the great drop candy taste test!

when i opened my mailbox yesterday, there was a box from japan! (if you read this blog, you know how excited i get when boxes from japan arrive in my mail.)

what was inside? well, thanks to chotda, (thanks, chotda!!) my halloween was extra full of treats. specifically, drop candies!!

"what're drop candies?" i imagine you asking just to be polite. ('cause you're nice that way.) i'll quote jlist on this:

Sakuma Drops are the famous classic candy enjoyed since before World War II, which were made famous in the Studio Ghibli film Grave of the Fireflies. Right now Japan is having a "Drop Candy boom" with the most interesting flavors of candy available, including rare and exotic flavors from different parts of the country. Each reusable tin contains about 20-25 candies.

sounds great, right? a super depressing movie, regional food in candy form, this taste test is gonna' rock! let's get started! (we need to. leff is getting impatient.)(all quotes are from the jlist site.)



takoyuki drops:

these drops..."featur(e) the real flavor of takoyaki from osaka, balls of delicious batter with a bit of octopus meat inside, which are cooked (and) then covered with a delicious sauce."

leff: they smell like sweet. and soy sauce.
rakka: let's eat them.
l: kinda' cinnamony
r: i think it tastes like a ramen noodle packet.
l: tastes like candy to me. tamirand. mostly gingery and sugar.
r: rameny candy. mild smack chicken ramen packet candy. i like them.

when i asked leff if he liked them, he said "mmmm" which usually means, "they're ok".

kaisen-don drops:

"Hungry for some Japanese Seafood and fresh sushi on-the-go? Now you can have this amazing taste in a traditional drop candy. Usually not available outside the Hokkaido area"

rakka: that description is making me nervous.
leff: sounds like it will be slightly fishy.
r: exactly.
l: smells sort of fishy.
r: exactly.
l: yeah, they taste like fish candy. cuttlefish? it tastes like the texture of cuttlefish. i'm done.
r: i actually like them.
*leff leaves to brush his teeth*
r: i think they taste like sweet white rice with vinegared teriyaki nori. tasty!

sapporo beer drops:

"Enjoy this delicious Sapporo Beer (Hokkaido Limited Edition) food drops. Note, there is no alcohol in this package."

leff: i just had some pretzels, so i'm ready for some beer.
rakka: i wonder if it'll taste like near beer. blech.
r: WHOA! that smells like the morning after!
l: it DOES!
r: lemon custard.
l: yeah. beer's not supposed to be sweet.
r: it's shandy candy! it reminds me of bourbon chocolate, you know, in theory.
l: that's enough of that.



ika-meshi drops:

"This is candy that accurately captures one of the boldest Japanese traditional foods, ever, ike-meshi, which is a squid (calamari) that's cleaned and cooked with soy sauce and flavored rice, with the rice right inside the squid so that the flavors run together. Sounds great, doesn't it? A famous food from Hokkaido."

leff: are food drops just from hokkaido? smells like soy sauce. it's actually mild.
rakka: there's some weird bitter taste in the back of my tongue. i'm done.
l: tamarind.
r: moldy chicken tamarind. aftertaste of moldy leaf smell.

inaniwa udon drops:

"This is a container of candies that accurately capture the delicious taste of Akita-style inaniwa udon noodles, a great taste from Japan. Delicious and fun to eat with your friends!"

rakka: smells like weird christmas.
leff: a lot of times i feel like i'm just smelling the can. ah! it smells strange.
r: that does taste udonish.
l: does it? *makes weird face*
r: i take it you're finished.
l: yeah. it tastes like chemicals.
r: i got carrots.
l: i had to brush my tongue off with a paper towel.
r: i guess this wouldn't be fun to eat with your friends?

hakodate noodle drops:

"Hakodate (hah-ko-dah-tay) is a wonderful city in southern Hokkaido that's famous for its beautiful night view, as well as for its "salt" flavored ramen, which is really a chicken-based flavoring. Taste this fun Japanese noodle in the limited edition drop-style candy now."

rakka: *smells candy. makes involuntary squish face*
leff: smells like salty chicken
r: will it taste that way?
l: duh duh DUHHHHHH!
r: YES IT DOES! BLEAH! *puke face*
l: yes. *gag noise* *water swish* it was almost good while i was eating it. then when i took it out of my mouth, i realized that it was disgusting. does that make any sense?
r: unfortunately, yes. except i don't understand the "almost good" part.

r: two more!
l: thank. god.




awamori drops:

"This is a container of candies that brings you a taste of Okinawa's famous awamori rice sake (without the hangover) in this tasty food drop. Delicious and fun to eat with your friends! Sorry, contains no alcohol"

rakka: i like not having hangovers. mmmm! smells like bourbon!
leff: it does!
r: oh, i like this one! i would marry this one!
l: i think in the right light, it smells like a night of drinking.
r: it tastes like those clear life savers in the multipack. only with much less sucky artificial pineapple.
l: it tastes like if your fruit wasn't sweet enough when you were making bourbon, so you mixed in some pixie sticks.
r: verdict: more please!
l: finally a flavor that's supposed to go with sugar!

jigoku no geki-kara drops:

"This is a container of candies that brings you a spicy taste of "hell" that's actually pretty heavenly for those who love things hot! Delicious and fun to eat with your friends"

rakka: i saved this one for last 'cause it has a demon on it. hmm! hell smells like ginger!
leff: *mouth hanging open* it'sveryspicy!ow! wow!
r: ah!!!
l: it's unnaturally spicy. even hot peppers don't bite into you the second you eat them.
r: ah!!! *cough*
l: ginger spicy and capsaicin spicy all at once. the flavor comes from ginger.
r: *coughing* *clearing throat*
l: it'll give you an endorphin high after a while.
r: *cough* *sniffling* *spitting out candy* i like it.
l: i like it too.