UHA Fizzy Apple Cider Puccho

I know it's a little childish, but I can't resist bright colors and fizzy candy. Puccho delivered on both accounts with Fizzy Apple Cider, and they even threw in a cute mascot. Look at Captain Pu from the wrapper! I can't get over how adorable it is!

Cute gimmicks aside, Puccho is sort of like a kid cousin to the more famous Hi-Chew. It has a similar chewy texture, and lively fruit flavors, but Puccho also has firm jelly pieces to enhance the chew. This variety even has fizzy candy bits, too!


The candy smelled faintly of apples, but thankfully, not in an artificial way. The main chew tasted like apple juice, and the little Puccho jelly beads didn't seem to add much flavor. The fizzy balls, however, had a sour apple flavor at first, becoming sweeter as they dissolved.

The texture in general was firm, but not uncomfortable to chew. It was a bit rubbery, but that's pretty typical for Puccho and similar fruit chews. I was pleased with the apple flavor, and of course, the fizzy bits. Puccho is always fun to eat, so even though I'm not big on apple candy, this flavor was enjoyable.

B+

Puccho website

Tirol Christmas House!!

Unfortunately, my little blogging hiatus has resulted in me posting a Christmas chocolate review in February. At least I managed to get my Christmas decorations down in January this year. Still, Tirol does tend to repromote flavors, so just file this one away just in case any of these come back in the future.


But how could I just skip something so cute? This is Tirol's Christmas House!!, and it was part of a Christmas present from a friend. I hope I captured the interactive nature of the box with all these pictures. The door on the side swings open to reveal Santa in the fireplace, which opens to allow the chocolates to slide out.

Three flavors were included in the pack: Gateau Chocolat, Strawberry Shortcake, and Cheesecake, each in their own shiny wrapping paper. Getting the chocolates out of the chimney involved a bit of shaking, capturing yet another part of the Christmas experience. So clever!


Cheesecake had a salty, slightly tart flavor that was reminiscent of cheese with a hint of lemon. The white chocolate was soft and a bit buttery. There was a crunchy biscuit inside, but it was only for texture and didn't seem to have any flavor. This was the blandest of the three flavors.


Strawberry Shortcake had a tart strawberry flavor with a slightly sour, yogurty flavor that was probably supposed to represent the cream on shortcake. It missed the mark. Just like Cheesecake, the biscuit in the center provided crunch without flavor.


Thankfully, there was one stand out flavor in this bunch: Gateau Chocolat. The chocolate coating was bitter and had a nice snap, and the crunchy chocolate biscuit in the middle actually seemed to add to the chocolate flavor. The best part was the layer of fudgey goo on top of the biscuit - it seemed almost like a ganache. I wish the whole box had been made up of this flavor. On it's own, it would be an A.

B

Tirol website

Fujiya LOOK Baskin Robbins

It's been a while! Sorry for being so quiet. I'd like to say that I've been too busy with work and graduate school to post, but the truth is, I've had free time, I've just been doing other things. I did notice some new followers, so thanks for being patient with me!

Getting back into the swing of things, I thought I'd give LOOK chocolate another try. LOOK has been hit or miss; their French- and Italian-themed collections were fantastic, but their plain chocolates left a lot to be desired. This is the Baskin Robbins collection, so naturally, the four flavors are ice cream inspired.


It's fitting to start off with Jamocha Coffee because the coffee flavor seemed to find its way into many of the adjacent chocolates. On its own, it was all right. The milk chocolate went well with the mild coffee flavor, and it definitely reminded me of a blended iced coffee drink.

Strawberry Cheesecake had a slightly tart berry flavor with a hint of yogurt. It didn't really taste like cheesecake, but it was still tasty. As I mentioned, I think there was some flavor mingling going on, because some of the Strawberry Cheesecake pieces had a weird and off-putting coffee note.

Matcha, always the flavor I look forward to the most, had a slight bitter matcha flavor, but it was so subtle that it was easily overwhelmed by the milk chocolate. It was disappointing. One of the Matcha pieces tasted like coffee, too.

Vanilla had a sweet fake vanilla flavor. It was pretty standard fare, but the coffee essence seeped into a couple of these pieces, too. It wasn't too bad for this flavor.

Overall, when the non-coffee flavors didn't taste like coffee, they were fine, but flavor mingling was an issue in this package (even though they were well within the expiration date). It didn't happen to every piece, but I'm thinking the fresher you can get these, the better.

C+

LOOK website

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

Poca Nori Seaweed Chips

Here's yet another product kindly provided by my globe-trotting boss. This time, she and her husband went to Vietnam for a vacation filled with hiking and kayaking, but they also spent some time in larger cities. One of the snacks she brought back to share with the office was seaweed flavored potato chips.

Seaweed isn't a strange flavor to anyone familiar with Japanese snacks, and the dominant flavor in seaweed snacks is typically salt. These particular chips were made by Lay's, which is called Poca in Vietnam. Several of my coworkers tried the nori chips, and most enjoyed them.


The chips got a bit damaged in transit, but not crushed too badly. They smelled salty and a bit sweet. The chips had the texture of Pringles (Lay's calls their version Stax). As expected, the seaweed chips mostly tasted salty, with just a hint of sweetness and a very faintly "fishy" aftertaste.

Overall, the flavor was very mild. The aftertaste was noticeable, but not unpleasant. I like seaweed, but even people who don't like it enjoyed these chips. They were pretty addictive!

B+

Pepsico website (Vietnamese)