Green and Black Caramels

Name: Green Tea and Black Sugar Caramels
Brand: Morinaga
Place Purchased: Jbox
Price: $1.75 & $1.60 plus shipping
Size: 60 grams(?0
Calories per ounce: unknown
Type: Caramel

I know, you must think me obsessed with caramels. But they are one of the most perfect expressions of sugar and fat. Soft, yielding, bursting with sugary flavor that lingers in the crevices of your mouth. They're great for summer too, since they're not subject to the temperature extremes of chocolate.

As promised, I'm ready to share my Japanese finds from my recent shipment.


First is Morinaga's Kokutou Caramel. This is what's known as a black sugar caramel, or probably what westerners know of as brown sugar or molasses. This caramel is darker than the milk caramels I've tried from Japan. It has a slightly rummy aroma and a definite molasses bite to it when chewing. It's a really nice, smooth caramel with a good finish. There's no molasses bitterness either. It's not sticky, but plenty chewy with a good milky consistency.

Morinaga also makes a Matcha Caramel, which is a green tea flavored caramel. The nugget is definitely green. It smells of green tea and tastes just like green tea ice cream, with that same smooth roasted flavor and slight bitter tinge. Unfortunately after chewing for a while, it feels a little grainy and slightly bitter, like there are real ground up leaves in there. That aside, they're quite addictive and both caramels complement each other well - so I can just alternate between the two all afternoon.

Rating: Kokutou Caramel - 8 out of 10
Matcha Caramel - 7 out of 10

See also: Morinaga Hi-CHEW, Morinaga Milk Caramel, Super Butter Caramel, Wha Guru Chew