Candy Blog

I couple of months ago I went on a buying spree in Little Tokyo and bought this Meiji Milk Chocolate bar. I photographed the packaged but then ate it without taking a picture of the contents. After consuming it, I thought, I should really review this.

I don’t know much about Meiji as a company. Everything I know about them is what I have experience interacting (eating) their products that I can get a hold of in the United States. I don’t know their politics, I don’t know how the Japanese regard the products and company and I don’t know anything about their history (except that they’re over 80 years old). It’s kind of a strange approach for me, as I often like to immerse myself with a lot of context when it comes to candy.

Late last year Meiji’s chocolate bar line got a new look. (Here’s what the package used to look with along with Orchid64’s review and some other more professional evaluations of the redesign.) Here’s another view of their classic-style packages.

I loved their old wrapper, but I have to say, I really dig the new one. I like the font but what I really enjoy is the bold simplicity; partly because what’s inside is simple and partly because it stands out so well amongst the very chaotic and colorful candy packaging common in Japan.

The ingredients are great: sugar, cacao mass, whole milk powder, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, artificial flavor.

The bar measures 6.25” long and 2.75” wide. There are 15 segments - five across and three down. They don’t really do much besides provide visual interest - I found the bar broke into pieces wherever it felt like, not along the supposed section dividers. Under the embossed paper sleeve the bar is wrapped in a rather thin and devilish foil. I found it difficult to get the bar out and even worse to get it back in. (Basically I just re-wrapped it the best I could and put it in a zipper plastic bag for later consumption.)

In Japan the bar is about a dollar, so it’s like the Hershey bar in that it’s widely available and cheap. (In the US I paid twice that though, $1.99 in Little Tokyo.) The bar is bigger than a Hershey’s Milk Chocolate which is 1.55 ounces and the Meiji Milk Chocolate is 2.04 ounces.

The flavor is deep and smoky. It’s much darker than ordinary milk chocolates, but also much less milky. It has charcoal and cocoa overtones, it reminds me of chocolate pudding I make at home - which is often very low in sugar and very high in chocolate (usually a mix of chocolate and cocoa). The melt is cool and exceptionally smooth - smoother and more consistent than Dove. It was actually comparable in mouthfeel to Amano’s Milk Chocolate bars. It’s thick but not sticky, silky but not greasy.

The toasty caramel and charcoal notes have a bitter aftertaste that’s quite pronounced. I enjoyed it quite a bit and found no problem eating a whole bar in one sitting. It’s not for everyone, but I applaud the good use of ingredients, fresh and unique flavor profile and decent price. The bar is extremely fatty - it clocks in at 167 calories per ounce, which is much higher than many milk chocolate bars which are known to be very sugary - but there’s also 15% of your calcium in each serving, 6% of your Vitamin C & Iron plus 2 grams of protein.

I’m willing to continue spending $2 for this bar and seeking it out in Japanese markets.

Related Candies

1. Cool Honey Altoids
2. Al Nassma Camel Milk Chocolate
3. UK vs US Cadbury Dairy Milk
4. Nestle Milk Chocolate
5. Milka Alpenmilch
6. Villars Swiss Milk Chocolate

This bright yellow box holds a bar of Pierre Herme Chocolat Noir Pure Origine Sao Tome a la Fleur de Sel. I got it from my friend Ernessa, who was traveling in France and never forgets to pick me up something special. This is a special bar.

The bar is slightly smaller than the usual 100 gram (3.5 ounce) tablet. It’s 80 grams and 2.82 ounces, which in my book is two perfectly proportioned servings. Inside the box the bar is presented in a simple cellophane sleeve that’s a little oversized so putting the bar back in it is easy.

The chocolate ingredients are simple. It’s a 75% cacao bar made from single origin beans, sugar, cocoa butter, hand-harvested French sea salt, non-genetically modified soy lecithin and natural vanilla extract. The beans of Sao Tome are known for their bold and rich taste, which has echoes of charcoal, roasted nuts and coffee.

