Otona mo Chocoball Cafe Mocha – 大人もチョコボール カフェモカ味

I’ve always been a big fan of Morinaga, from their chewy buttery caramel to their indulgent creamy pudding, and I’ve enjoyed Chocoball in the past, including the Shiratma Anmitsu I reviewed previously. Recently Chocoball has branched out from the original colourful, child-oriented boxes to a new line of toned-down grown-up products with flavours to suit a more mature palate. Cafe Mocha is one such item, which is part of the ‘Otona mo Chocoball’ (~Chocoball for adults too) range.

Drawn in by the quirky wrapper illustrations and the promise of mocha and cinnamon, I bought this to have with afternoon coffee.

Initially I was pleased with my choice; the bag contained a generous number of chickpea-sized balls (I’d say between 15 and 20) and emitted a sweet aroma reminiscent of the coffee candy in Revels. The smell was promising, so it was with great anticipation that I took the first bite.

And…it was totally underwhelming. I could barely taste anything. The supposedly mocha-flavoured chocolate is waxy and bland and the biscuit center, mostly hollow, is no more than a crisp puff of air. The fluffy-looking center depicted in the package art is highly deceptive.

I tried allowing these to melt in my mouth in the hope that it would release more flavour, but it was like sucking on plastic, it feels as though the whole ball has been coated with oily, tasteless floor varnish which you have to dissolve to reach the vaguely milky, sweet substance underneath – I don’t think you can call it chocolate.

The dry, crisp biscuit core is equally devoid of flavour; there is not even a hint of malted milk or coffee or vanilla or anything that might perhaps have made Chocoball Cafe Mocha a little more palatable. Cocoa powder, coffee and cinnamon are all listed in the ingredients, but the fact that they place lower than powdered milk, dextrin and lactose is not very encouraging.

I felt cheated that I had used up both money and my daily sugar allowance on this awful product. Only my aversion to wasting food prevented me from simply throwing these straight in the bin and it’s certainly made me wary of sampling any more Chocoball. However, in light of my extensive positive experience of Morinaga products in the past, I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and chalk this down to being simply one miss after a long succession of hits. So don’t feel that you should avoid Morinaga, or even Chocoball, just steer well clear of this particular item.

2/10

Otona mo Chocoball Cafe Mocha 32g  172kcal

Dars Ujimatcha – ダース宇治抹茶

Although candy aisles are already awash with autumnal chestnut and pumpkin goods that I’m dying to try, I wanted to sample these green tea chocolates first. Like most popular Japanese chocolates, Dars regularly introduces new flavours, but the small boxes of 12 bite-size pieces are usually available in white, milk and dark. This version is made using matcha from Uji in Kyoto.

The outer chocolate has a lovely glossy, smooth surface and the center is the lush damp-moss colour of good-quality matcha, as opposed to the pale pastel green of matcha latte powder.

The sweets have a prevalent matcha aroma and the flavour is subtle yet earthy and, thanks to the generous proportioning of the green tea filling compared to the milk chocolate coating, the mild sweetness of the chocolate acts as a secondary note rather than a prominent flavour. While the texture may appear a little grainy it is perfectly smooth and has a good slow melt if sucked, allowing you to draw out the pleasure of eating each chunk.

I found that 12 pieces, eaten over the course of a day, to be a very satisfying serving size. If these come out again next year I’ll be sure to get some, but for now I’ve got a lot of Halloween candy to get to work on~!

8/10

Morinaga Dars Ujimatcha ￥148

Chocoball Shiratama Anmitsu – チョコボール白玉あんみつ

Although it doesn’t seem to be well-known outside Japan, Chocoball is an old favourite, ever present in the candy aisles alongside Glico caramel and Hi-chu. The standard flavour selection is fairly basic: biscuit, peanut, caramel and strawberry, but as with most Japanese sweets there is a pretty regular turnover of new varieties, such as this Shiratama Anmitsu  (a dessert of mochi, syrup and kanten, sometimes with fruit)

The cute and colourful box artwork might suggest that these chocolates are fruity but the flavour palate is simple: the sticky sweetness of white chocolate combined with the slightly artificial sugariness of the syrup-flavoured gummy centers. The ‘an’ (red bean paste) element of anmitsu is nowhere to be found and these would have been more exciting if there was perhaps a mixture of an-flavour and mitsu-flavour balls. (However, Chocoball usually only contains one variety per pack so it would be move away from the established concept)

As for the all-important shiratama: like in many mochi-based Tirol chocolates, the glutinous rice treat is represented by a pale gummy center which is much chewier than actual mochi and with none of its sticky elasticity. The centers are pleasant but the flavour is nondescript and the texture certainly doesn’t evoke shiratama.

