Review: Puccho Soda / Cola Candy

I maintain that the candy aisle at London Drugs stores is a hidden gem for lovers of curious confections. They stock all sorts of interesting things, from Hi-Chew (a Japanese candy delicacy), to British sweets to assorted chocolate bars from all over the world. Hell, they even stock Hawaiian Host chocolate-covered macadamia nuts. See? Hidden gem.

Well, what have we here? Another odd treat from Japan? Yes, indeed. It’s UHA Puccho Cola and Soda flavoured candies.

There’s hardly any English on the packaging beyond the ingredients listing, so good luck trying to puzzle out what they are. The cola flavour is self explanatory, but soda? What kind of soda?

The biggest omission from the packaging blurb is the hook that’ll draw in candy-curious folks. Much like Pop Rocks, the selling point of Puccho is the fizzy reaction when mouth moisture hits the candy. Wham! Fizzy, frothy, foamy bubbles gurgle forth from each piece when you bite into it. But for some reason, the fizzy filling isn’t consistently powerful; some pieces react strongly, while others don’t do much of anything.

The flavours:

• Cola: Strong cola flavour, with extra texture from a hard gummy core wrapped in a softer gummy shell. Quite sweet. If you’ve got particularly pressure-sensitive teeth, these might be a bit tough for you.
• Soda: Creamy generic fruit with notes of aftershave. Like an ice-cream float, but gummy. Maybe some lemon-lime 7-Up notes in there. I much prefer the cola flavour.

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RATINGS AND DETAILS

Cost: Three for $5 (on sale) at London Drugs in Calgary.

Value for cash money: Good.

Availability: Very limited in Canada. Check London Drugs and/or Asian specialty markets.

Nutrition?: Per 50 gram package, cola flavour: 202 calories, 3.2 grams of fat, 9 mg of sodium, 1.6 grams of protein.

Vegetarian?: Nope! There’s gelatin in there.

The verdict: Oddball enough to warrant buying a pack. Of the two, I’d choose cola, but that’s because I like cola-flavoured candy.