The bar has a good bit of cocoa butter in it so it has a nice melt on the tongue. The flavor is intense and just barely sweet, even before the little bits of sea salt come out to play.

The flavor is deep and woodsy with a light coffee note and scent of baked brownies. The salt give it a little pop and actually makes it seem sweeter at times. The buttery texture is a little bouncy but keeps the dry finish from going bitter.

I’ve tried a few other Sao Tome bars before and found them rather intense but lacking nuance and buttery texture. This bar is nothing like that - it’s soft and approachable and incredibly munchable for a 75% bar. If I’m ever in Paris or Tokyo, I’ll definitely sample more of the Pierre Herme chocolates (and of course the macarons they’re known for).

Related Candies

1. Amano Dos Rios 70% Chocolate
2. Amadei
3. Domori Cru
4. Amano Single Origin Bars: Madagascar & Ocumare
5. Michel Cluizel Les 1ers Crus de Plantation
6. Dagoba Single Origin

Starting this month there are two new Tic Tac flavors on store shelves. Tic Tac Power Mint and Tic Tac Green Apple.

Tic Tacs are the world’s #1 selling breath mint. (Though really, only two of the current five regular flavors are mints, the rest are fruity.) They’ve been made in dozens of flavors and color combinations over the years, these new flavors are pretty ordinary but then again probably necessary.

They’re both exceptionally summery colors - bright green and aqua blue.

The samples I got were in the “Big Pack” which isn’t really that big, all things considered in the realm of candy portions. They’re one ounce of Tic Tacs in a clear plastic dispenser.

A few years ago Ferrero introduced Tic Tac Bold! They were stronger versions of Tic Tacs and came in translucent instead of clear plastic containers. They were good - obviously stronger than the regular Tic Tacs and meant to compete with Altoids. But the texture was different and they didn’t catch on.

This new Power Mint Tic Tac comes in the same packaging as the other Tic Tacs, which is great as far as I’m concerned since there’s no need to put them in a different box.

The blue color is inviting, though unnecessary. The regular white Freshmint has a light start with a vague anise note. The Powermint starts out that way as well, though goes to a strong peppermint much quicker. The mint is very strong, one Tic Tac goes a great job of powering through coffee breath. They’re not terribly sweet or chalky, just a quick chew to disperse the minty flavor. Sucking on them, they still dissolve the same however I got a very strong blast of mint there in the initial layers that burns.

Green Apple Tic Tac are surprising first of all because I thought there were green apples all along.

The texture starts with the same slick, smooth and cool shell. Then it gets a little tangy and a little flavorful underneath. I had especial trouble just letting these dissolve, I had to crunch them. The green apple flavor is exactly what you’d expect from a fake fruit. It’s sweet, chemical and lightly tangy. There’s no weird aftertaste but also not much freshening power to it. They don’t go with a lot of foods, like mint or coffee. But after an onion bagel, this might be a nice break.

Neither are my favorite Tic Tacs. I prefer the classic Freshmint and miss Cinnamon.

Related Candies

1. Tic Tac Pink Grapefruit
2. Cool Honey Altoids
3. Twilight Sweethearts: Forbidden Fruits
4. Mini Mentos: Orange, Apple, Lemon & Strawberry
5. VerMints
6. Tic Tac Bold!

Bubble Chocolate was introduced back in 2006 (original review) as the only American brand aerated chocolate. I reviewed it at that time but never saw it widely distributed.

Fast forward four years and Bubble Chocolate has a new look and a new formula. They went all natural (basically went to real vanilla instead of vanillin) and pared down the flavor offerings to just Milk Chocolate and Dark Chocolate.

The bars are large but not hefty. They come in a box with slanted sides (a severely truncated pyramid) and a nicely texture foil wrapping inside. The bars weigh 2.82 ounces but look far more substantial than that, because, well, there are a lot of bubbles in there.

