Candy Blog

1. 

   Please don’t think me picky, but the Lotte bar is Korean rather than Japanese.  The characters on the label are Korean, and incidentally, the Lotte smooth/extra cacao is my favorite chocolate bar, bar none (apologies for the pun)—I have friends who are stationed in the RoK send them to be by the case in exchange for favorites of theirs they can’t find over there.

   Comment by Jack on 1/13/06 at 10:24 am #
2. 

   Jack - I believe you’re right about the lettering on the Lotte bar that I picked up, but the Lotte company itself is Japanese and the label said that it was manufactured in and exported by Japan.

   Lotte is a huge company and operates in Korea (not only selling its Japanese manufactured products but making many of them in Korea). Lotte also has an American facility in Michigan that makes those cute little Koala biscuits.

   I think the Mitsuwa market I shop at gets these “for export bars” instead of the domestic Japanese ones.

   I’ll try to get a hold of the smooth/extra cacao next time I’m at Mitsuwa, I was a little overwhelmed by the selection last time.

   Comment by Cybele on 1/13/06 at 10:37 am #
3. 

   “Airy” or “bubbly” chocolate is a weird beast, isn’t it?
   I’ve never really liked it that much - mostly only had different kinds of German milk chocolate varieties, all far too sweet and sugary somehow.
   But recently I stumbled over a Russian(!) variety that really blew me away: Strawberry. Like a rather boring white chocolate (but no discernible “wrong fat” in it) but intensely strawberry flavoured and a very distinct pink colour.

   And it worked! In that combination the airyness and the essency-strawberry-ness found each other and the result was far better than either on it’s own.

   Unfortunately I can’t remember the name, manufacturer or much anything else. But it seemed to be a high-end mass produced kind of line (the white chocolate with almonds or nuts was good too). And it was rather expensive, but that’s to be expected for very “thin” speciality exports.

   Comment by Tona Aspsusa on 4/13/06 at 12:55 pm #
4. 

   Hi, I know this is a really old post, but as a Korean speaker, I just couldn’t resist pointing out that the lettering on the 2nd bar of chocolate is indeed NOT Korean.  It’s Japanese.  Lotte was started by a Korean national who was living in Japan, and the same or similar products are sold in both Korea and Japan (but with different lettering, of course).

   I really enjoy the blog, by the way. 

   Comment by S. Nakji on 7/07/06 at 12:36 pm #
5. 

   Thanks for clearing that up S. Nakji ... I feel terribly ignorant when it comes to identifying foreign languages and I’ve made the mistake of thinking that candy I bought in Chinatown was Chinese ... when it was in fact Japanese.

   I was worried I’d made the same mistake here too.

   Comment by Cybele on 7/07/06 at 12:42 pm #
6. 

   The Norwegian chocolate and candy manufacturer Nidar has an areated chocolate called Stratos. I have been addicted to it since childhood.

   Comment by Sissel on 9/16/06 at 9:37 pm #
7. 

   The best chocolate bar I could find in Israel was made by Elite.  It is a combination of milk chocolate and pop rocks and proves to be very fun!  This combination seems to pop up in a few Israeli ice cream bars also, but has not yet bad it to the United States.

   Comment by Alex on 1/07/07 at 12:11 pm #
8. 

   Anyone ever heard of SPUGNA?  I was able to buy and eat it during the mid-‘90s.

   I’m certain it was Japanese.  It was only available for a short time and I never saw it again.  I can’t remember if it was made by Meiji, Morinaga, or Lotte, but it sure as hell was the best aerated chocolate I’ve tasted. I couldn’t get enough.

   If anyone knows where I can get that chocolate bar again, please inform me!  I’ve been searching for it for more than a decade now.

   THanks,
   mia

   Comment by Mia on 1/17/07 at 10:26 am #
9. 

   Bubble Chocolate is really good too. It’s made in Belarus distributed by Bubble Chocolate, Medford, NJ. Very good stuff but you have to have it shipped and all that. I recently seen something while surfing the net. A PETITION TO BRING BACK CHOCO-LITE

   http://www.petitiononline.com/cl2005/petition.html

   I seen this petition and decided to tell as many as possible. Please pass it on and SIGN the petition.

   check this out. A recent victory to another simular to Choco-Lite, The Coffee Crisp.

   http://coffeecrisp.org/coffeecrisp/blog.asp

   Comment by Christopher Hull on 3/17/07 at 10:27 am #
10. 

    Thanks for the links Christopher. I’ve reviewed Bubble Chocolate and liked it quite a bit. I’ve also reviwed Aero, which is also made my Nestle ... I think you’d have a better chance of getting Aero distributed in the US than them reviving Choco-Lite if you want to go on the Coffee Crisp success story.

    Comment by Cybele on 3/17/07 at 11:09 am #
11. 

    I was born and raised in South Africa. Aero was always a staple of my diet. On a recent visit back to South Africa I re sampled the delight. It is very similar to the British variety but differs in that it is made with South African chocolate which tastes a bit different.

    Also, I tried additional flavors when I visited Canada. They have mint and caramel. For more information see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aero_(chocolate)

    Comment by Farrel Buchinsky on 4/28/07 at 7:20 am #
12. 

    I just moved here to Sofia, Bulgaria and of course one of my first orders of business was to sample the local chocolate.  There’s an impressive myriad of aerated chocolate here, and it’s quickly become my favorite variety to date!

    Surprisingly, the tastiest so far is “LZ” by Nestle.  I know, I was shocked too!  I’ve found that Nestle chocolate in Europe is *FAR* superior to Nestle in the states.  Odd.

    Comment by Valerie on 9/24/07 at 8:54 am #
13. 

    No not odd. I used to believe that American chocolate makers were useless but then I discovered that they were not. It is just that their customers prefer “useless” chocolate. How else does one explain that plain old Hershey’s chocolate bar was the least appetizing bar in the developed world yet the company that made it clearly could do better. Symphony, and more recently Cocoa Reserve, is far far better than Hershey’s regular chocolate. I think people just want what they grew up with no matter whether it is good or mediocre.

    Comment by Farrel Buchinsky on 9/24/07 at 2:38 pm #
14. 

    where can i buy the popping milk chololate candy

    Comment by satinder on 7/16/08 at 7:54 am #
15. 

    satinder - you might have an easier time finding the new American version called Pop Rocks Milk Chocolate. I’ve found them at 7-11 stores and Target.

    Comment by Cybele on 7/16/08 at 7:55 am #

Next entry: Thompson’s Organic Chocolate

Previous entry: Zero Bar