Toppo 60th Anniversary Ghana Milk Chocolate

Toppo is yet another candy stick confection from Japan, along with Pocky and Fran. And if Pocky and Fran are cousins, then Toppo is like the prom night dumpster baby of the two. (But I mean that in a respectful way!)




On Pocky/Fran sticks the candy coating is dipped on the outside of the biscuit. In the case of Toppo, the outside is a hollow biscuit, and the center is filled with the candy.



This Toppo is -- not surprisingly -- filled with milk chocolate made from Ghanaian cacao beans. The outer biscuit is crispy, but flaky. Tastewise, it reminded me more of a pretzel than it did the neutral biscuit of Pocky/Fran. If only it had really been a salted pretzel! That would have been amazingly good!

The Ghana chocolate is very cool on the tongue. The texture is smooth and almost fluid. It's a sweet chocolate, but not too sweet, as some cheaper, lesser quality milk chocolate can be. Actually, this was just as impressive as Pocky and Fran. I really have got to go looking for more of the Toppo flavors now!



PURCHASED FROM:
Kam Man Market, New York City.

I got mine at Kam Man in NYC, but my friends at J-List carry several of the different Toppo flavors!

Lotte Plus X Cube Gum- Pinneapple Mint

Once again, I have to repeat that Japanese products have the best packaging/product design.



I mean, look at those little cubes and the little 8 bit design on the box, and tell me that isn't the coolest thing!



Each little piece of gum is about half the size of a sugar cube. They are meant to be chewed by the handful. The outer layer of the cube is sweet and slightly crunchy (think of the old-school Cinnaburst gum).



The initial flavor is sweet pineapple. It actually tastes pretty natural; though more like dried pineapple slices than fresh. The flavor is strongest for the first three minutes.

There is also a mint flavor to the gum. I was worried that this was going to be a nasty combination, but it is surprisingly mild and pleasant and it worked quite nicely with the pineapple. Maybe because it's a subtle mint -- more of a menthol warmth that stays long after the actual flavor is gone, rather then a pungent, breath-freshening type mint.

The gum has a soft and non-sticky chew. I preferred just one cube at a time -- but then, I am not a fan of huge wads of gum.



Finally, there was one little extra that came with the gum that left me scratching my head...until I read J-List's product blurb. And that is a little tiny Post-It style pad included in the pack. Since I spend a rather embarrassing amount per year on Posties (as I like to call them) I thought this was pretty neat, but I had no idea why they were there. (Is it customary in Japan to scribble little notes to oneself while chewing gum? No? I didn't think so!) Actually, what the pad is really supposed to be is something to wrap your piece of gum in when you are done chewing it. That's a pretty nice add-on, since the gum itself is unwrapped in the box. Failing that, you could just use them to write notes on.

I loved this gum and will definitely be getting more. Because the label is entirely in Japanese, I have no idea if it is sugar free or how it is sweetened -- if you know, please comment! (I tried to Google, with no luck.)

I bought mine from Kam Man in New York City, but J-List does carry this gum -- along with lots of other Cube flavors and Lotte products, so check them out!

PURCHASED FROM:
Kam Man Market NYC