The Bubble Chocolate Dark Chocolate Bar is 60% cocoa. It’s not terribly dark in color or content. The recommended serving is half of the bar, about 200 calories. I admit, it does feel pretty decadent to eat half of the bar and realize that it’s no more than a regular weight serving of chocolate.

The smell is kind of odd. It’s almost alcoholic, the vanilla notes are that strong. There’s also a hint of coconut.

The bite is easy and just slightly crumbly. It’s chalky in a way and cool on the tongue, but once it melts it doesn’t taste cheap or old. It’s just weird. The deep cocoa flavors never quite develop, it’s like the chocolate intensity of an unfrosted chocolate cake - soft and pillowy and sure, there’s cocoa in there. But the powerful fatty experience of the chocolate is rather lost on me, no rich puddles on the tongue of cocoa butter and cocoa solids.

The Milk Chocolate Bubble Chocolate Bar is much lighter looking but has a lovely gloss and good snap. There are 220 calories per serving in this version, I’m guessing because there’s less fiber in there ... its place is taken by sugar.

The bar doesn’t smell like much at all, a little like Cocoa Krispies. The texture is similarly light on the tongue and cool as it melts. The flavor is quite milky though not in the European or Swiss style, it’s more American. The cocoa flavors are muted and rather bland. There’s a little hint of caramel and malt but not much else from the chocolate.

Overall, I don’t know how different these are from the initial versions that I tried years ago but I’m just can’t get into this stuff. It’s smooth and nicely tempered but just not enough of a flavor punch for me. For the price I’d probably go for something else on the same shelf like Green & Black’s Peanut Bar or if I’m feeling particular decadent and want to pay a little more, an Amano. For pure fun, the bubbles just don’t do anything for me. However, the price on these is comparable to a similar imported Aero or Dairy Milk but with the all natural ingredients it’s just a step above.

They’re made in Belarus.

Related Candies

1. Gimbal’s Scottie Dogs
2. Choxie 3 Ounce Chocolate Bars
3. Bubble Chocolate
4. Elite Aerated & Lotte Airs
5. Dairy Milk Bubbly
6. Aero

The first new Choward’s flavor that I can remember in my lifetime is Guava. Introduced earlier this year it joins the current line up of flavors of square compressed sugar mints that come in Peppermint, Spearmint, Lemon and Violet.

This new version is called simply Tropical Candy. It’s not a mint at all, more of a little treat with no breath freshening powers.

The package is the same weird salmon pink of guava flesh and mid-fifties tiled bathrooms.

Chowards are not your ordinary mints. They’re exquisitely made to exacting tolerances. Build a house for your Lego mini-fig out of Altoids? Never! But these little squares are smooth and perfect with straight sides, consistent colors and crisply chiseled logos.

The best thing about them, as far as I’m concerned, is their stack-ability. They’re stable. Dependable. The same on both sides.

I’m not a guava fan. If it’s in a fruit salad, I pick around it. I’m not even keen on the musky flavor it imparts by proximity. So I wasn’t really looking forward to these.

They smell tropical, like pineapple and orange blossoms. Or a Tommy Bahama store.

They’re tangy and fruity, the flavor is a mix of melon and pineapple for those who have never had guava before. For those who have had guava, it’s authentic enough though a bit more tart.

The texture is smooth. Since they’re made with sugar and not dextrose they have a very sweet note to them with a strong honey-fruity finish.

On the whole, they’re better than I expected and they’re certainly different from other candies on the market (as are all of Choward’s offerings). They’re not minty but still leave my mouth feeling fresh (like a tropical green iced tea will); they’re not quite tangy and flavorful enough to compete with SweeTarts.

Related Candies

1. Puntini Jujubes - Frutti Tropicali
2. Short & Sweet: Tropical Flavors
3. Starburst Baja California & Tropical
4. Chuao ChocoPod Collection
5. SweeTarts: Chicks, Ducks & Bunnies (2006)
6. Choward’s Violet