Asahi Drops

Name: Asahi Kinu Kokuto
Brand: Asahi
Place Purchased: Mitsuwa Marketplace (Little Tokyo, Los Angeles)
Price: $2.49
Size: 3.59 oz
Calories per ounce: 100
Type: Hard Candy


I wasn't quite sure what these were when I purchased them. I knew they were hard candy and I read over the ingredients, which are: Corn Syrup, Sugar, Brown Sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Artificial Flavoring, Caramel Coloring.

As far as I could figure, they were brown sugar drops. They're better than that, I think they're black coffee drops. Instead of those creamy drops (Coffee Rio) that are a bit like taffy, these are a smooth if sweet hard candy. Instead of being crackly with little air gaps like regular hard candy, these are dense.

They do have a tangy bit of molasses to them, I'm guessing because of the brown sugar. I have no idea what the flavoring is beyond that. I've searched the web for any info on them and I can't seem to figure out what they're even supposed to be called in English. The name up there is from the receipt.

If I can find these reliably, I will continue to buy them. They're in little sealed packets and they last on the tongue for a quite a while without any of those sharp edges you sometimes get when there's an air bubble in regular hard candies. The real drawback is that they're rather expensive.

Rating: 8 out of 10