Nothing reminds me more of summer than soda pop. It speaks to me more than pools or sunburns or even picnics. Why? Because I was always drinking cola while I was swimming, burning, or eating at a picnic. Cola is the common unifier during the summer months that was the one thing always present during my childhood summers. I don’t drink soda any more. Maybe three, sometimes four times a year, but only a can even then. Too much sugar, sodium and caffeine in the colas have driven a wedge between us. Ironically, I still really like cola flavored candy. Picking up this candy in the dead of winter really brightened my day.
I couldn’t find jack on Lion, the company that makes this candy. The only Japanese company of the same name is a chemical company that makes household detergents and the like. I also found that Lion makes a ramune version of the bubble ball candy. Worth looking into.
Nothing really shouts at me from the packaging. It’s well done and in a handy, snack size resealable pouch, but nothing grabs me, smacks me around and demands my attention. It’s not always necessary to do that but good packaging will get you far in a saturated market. IMO, the Japanese candy market is very saturated.
These candies aren’t individually wrapped, which is surprising. Not being individually wrapped, they come out in one sticky clump. Prying them apart, I can see that they’re dime sized cola colored balls. Well, that solves one mystery in the name.
Mmm, very cola tasting! A hard candy to start out with but crunching down on it reveals that the center is explosive and bubbly (mystery two solved in the name). Just like real cola, the center fizzes and bubbles in the mouth (just like Pop Rocks). Unlike real cola, the after taste is light and refreshing. I actually feel like I’ve been sucking on a breath freshener instead of a cola candy, my mouth is that tingly.
A very pleasant candy overall. I would wish that the candy came individually wrapped but at 79 cents, I can’t complain too much. Cola Bubble Ball Candy has a strong, refreshing cola flavor with no syrupy aftertaste. I highly recommend this to cola lovers.
TEXTURE:
FLAVOR:
APPEARANCE:
PACKAGING:
Giving Lion Cola Bubble Ball Candy an overall:
I’ve had silver Cola balls before, I found them at a candy shop in Toronto, they looked a lot like ball bearings. These, unfortunately, have an appearance that kinda looks like….crap, to put it nicely.
@Rachel
Here is the company’s home page. However, since it is a Japanese site, I
suspect that it is of limited value:
http://lion-k.co.jp/
Using Google’s translation service:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://www.lion-k.co.jp/&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search?q=lion-k.co&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en
This is a little better with some (unintentional) humorous sentences.
Wikipedia Japan has an entry and here is a link to Google’s translation of
that page:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%A9%E3%82%A4%E3%82%AA%E3%83%B3%E8%8F%93%E5%AD%90&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search?q=lion+confectionerty+co&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en
Again some unintentional humor (leprosy?).
Apparently, the candy is available individually wrapped. At Amazon, they
list the Product Features:
- Cola Candy is a Coca Cola flavored hard candy which will be fizzy in your mouth!
- Each candy is invidually wrapped
- Net Wt. 4.23 Oz
The link to Amazon’s description:
http://www.amazon.com/Kasugai-Cola-Candy-Candies-Shipped/dp/B0009YX9UU/ref=pd_bxgy_gf_img_b/103-7602683-6347857
Here is a photo of the candy and wrapper. Another blog site reviewed this
candy:
http://www.typetive.com/blogimages/cola-lg.jpg
Hope this helps…
By the way, I like the Ramune flavored candy. The taste is just like the soda.
In fact, the flavor seems even stronger than the soda…briefly…and the fizz
is quite enjoyable.
Oops…I gave the wrong link for Amazon. Here is the correct one:
Candy link
Also, the version Amazon sells seems to be a combined package with both Ramune and
Cola candies. It does not mention if they are individually wrapped. However, the other
blog site which reviewed the candy apperently reviewed this combo bag.
The incorrect link shows a different brand (Kasugai) of Cola candy.
And, Rachel, as with your experience with the Cola candy, the Ramune candy I had
also had no wrapper…this was a couple of years ago.
Looks so yummy ;A; I’m always eating ramune candy, which tastes weird and mysterious but it is yummy XD
@Justin Chee, I agree they look bad and I was miffed that when I opened the package they were all stuck together. It’s still a great candy, appearances aside. But since appearance do count overall for candy, their look knocked them down a bit for the rating. Silver ball bearing cola candy? Was it Japanese? Sounds interesting.
@mochi, I can always count on you to go the distance with research! ^^b Thanks!
@Lenners, yeah, still haven’t tried any ramune candy. Although I love candy, and there’s so much Japanese snackage, I have to pace myself. Otherwise I’d be as big as a house! I’ll definitely make a point to pick some up next time I’m on Olive.
i admit it looks totally nasty!!!! but i have never had this candy before. in matter of fact, i have never ate Japanese before!!!!!!!!! i did order a load of Japanese candy i got HI-CHEW and other stuff that sounds good and hopefully it will!!