As I was perusing the massive Hershey booth at the All Candy Expo, I was surprised to see what appeared to be bags of soft licorice among the typical Hershey offerings, mostly of the chocolate variety. Much to my chagrin, however, everything was under lock and key and I had no idea what exactly these new licorice confections might be. When we finally met with the Hershey representative, she explained that they were launching a new line of soft eating licorice. Naturally, I immediately asked for samples but was disappointed to learn that they didn’t have any available at the show. I was promised a shipment as soon as they were available and went home hoping that day would come quickly.

Needless to say, I was overjoyed to receive a box containing a very nice box and a package of each flavor: black licorice, strawberry, and peach mango. Naturally, being a black licorice fan, I opted to try that one first.

As I started to rip open the bag, I noticed something that both shocked and surprised me… resealable bags! Oh my god! No more folding over the tops of opened bags only to pick them up the wrong way and have the contents dump all over the ground. No more stuffing myself to finish a bag just so they won’t get stale. It’s a revolutionary breakthrough! Ok, so it’s actually just the candy industry catching up to the pet food industry (do dogs really need to have zipper protected kibble?), but it was a beautiful thing nonetheless. Anyway, on to the tasting….

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The Jolly Rancher Passion Mix bag is going to make some of you very, very happy – because while it does not contain the Holy Grail of Jolly Rancherness (that would be the lemon flavor), it does contain the second best flavor: peach! In my earlier post about the Classic Mix of Jolly Rancher flavors, several comments lamented the demise of the peach flavor. Good news, Candy Addicts, it’s here in all its artificial peachy delicious goodness!

The Passion Mix bag is comprised of five flavors:

Fruit Punch: A strong, delicious flavor of the fruit punch drinks we had as a kid and wish we could justify as an adult. The color is exactly right, too – not as red as a cherry flavor nor as pink as a strawberry, it’s got that beautiful dark pink color we’ve all grown to associate with fruit punch.

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I have a crush. I can’t stop thinking about it. I’ll be driving my car or typing away at work or sweating in the middle of a Pilates class when suddenly, wham! I’ll picture the object of my affection and my eyes will glaze over a bit. I smile just enough that one would assume I’m daydreaming about Clive Owen again. But sorry, Clive. You’ve got some competition and the name is Damla.

Damla, a Turkish import, is a taffy-like fruit flavored candy with a delicate gel center. Each piece comes individually wrapped and the flavors – apple, cherry, orange, peach and strawberry – are clearly labeled with darling little illustrations on their wrappers. The candy has a bit of a chew, but nothing that will destroy a filling. Actually, it takes on a lovely melty consistency after a bit of chomping.

And oh, the health benefits! The candy touts its fat-free status and at less than 20 calories per piece, I can easily justify eating five at a time for my daily empty calorie snack.

Is it worth it, you ask? Am I blinded by candy lust? Here’s the flavor breakdown:

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I was a little confused when a colorful package from the people at POP! arrived on my doorstep. I’d checked out the website before they were sent, and the product information describes them as a “delectable frozen confection.” It’s true, they arrived beautifully boxed and carefully nestled in foil cold packs But when I opened the box, I found an assortment of fudgy-popcorn treats, not ice cream, as I’d been expecting.

Still, I wasn’t about to turn up my nose to these lovely chocolatey little globes, so I decided to just assume the makers of POP! want me to enjoy them cold (even if they wouldn’t melt at room temp), and leave it at that.

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Happy White Day everyone! Whether you know it or not, today is a day when men who were given chocolate by women on Valentines Day return the favor. So of course Glico has released a set of Decorer Pocky especially for these two love oriented days. Now getting a gift for your special someone is just a convenience store away. How could you resist this classic and convenient treat with it’s pretty box decorated with hearts, to show your affection?

We’re all familiar with Decorer Pocky and these two newcomers are no different in format but are very different in flavor:

Chocolate: The chocolate is flavorful, but not overly so. I was expecting an overload of chocolate because the coating looks so rich and thick. How misleading! Aside from that, it’s a good mild chocolate which is very thick and creamy and melts well in your mouth.

Peach: Tastes of “white peach” that you often find in juice and fruit gummi. It’s very fresh and not artificial tasting at all. The flavor is light, fruity and sweet with floral notes to it. It’s amazing how different the flavor is from the US versions. Very tasty.

I recommend picking these up if you see them, regardless if you’re buying them for yourself, that special someone, or are lucky enough to receive “in thanks” as I did.

• “White Day” on Wikipedia.org
• Pocky Website
• Decorer Pocky Index
• List of currently available Pocky

Buy Decorer Pocky online:

• at Jbox.com
• at asianfoodgrocer.com

candy, sweets, Japan, Japanese, foreign, Pocky, chocolate, peach