Meiji Yogurt Caramels

Welcome to part 2 of my caramel mini-series. You could say it's an unconventional caramel series, because part 1 was matcha, and today is yogurt. As for part 3, all I can say right now is that the flavor is even weirder. To be honest, I'm still a little scared of them.

Although Meiji is a dairy company, I had never heard of Meiji caramels when I purchased these at Mitsuwa marketplace (near Chicago). The size and shape of the packaging, while not identical, is very similar to Morinaga's, and I'm sure it's no accident. In addition, even though there's no mention of Calpis on the package, the blue polka dots look a little familiar...


Meiji's caramels are just barely smaller than Morinaga's, and were wrapped in wax paper (complete with cute face) instead of foil. The yogurt caramels didn't have a strong scent, but the taste jumped right out at me. Surprisingly, they tasted a lot like classic bubble gum at first, but as I chewed, the flavor become more what I expected.

They tasted a lot like Calpis and a bit like Yakult (a Japanese yogurt drink) - slightly milky with a yogurt and citrus tang. The texture got a little grainy as I chewed, and just a bit like plastic (just the texture, not the taste), but I did like how they weren't too sticky. I liked these, but they didn't have that addiction factor.

B

Meiji website

Meiji Strawberry Yogurt Kinoko no Yama

The strawberry fest continues! This pack of Kinoko no Yama came from a variety pack along with a bag of plain, and bags of plain and strawberry Takenoko no Sato. The kinoko were cuter, so I chose to review them.

Strawberry isn't even one of my favorite flavors, but it's so readily available, seemingly year round. Pink chocolate sure makes for cute snacks, so as long as the flavor is good, I don't mind.


All of the flavors of Kinoko no Yama I've tried so far have been tasty. The texture balance is great, with the crunchy cracker and the smooth chocolate. The chocolate is a little on the sweet side, but the cracker helps to nullify some of that.

The strawberry flavor was light and fruity. I didn't really get the sense of yogurt from it, but I was pleased with the taste. Yet another good Kinoko no Yama flavor! The little bag only had about 6 pieces in it, if I remember correctly, and while that's excellent portion control, I wanted more!

A-

Meiji Website (Japanese)

Morinaga Strawberry Yogurt Hi-Chew

NOTE: Kelly has informed me that Morinaga has issued a recall on some flavors of Hi-chew, as they may contain pieces of rubber gloves. Here's an English article about it, which contains a link to a Japanese article. The flavors being recalled are grape and green apple with expiration dates in June 2009. Thanks to Kelly, and please take care, everyone.


I am a big fan of Hi-chew. The texture is great, and to date, there has only been one flavor (out of at least 10) that I have tried and not liked. That flavor was watermelon, by the way, and it tasted like cucumber. I like cucumber, but not in chewy candy form. Anyhow, I found some of my notes on this flavor and thought I should post the review.

The packaging is cute and fun, as usual, and caught my eye. I didn't buy this, though, a friend of mine did and she gave me a few so I could review them. This is how I get a lot of my candy.



Strawberry yogurt (the real thing) is delicious, and even though these weren't quite as delicious, they were pretty good. The strawberry flavor was nice and tart and pretty authentic. The yogurty sourness was also good, but I think I'd rather have plain strawberry Hi-Chew, if given the choice.

B+

Morinaga Website (Japanese)

Calpis Softcandy

Calpis is one of my favorite Japanese beverages. It's a yogurt flavored, non-carbonated soft drink. You can buy it some places in the United States, but they call it "Calpico Water" over here because Calpis sounds like...something else. Apparently, Calpis is short for karada ni pi-su (peace to [your] body), so I'm not sure where Calpico comes from. Anyhow, there are yogurt flavored versions of Hi-Chew and other candies that taste just like Calpis, but this candy was put out by Calpis itself. I'd also like to point out that the package says "CALPIS" soft candy will always be enjoyed by you.

The package is simplistic, but elegant. I suppose that means they're going after a more mature market than Hi-Chew or Pucho. Unfortunately, this soft candy doesn't have a nice texture like Hi-Chew. It is much chewier and stickier, and after chewing for just a little bit, it gets kind of gritty, and that's not pleasant.

On the bright side, the flavor is great and exactly like the Calpis beverage. However, so do other yogurt flavored candies, so I think I will stick to those.

C+

Calpis Website (Japanese)