Morinaga Hi-Chew Soda & Cola

While I have not reviewed Hi-Chews here yet, I LOVE them! The flavors are so strong, and satisfying, and have just the right amount of chew to stay in my maw for a while while not overstaying their welcome. So when applying the ever-present soda flavors to this candy, I expect great things, already having a lot of Japanese soda candy. I assume the soda one may actually be ramune? Guess I'll find out.

As predicted, the blue one does seem to have a ramune taste. Actually, it may be the same as the "tutti frutti" flavor I described earlier. Interestingly this one has a more deformed shape than most of the Hi-Chews that come in uniform shapes, and no visible filling. Maybe the flavor is the same throughout the chew?



When eating this, at first it seemed the candy was uniform, but then I got a textural surprise - there are white bubbles in here that have a bit of a chalkier, creamier taste! It's a nice representation of the experience drinking ramune, and is very similar to the softer fillings of a lot of hard candy. The bubbles are scattered randomly throughout. The bubbles also have a much stronger ramune flavor than the rest. I was a little bit disappointed that the candy is even more chewy than normal Hi-Chews, making a bit more of a chore, but it's also an interesting experience going between the chewier candy and the softer, more flavorful bubbles. There is also a quite pleasant aftertaste throughout, making this experience a bit rocky, but overall pleasant and varied.

Rating: 7 - Aroof!

The cola one, as expected, is brown and has a much stronger flavor than the ramune one. I think cola in general comes off stronger than ramune flavor, meaning there's a bit of contrast within this package. The bubbles are also more visible in this one, showing at both sides, but it may also be color variation and luck of the draw.

While the chew conveys the strong cola flavor, the bubbles kick it up a notch and get even stronger, which is a welcome surprise! The texture even seems a bit more evened out in this one. Overall this one is more preferable to the ramune chew, but both are welcome, and as a package, it's nice to have different takes on fizzy drink-flavored chews.

Rating: 8 - Rowf!