[ Eitaro Sohonpo ]Eitaro Candy OKINAWA BROWN SUGAR 12 pieces,Japanese Candy, Wagashi, Handmade, No Additive, Made in Japan

You can really taste the molasses and cinnamon! Love it

When I was kid my mother used to buy this candy for meVery nostalgic and tastes really good too.

The presentation of the candy in the little box strikes me as a gift more than a casual box of candy. It's quite unique and definitely not a Western / American candy style.TASTE & TEXTUREI got the brown sugar and it starts out with a cinnamon flavor, followed by...brown sugar. The taste changes a bit as you go but I think this may be a function of your taste buds simply getting overwhelmed with sweet. It's almost caramel, but not quite. Sort of a rough mouthfeel but no sharp edges that will cut your tongue. It has a complex flavor despite being sugar and cinnamon.PRESENTATIONJust a thoughtful little plastic box with eye catching wrapped candies. At the risk of sounding stereotypical, it just says "Japanese" to me...and I mean that in the very best way. I even watched the video that gave the company's back story, they've been around for awhile and it was interesting.VALUEA little pricey at $1 a piece, these candies are more of an occasional treat type item.I like them, quite a nice flavor. Taste is subjective so expect a very sweet, brown sugar flavor...but with a hint of spice.

This review is for [ Eitaro Sohonpo ]Eitaro Candy OKINAWA BROWN SUGAR,Japanese Candy, Wagashi, Handmade, No Additive, Made in JapanThis company started in the 1800s, and this particular candy shape started at this company around the 1868 so this is a very traditional candy. It was known as black candy but had a distinctive shape due to the process they used to make it and was subsequently called umeboshi candy because it looked like japanese pickled plums. Really nice to be able to taste a bit of Japan's history.The advertised candy mentioned it was brown sugar candy so I was expecting brown sugar, but I was surprised to taste cinnamon. I'm not a huge fan of cinnamon but this is okay. This brown sugar hard candy is quite sweet. It doesn't really taste like anything that I've had in the west which was interesting. Due to the history of the confectionary shop this candy is a bit pricier running at approximately $8 for 12 individually wrapped candies. I think this can make a great gift for people that like hard candies. I would suggest a few of the other flavors or even if they have a mixture one. Since it is not too expensive and quite unique in taste I would suggest a try!

I love the texture of these hard candies. Unfortunately nobody in my household could get into the brown sugar flavor. It's very strong. That's a personal preference and I'm sure lots will love them! I loved the lemon.

Freshness - Dated 11-02-2023, so coming from outside the US this could mean February of 2023 or if they used the US date format it's November of 2023. In any case it's a piece of hard candy so probably won't go bad for several years, if ever.You see from the pictures it's an odd shape. That's ok as it fits comfortably in your mouth. As for the flavor it's cinnamon and brown sugar. Both strong flavors, not something that I was expecting. Apparently the cinnamon is only on the outside so after a few minutes you just get the brown sugar flavor. Like any hard candy that's mostly sugar it's sweet but has the rich brown sugar, or almost a molasses flavor. I like that much better than the cinnamon. Overall it's quite a unique flavor for me. Just now crunching down on the candy as I'm writing this. I do love the brown sugar/molasses flavor

I wasn't sure what to expect with these candies, and ordered on a whim. But I'm glad I did! These are really lovely. I really like the brown sugar flavor, it has a nice depth of flavor without being overpoweringly sweet for no reason. They also last a long time in the mouth, making for a nice long candy experience. Highly recommend!

I've had 3 or 4 pieces of this at this point, and offered a few up to friends to try. The first time I put it in my mouth, I did NOT like what it tasted like at all. It was brown sugar for sure, so less sweet than your typical hard candy, which I expected. But there was another flavor in it that I could not pinpoint that did not taste good. I don't recall what I'd had prior to that, but it may have been something as simple as a peanut butter and jelly (which is relatively sweet). I had a couple yesterday while having some coffee (not sweet) and these tasted MUCH better. I enjoyed the flavor. It complemented the coffee well.As far as value, I don't think I'd purchase these on my own as it's a little spendy for the amount. That said - it comes nicely packaged, so it may be good as a gift - and I would definitely purchase as a gift for someone.