Lindt Lindor Hazelnut Milk Chocolate Truffles

When it comes to chocolate, the Lindt brand is one that's often brought up in my posts. I don't know when I decided that the Lindt wast he superior choice when it came to higher priced chocolates that you can find at supermarkets, but it was certainly after trying many different brands. I think I really like Lindt and Hershey's Bliss line because they are very rich compared to other higher priced supermarket chocolates. When you eat a Lindor truffle, it feels like you may have put a bit of butter into your mouth. And it's not just the texture that appeals to me, the flavor is also very rich compared to the other brands.


Admittedly, this was a flavor that I put off trying just because I'm not a big fan of hazelnuts. I've often associated hazelnuts with Ferrero Rochers, and while I don't dislike Ferrero Rochers, I've just never really been into hazelnut. I know there are many people who enjoy Nutella, and I'm okay with Nutella, but I won't go gaga over it. If given the choice between Nutella and peanut butter, I'd probably go with the peanut butter. Now a real craze that needs to catch on is the speculoos craze. There's a spread that's worth raving about, but onward to the review.


That's right, the Lindt company forces that one man to make every truffle one by one or else he'll never see his family again


A hazelnut truffle split in half

Well, if there's one fault I can find in these truffles, it is that they often taste too similar to each other. Sometimes when buying a new flavor, I am a bit disappointed because I expect the flavors to be very different from each other. What do I mean? Well, their white chocolate truffle and stracciatella truffle taste very similar. Their vanilla one doesn't taste too far off from their white chocolate one either. It is only when they get into flavors such as peanut butter and raspberry that you really taste the difference between the truffles.

This truffle tasted very much like their milk chocolate truffle, except with VERY subtle hints of hazelnut. I won't say that I didn't like it, but again, I was a bit let down. I guess I was expecting this to have the texture of a Lindor truffle with the flavor of a Ferrero Rocher, but what I got was a slightly crunchier Lindor milk chocolate truffle. It is by no means bad, as I love the Lindor truffle line, but it's nothing to get excited over.

Lindt Lindor Hazelnut Milk Chocolate Truffles: 8.5/10 (-0.5 for slight disappointment)

UHA Mikakuto Cream Soda Hard Candy

Growing up, the only melon flavor I associated with candy was watermelon. The only candy that I really recall being melon flavored were the little boxes of Marukawa bubble gum. It wasn't until a few years ago that I was introduced to other melon flavored candy by my friend Josh. I believe it started with Melona ice cream bars, and then it went on from then.


Here's another hard candy featuring miniaturized children on the bag. Now, it says Cream Soda on the English label, but usually when it's cream soda, it's melon cream soda. When American candy makers start making easily available cream soda candy, that'll be the day. Anyway, if you remember, I didn't give the cherry counterpart that favorable of a review, so let's see if this will change my mind.

A cream soda hard candy

The flavor is definitely melon. When you reach the center, you have a cream tasting center waiting for you, so that's nice. I thought that this candy could really be improved if it had a carbonated feeling, as it's cream SODA. Regardless, I liked this better than the cherry variety. How would it rate among other candies? Well, often times in Asian markets, you'll find many soda candies that provide a fizz and more often than not, melon will be one of the flavors. I feel like this candy is good, but it should have that fizz to make it REALLY good.

UHA Mikakuto Cream Soda Hard Candy: 7/10

Kit Kat Vanilla Ice Cream

Looking back on my older posts, I noticed that I've tasted many kinds of Kit Kats. Some I've liked, some I've disliked. When it comes to Kit Kats, I've come to realize is that the more I've tried, the more I realize that there are many varieties that I have yet to try.

Kit Kat Vanilla Ice Cream is one of those varieties that I haven't tried yet. When I think of a white Kit Kat, I usually think of white chocolate Kit Kats. What could a vanilla ice cream flavored Kit Kat possibly taste like? I'm not sure, but I'm about to find out


One or two of them melted

Now on the back of the bag, there's a picture of a freezer and ice shooting out everywhere. Due to that, and to the fact that the English label read "Vanilla Ice Cream", I assumed that this was a suggestion to try them frozen. Well, I certainly did try one straight from the bag and one that I left in the freezer for about a day. How did the room temperature one taste? Well, sweet, of course, the only tart one I've tried was the Kit Kat Raspberry . The smell reminded me of vanilla flavored whey powder. If you have consumed any sort of vanilla protein bar or protein powder, you know that vanilla smell? That's what this smelled like. If you like vanilla whey protein, you'll like Kit Kat Vanilla Ice Cream. Now, did the frozen one taste any better? If you've put a candy bar in the freezer in the past, you know what happens. Usually the chocolate becomes harder and it doesn't melt as easily. That's the same thing that happened with this candy, and I can't say that I enjoyed it more than when it was at room temperature. In fact, I found it to be a bit harder to eat the candy, but if you like frozen candy bars, you'll probably like these better frozen.

