Here I was lamenting that Starburst wasn’t making the flavors I wanted when there are companies out there that make exactly what I like: strong citrus flavored chews. A couple of weeks ago I ordered from JBox. Even though my local Japanese markets in Little Tokyo stock a huge variety of candies, they always seem to miss the fringy things.
The first item I wanted to try was Valencia Orange HiCHEW.
The candy is fresh and has that inimitable bounce that HiCHEWs always deliver. The orange flavor is well rounded, sweet and a little tangy with a good juicy zest bite to it. It’s not quite tangy enough for me, though it gets tangier and more latexy as the chew goes on.
Rating: 8 out of 10
The one that really got me off my duff to place an order was Yuzu HiCHEW. I didn’t even know what that was, but it had a sliced yellow fruit on the front.
Yuzu is an Asian citrus that most of us know from Ponzu sauce. It’s kind of like grapefruit with a little lime and a little tangerine thrown in. Technically I guess the fruit is a hybrid of the Papeda Lemon and the Mandarin Orange. It’s an exceptionally hardy citrus that can tolerate frost and freezing temperatures, though not particularly attractive, it’s treasured for its peel.
The lemon notes come out loud and clear early on, then the mellow tangerine juice kicks in and at the end of the chew a really enticing grapefruit zest come out and ends with a slight bitterness. I bought two packs of both of these and as I write this, the Yuzu has three pieces left.
Rating: 9 out of 10
JBox sells them for $1.40 (plus shipping) which is a bit more than the dollar or so that I pay at the local markets. But if you don’t have a local market, that hardly matters. Full disclosure: JBox gave me a gift certificate so that I could try more of the stuff in their inventory, I’ve ordered from them before and like their selection. Even though everything was shipped slowboat, it arrived in great condition. They don’t always have all items in stock, but they just launched a new feature where you can get an RSS feed for all new items or just create a search for the items you’re waiting to be in stock. (A very dangerous feature ... the Pineapple Mentos are in!)
Other HiCHEW reviews: Strawberry, Grapefruit & Mixed Fruits
Name: |
Valencia Orange & Yuzu Hi-CHEW |
RATING:
- SUPERB
- YUMMY
- TASTY
- WORTH IT
- TEMPTING
- PLEASANT
- BENIGN
- UNAPPEALING
- APPALLING
- INEDIBLE
|
Brand: |
Morinaga |
Place Purchased: |
Jbox (Valencia Orange & Yuzu) |
Price: |
$.99 |
Size: |
2.0 ounces |
Calories per ounce: |
110 |
Categories: |
Chew, Japan, Morinaga |
Wow, I’ve ordered and reviewed plenty of Jbox items and I don’t see them giving ME gift certificates.
ののしり!
They have the Valencia one around here somewhere… I think we may have gotten it at the Mitsuwa downtown. They really tasted like Tang to me.
im eating starburst right now, but those look better!
i love HiCHEWS.
they’re so sproingy.
I love HiChew! I call them Japanese Starburst whenever my friends ask about them. I especially love the strawberry. The only one I didn’t like was yogurt. Ugh.
I would love to try those. What sort of store would I be able to find them in, or would I have to order them online?
LOVE Hichews! My favorite candy ever…
I like to get the Grape ones, but the best are Mango and Passion Fruit. Yum!
Terry - ooh! I didn’t know they also delivered to the UK.
Grace - I think you’re right about the Tang comparison. Of course I used to eat Tang by the spoonful. (Much cheaper than Pixy Stix.)
Matt & David - I think I prefer them, but there’s something to the variety in a Starburst pack that’s compelling too.
Emily - Sproingy! Perfect way to describe them!
Erin - I haven’t tried yogurt ... I might have a post about that later this week.
Magda - JBox.com carries them online. Another place to get them is at comic book/video stores that have a lot of Japanese stuff. Japanese markets and even some Korean & Chinese carry them as well.
Marissa - I haven’t found the Mango ones yet, I’ll keep looking. Grape was definitely fun (I had them in a mixed bag). The Japanese version of grape is so much more elegant than the American.
mmm…i first tried mango hichews in taiwan earlier this year, so good! i followed your suggestion and ordered the yuzu and valencia from j-list. i also ordered a couple rolls of pine fresh mentos, they were so good! i wish i had gotten more!
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