Wednesday, September 13, 2006

UHA Puccho

The Japanese have some strange candies and these have to be right up there at the top. Puccho are pretty popular and with good reason, they deliver just about everything. They have variety in both the experience and the range of flavors, great packaging, they’re inexpensive and of course you can share them easily.

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There was a wide variety of flavor combinations at the store and I was especially interested in the Cola one but wanted to stay away from the yogurt ones (I like yogurt, but not as a flavor).

The Cola (in the red package) was awesome. The little piece had white and brown stripes in the candy and every once in a while there was a little piece of cola flavored gummi or a nugget of sour foamy grains. The grains gave it a lemon-cola zap and the gummis gave the soft, Hi-CHEW-like taffy a little bump of longevity.

The second one is a bit more of a mystery. The English sticker on the label calls it Genki Drink, which didn’t really help me to narrow it down because I didn’t know what a Genki Drink is. A little time on Google and I knew EXACTLY what they are ... you’ve probably seen them before, those mysterious brown glass bottles by the checkout at the Asian markets and tea shops that claim to boost your mental acuity and, um, other things.

The saffron colored chews are similarly soft and have a tangy, lemon tea flavor to them but also a floral note that reminded me of violets. There are similar nuggets of white powder that release a little zap of fizz and tartness, but these seem to have a bitter bite to them. The little gummi bits linger and have a little fruity taste to them and help to scrub away any lingering taffy bits in the teeth (that’s how they’re described on the Puccho website).

I definitely found the Cola ones fun and practically addictive except for the later burps that the little fizzy bits seem to generate. The Genki, not so much, even though it probably has infusions of all sorts of healthy things (the only one I’m sure of is vitamin C). I’ll probably stick to my tried-and-true Hi-CHEW but the Cola ones are definitely compelling if I’m in a mood.

Interesting note: the motto for UHA Mikakuto is “Deliciousness is Gentleness”

Name: Puccho Cola & Genki Drink
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: UHA Mikakuto
Place Purchased: Mitsuwa Marketplace (Little Tokyo)
Price: $.99 each
Size: 1.76 ounces
Calories per ounce: 90
Categories: Chew, Sour, Gummi, Japan, UHA Mikakuto

POSTED BY Cybele AT 5:57 am Tracker Pixel for Entry    

Comments
  1. The cola pieces sound awesome!

    Comment by April on 9/13/06 at 6:16 am #
  2. I’ve heard of these before but haven’t been able to find them.  They sound good!

    Comment by Rebecca on 9/13/06 at 7:21 am #
  3. Deliciousness is gentleness? Okay!

    Comment by Tricia on 9/13/06 at 8:50 am #
  4. I totally agree with you on the cola ones. I reviewed them too and gave them the “Awesomely Addictive Award” and proceeded to order 6 packs online smile

    Comment by Brian on 9/13/06 at 9:54 am #
  5. They look like a wilder, ruder, more ragged version of Hi-chew.

    Comment by GTO on 9/13/06 at 10:41 am #
  6. Interesting note: the motto for UHA Mikakuto is ?Deliciousness is Gentleness?

    Nice.  “Yes, chewing!”  Long live packaging Engrish.

    Comment by Dave on 9/13/06 at 2:06 pm #
  7. These don’t sound as yummy as the chocolate but they do sound interesting.

    Comment by claudia on 9/13/06 at 3:36 pm #
  8. I’ve seen these before and wondered what they were.  The cola sounds particularly good.  Next time I see these I’ll have to grab some and give them a try.  Hi-Chew as well I suppose.

    Comment by william on 9/14/06 at 3:25 am #
  9. hello cybele,
    i just wanted to urge you to try asian yogurt flavors; they are by no means yoplaint tasting…

    Comment by sarah on 9/14/06 at 4:00 am #
  10. Cybele's avatar

    April & Rebecca - I saw them on JBox.com as well, but if you’re going to order online you have to order a lot in order for the shipping to make sense. I think Brian ordered his from AsianGrocer.com.

    claudia - it could be interesting to dip them in chocolate!

