but not Jr.) black package is Cola flavored. Both of these flavors are on the rare side in the United States, but both are flavors I enjoy.


The candy had a strong pineapple aroma, and as you can see, it was solid yellow instead of white on the outside like normal Hi-chew. It tasted like pineapple, but it was very sweet, which made it more like the canned variety. There were also hints of cherry and tropical flavors, making it quite authentic. A-


Cola had a good cola scent and flavor, but it seemed extra sticky. It may have been my imagination, but there was a slight fizz to this Hi-chew. The caramelly cola flavor was decent, but I've had better cola candy. More fizz would have made this one a winner for me. B

Morinaga website

UHA G Fresh Cola

I do wish cola was a more common candy flavor in the US. Haribo makes some good cola gummies but they are hard to find in my area. I had never tried G Fresh gummies before, so I picked these up at the Mitsuwa in Arlington Heights, IL during my recent trip.

These gummies seemed more like vitamins than candy. They claimed to be a source of both vitamin C and GABA. I had never heard of GABA before, but a little research told me that it is gamma-aminobutyric acid, a neurotransmitter naturally produced in humans that regulates muscle tone, among other things. I highly doubt the amount in this candy has a measurable effect.


First, let me point out the over-engineering of the bag - the tear slit was located between two ridges to ensure a straight rip. On the candies themselves, the sour powder on the surface almost looked like scales! The gummies smelled like sweet cola candy and were immediately sour on the tongue. I could taste the vitamin C really well. The actual gummy part was mild in flavor, with a slightly sour, syrupy cola taste.

The texture of the gummies was very firm, and almost a little too hard. They were made with agar-agar and not gelatin, but I don't think that was the cause of the firmness. The coating was much more sour than the inside, but overall, it made for a pleasantly tart cola flavor. They were quite addictive!

B+

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-.