All in all, I think that Kit Kat Vanilla Ice Cream is good, but it may be a bit too plain Jane. I've found that few people hate vanilla as an ice cream and, to my surprise, some say it's there favorite flavor. I wouldn't say that vanilla is my favorite ice cream flavor, but it's always a safe choice. I guess that's how I feel about these Kit Kats; they're not my favorite, but they're a solid choice.

Kit Kat Vanilla Ice Cream: 8/10

UHA Mikakuto Sakuranbo No Uta

Cherry is a candy flavor that I believe divides people. Some people love it, some people hate it, and some people are okay with it. It's not as bad as banana when it comes to dividing people, but it divides people nonetheless. I remember one student that I had that loved cherry everything. I've also had students who say they hate it because it tastes like cough syrup. Personally, my favorite Starburst has always been the cherry one. I think cherry Mike & Ikes are the best ones, besides the lime ones. However, I'm not that big on cherry cordials nor do I like cherry flavored Mio. I could go on and on about how much I like Diet Cherry Coke, but let's please move on to the candy at hand


UHA Mikakuto is one of the candy companies I recognize because of the nervous looking guy they have on their stuff. They make many of the candies I love, such as Puccho, Shigekix, and e-Ma lozenges. With such an excellent track record, I decided to buy this candy, which frankly seemed a bit plain Jane to me. The packaging looks like it's more appropriate for a children's book than it is for a candy. However, packaging can be deceiving


A cherry candy

This is one of those few cases where I did not like a cherry flavored candy and a situation in which UHA has disappointed me. At first, the candy tasted a bit too much like medicine, which I didn't like at all. Then, there was a yogurt-like smell that began to emerge which confused me a bit. Maybe those kids on the bag were accidentally processed into the candy when those cherries were picked, who knows? Anyway, I stuck through to the end to see if there was anything special in the center, and there was not. Plain name, plain game.

UHA Mikakuto Sakuranbo No Uta: 6/10

Kabaya Kobitozuka Momo Candy

I think for this post, it's best that I write as little as possible and let you, the audience, to enjoy the pictures

Peach butt is telling you FOR SALE IN JAPAN ONLY

Tastes green like green veggies and not the good kind of green like lime or apple

Strong peach flavor, almost to the point of being grapefruit

Light flavor, very subtle and fruity

What's this?


That's the same face I made when I saw this card
Green candy: 5/10
Dark pink candy: 7.5/10
Light pink candy: 7/10

Trader Joe's (Jacques') Fleur de Sel Caramels

The first time I ever had salted caramels I believe was in 2006. I remember going to Nugget in Davis, CA, and buying a small bag of salted caramels. I don't know if it was because it was the first time that I'd had salted caramels, but I thoroughly enjoyed them. Ever since then, however, I've found that I've been a bit disappointed that I haven't been able to find salted caramels as good as them. Again, maybe I only remember them so fondly because they were my first experience with salted caramels. Whatever the case, often times I will try salted caramels if I see them available.


I have a like/don't really like relationship with Trader Joe's products. That is to say, I'll find things there that I think are really good, but sometimes I'll find things that I have sort of a "meh" attitude towards. However, for the sake of science and taste buds, I decided to sample these.


A wrapped fleur de sel caramel

There certainly is no shortage of salt when it comes to this candy. This was like a candy that was salty with sweet undertones. I don't want to say that they're like those salted licorice candies I tasted a few years ago, but I didn't love these either. Texturally, if you imagine any sort of caramel chew and make it a bit smoother, you've got this candy. If these were a bit less salty and a bit sweeter, I would recommend them, but to me, these fall into the "I guess you might like them" category. If you're into saltier foods, I guess you should definitely check these out.

Trader Joe's (Jacques') Fleur de Sel Caramels: 6.5/10

Puccho Pineapple

Puccho is a candy that's hard not to like. If you like Hi Chew, you'll like Puccho as it's kind of like Hi Chew, but with a bouncier texture. I think the two flavors that are liked most by my students are cola and cider. However, whenever there is a new flavor, I grab it to see if my students and I will like it.


The thing I found out about Puccho and kids is, kids tend to like Puccho better when it fizzes. There are some varieties that provide a fizz, such as cola, cider, and apple cider flavors, whereas some, such as just apple, will not have a fizz. However, kids love candy regardless, but since I'm currently back in school and haven't visited my students all that often, all the candy is mine. Also, as you see, I think you can win something related to Japanese pop group AKB48, I don't know, it's all Greek to me


A diagram of a Puccho candy


A piece of Puccho candy


Puccho candy cross section

Pineapple happens to be the variety that will not provide a fizz. I don't know how my (former) students will react to this, but they're kids, so they'll eat anything short of rocks. Even then, I think I can convince one of them to eat at least a pebble. Anyway, this certainly has a pineapple flavor, but it's a bit subtle. It's not too sweet, and it maintains that bouncy and chewy texture. Overall, I think I would like all varieties of Puccho candy more if they had fizz and if they offered little key chains/charms as they did two years ago. However, it was good, and if you like Starbursts or Hi Chew, or if you already like Puccho candy, you should try this flavor out.

Puccho Pineapple: 8/10