That said, Shiratma Anmitsu Chocoball is a perfect snack to answer a sweet craving without a big calorie hit and while a blind-taster would be hard pressed to make the connection to anmitsu, it still tastes good and the chewiness of the centers makes the small serving size surprisingly satisfying.

6/10

 

Coffee Jelly Round Two – コーヒーゼリー・パート２

After trying a couple of coffee jellies a while ago I started to look out for more varieties and realised there are must be at least twenty, but I settled for sampling another three this time, from Morinaga, Emial and Megmilk.

Firstly, Morinaga’s Espresso Coffee Jelly. Unlike Meiji’s jelly, this is made to be eaten straight from the pot but you can always decant it into a pretty bowl or cup for a more indulgent experience. The jelly didn’t quite survive the trip back from the supermarket without breaking up a little but you can still make out some kind of pattern on the surface.

It may just be a peculariaty of the particular one I bought but to me it looks like a design of roses so perhaps this is a little extra flourish from Morinaga.

This jelly feels firmer than usual because it contains kanten, yet has a surprisingly creamy texture, meaning that it feels more like a coffee pudding than a jelly. Being espresso I thought this might be a more adult-oriented product and expected the flavour to be bitter, however it is extremely mild and the cream syrup is very sweet, with a hint of caramel.

As you can expect from Morinaga, which is famous for its caramel, this is a delicious, rich and milky dessert but you will be disappointed if you are looking for a true espresso taste.

The next product is another in the Sweet Cafe range from Emial, just called ‘coffee jelly’.

Of all the coffee jellies I’ve tried so far this has the strongest and most authentic roasted coffee flavour, which lingers as a pleasant aftertaste once the sweetness of the creamy sauce has faded away. On top of this, the sauce itself has a hint of coffee which enhances the flavour of the jelly instead of detracting from it with an overly rich taste.

The jelly chunks are firm and fairly large and at 230g one pot provides a generous serving. Although only faintly bitter the coffee in this dessert is more notable than in the other jellies I reviewed, so I’d recommend Emial for coffee lovers.

Lastly, Megmilk Cream Sweets coffee jelly.

The texture of this jelly is firm and dense and it has the best cream sauce – unlike the thin milky sauce of the Meiji jelly this is properly creamy and taking the first spoonful is like spooning the thick top off a cream hot chocolate.

The coffee taste of the jelly is good too, it’s not bitter but there is a nice hint of dark, roasted flavour.

The combination of rich cream and firm, only slightly sweet jelly works perfectly and there is an ample amount of sauce so that the　flavours and textures are well balanced in every spoonful.

I still have many more jellies to taste but I’m trying to keep things varied so next time I’ll look for something new, like cake or ice cream. Not long until Easter and chocolate!

Matcha Purin X Matcha Chocolate X Match Pocky – 抹茶プリンX抹茶チョコX抹茶Pocky

My backlog of reviews to write is building up, so a quick rundown of three matcha products today, starting with Morinaga Matcha Purin. If you don’t know, purin is basically like crème caramel – a blancmange-like dessert with a dark syrup. This version is green tea flavour with brown sugar syrup at the bottom. The pudding is thick and wonderfully creamy, and the green tea aroma and taste are prominent without being overwhelming. The syrup at the base has a slightly bitter burnt flavour, like the surface of a crème brulée.

I’ve tried other matcha purin but Morinaga’s is by far the best so please hold out for this brand if you can find it. The Morinaga caramel purin is also delicious~

Sequoia Chocolate Matcha.

I’m not sure what brand this is, as I didn’t capture it in the photograph and I no longer have the wrapper, but you can find this at Daiso (100 yen shop) at 4 for 105 yen. These little bars are also available in some supermarkets and conbinis.

This is simply a layer of matcha cream sandwiched between two wafers with a milky fondant on top and a milk chocolate base, all enrobed in matcha chocolate with a woodgrain effect. For around 26 yen a piece this is a great value treat: it has a satisfying bite, the matcha flavour comes through and the wafer is crisp and light. Other flavours in this range include Strawberry, Milk Chocolate and Fruits Mix.

Anyone who’s made it to this blog probably already knows Pocky, the hugely popular biscuit sticks with a chocolate coating. When it comes to chocolate I don’t usually buy biscuit products, but I’ll try anything matcha.

The lovely jewel-green colour of these sticks, darker than the pale green of many matcha products, promises a rich and earthy taste, which is delivered. Whether you crunch through three at a time or just suck one slowly there is plenty of chocolatey flavour. I may have to try more Pocky in future.