    Dave - when I was reading up on Ramune, it turns out that it’s a quasi-phonetic adaptation of Lemonade!

    GTO & William - I saw that Hi-CHEW has a cola version, but I haven’t seen it.

    sarah - I’ve had a few Asian yogurt candies (hard ones and soft ones) and I have to say I’m not keen on it. I love the real stuff, I just don’t care much for it my candy.

    Comment by Cybele on 9/15/06 at 7:40 am #
  11. This is one of my favorite candies! I really like the strawberry flavor- The contrast between the “taffy like” outter part with the chewy gummy pieces is really good! I have also had the cola flavor which was not as sweet, but still enjoyed it. Compared to Hi-Chew, these are a bit chewier, and not as sweet…. I really love them both though! I found these at the Ranch 99 in San Diego for about $1/pack.

    Comment by Kim on 9/18/06 at 7:34 am #
  12. Hi.
    Im glad to find your blog.
    I lov candies.
    I am from Japan and now live in US.  I always ask my mom to send me some Puccho.  I lov those candies so much wink

    Comment by tam on 10/29/06 at 12:18 pm #
  13. They’ve also got caramel brulee & apple turnover versions…love the former!

    Comment by Cin on 3/09/07 at 2:22 pm #
  14. I love those! Mango is definitely my favorite, but I’ve only been able to get that once. I just bought some Aloe flavored ones and at first I was hesitant, but it’s actually really good. I’ve had apple and grape, orange, and possibly a few others. I definitely need to find some more.

    Comment by Rebecca on 4/08/07 at 3:56 am #
  15. Hey there
    These would have to be the yummiest lolly thingys ever!!  I was in Japan a few weeks ago and my host mum gave me a packet of the strawberry ones but now im up to my last one *tear* and i really dont know where to buy em o well kewll blog/website its amazing how many ppl want to talk about lollies!!!

    Comment by Shannon on 5/02/07 at 12:31 am #
  16. These mix of chewy, gummy, and occasionally fizzy candies are fun! The fizzy ones I like are cola and ramune (blue pkg). The Genki one…no. The gummy ones I like are grape(!) and aloe. Occasionally I like the sour plum one which is sour tart and the gummy tastes floral. It depends on my mood. I’ve tried orange (tastes like orange rind), sour apple, and sour lemon. And as for the comment about yogurt flavored candies, you’ve got to give ‘em a try. These japanese chewy ones don’t taste like Yoplait. It’s like a sour milk, but in a good way. Makes your mouth water. Mmmm.

    Comment by Cyn on 5/12/07 at 5:08 am #
  17. i just bought the cola and the creme brule that was reviewed not too long ago. They were both so tasty! i especially liked the cola ones…now i want to find more flavors smile

    Comment by captain hummingbird on 5/28/07 at 8:29 pm #
  18. I think the cola candy sounds good!!

    Comment by care on 12/11/07 at 12:39 pm #
  19. i tried every flavour except for orange and genki. they are all excellent except for the apple cinamon one. (dont ever get it) but as for the rest they are all great. my favourite would be ramune flavour or cola

    Comment by orange_kun on 5/21/08 at 7:00 pm #
  20. HI I LOVE CANDY BLOG

    I LOVE THE PUCCHO STUFF

    BYE

    JOSIE

    Comment by josie on 10/07/08 at 10:36 am #
  21. oh! my piano teacher gave these to us all the time! i love the UHa milk, and the puccho watermelon chew! my friend and i would always try to split one, but we would always argue over who gets the bigger half!

    Comment by Lope dogg on 1/10/10 at 12:11 pm #
  22. Ive had every type of puccho and I love all of them for a different reason but the best flavors are melon soda, and regular soda (ramune) and make sure the packs are fresh cause if they’re not they can be kind of tough like most other candys!

    Comment by Ben on 6/23/10 at 2:08 pm #
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