Puccho and Ramune are two iconic summer treats in Japan. Puccho is a chewy candy (think Starburst) that is known for the gummi pieces worked into it for extra chew. This particular variety is flavored like melon Ramune, an extremely popular Japanese soft drink.
The bottle is very cool. It’s a blue plastic tube that stands upright, and it’s curvy, like four bubbles that have been stacked upon one another. The illustrations on the packaging show the Puccho characters smiling and winking at you as they balance deftly on clouds of Ramune fizz. For those of you who are unfamiliar, Ramune is a very popular soda brand in Japan and is a quintessential drink for the hot summer months. What would be better to make into a gummi candy that can’t melt in the summer heat?
The candies are very small and cone shaped, about the size of a semi sweet mini chocolate morsel. There are two separate pieces, one blue that’s Ramune flavored and one green which is melon flavored. The pieces are VERY chewy, but before it gets to be too annoying it begins to soften and give. Very nicely timed. The flavor has the zest of Ramune, which is like a soft Sprite or 7Up and has a certain zestyness to the aftertaste which sort of simulates the carbonation of a soda. The melon has a light, almost bubble gum sort of taste to it, and levels out to a fruity cantaloupe flavor. It strikes me as odd how something melon ends up tasting like bubblegum, but it does. Strange.
Flavoring confusion aside, I really, really enjoyed these. I liked how tiny and dainty the candies were. The flavors are pleasant and the texture just dances in your mouth as you chew it slowly. The only thing that alleviates the sadness of finishing all of them is the fact that I can go order a case of them!
Buy Puccho online:
- at JBox.com
Interesting. I shall have to try this. I love Japanese candies. :)
September 12th, 2007 at 11:16 amI just ordered these from jlist! They look interesting =)
September 17th, 2007 at 6:31 pm