#3 - The Golden Drop

黄金糖

(The Golden Drop)

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Name: The Golden Drop

Company: Ogontoh

Price: $2.59 at One World Market (Japanese Market)

안녕!  こんにちは! 你好! Every other greeting under the sun! It’s me, 蜜, and I’m just by myself now. Actually, I’ve taken over this blog as my partner 花 and I have grown apart – we have no more classes together and barely chat for more than a minute. And, from everybody in the United States and beyond, I apologize for not updating the blog. From now on, I will take up my duty as owner and get cracking with the reviews (if I can find my candy tasting notebook again… oops…). So, without further ado, I’ve become your ringleader. Hope this isn’t a problem!

Anyway, let’s get down to the pleasant conversation and hard core candy reviewing. I hope all you guys, whether nonexistent or few, have been faring well after the winter. The warm weather is super nice and being able to wear shorts without regretting it an hour later as you shiver is definitely a plus. I recently got my driver’s license which means I’ll be frequenting the Japanese, Chinese, and Korean markets even more and we know what that means – candy, candy, candy! The candy we’re reviewing today is so near and dear to my heart, it has its own little trophy cabinet with a light shining down upon its greatness. It’s actually a rarity at the markets, coming and going off the shelves like a ninja, always out of stock seemingly the minute I walk into the store. When I was finally able to grab it again, I bought 3 bags and have been rationing it as if it’s all I can live on.

Ladies and germs, I proudly present The Golden Drop. Actually, directly translated, it means gold candy but where’s the class in that? I feel like I could open a swanky little bar in some hot city with a name like that and everybody would flock to it. If that were a metaphor, this candy is the swanky little bar and I’m the youngster desperately trying to get in behind the exclusive velvet ropes – that’s how rare it is and, obviously, how much I covet it.

However, you have to save up to covet it. This thing cost me $2.59 which, when compared to other candies we’ve reviewed, is quite cheap. However, the packaging is small and while there are quite a lot of candies packed in there, it’s still a lot less than other candies priced like this. But it’s worth it. Sigh… I’m a slave for candy.

The candy’s color lives up to its name, shining like a beacon of tasty hope in a translucent shade of gold that catches the light so artfully, I feel like giving it its own museum. It’s covered in crinkly, clear wrapping with a little cute twist on both sides so you feel like a little kid as you listen to it speak while you unwrap. (I like to think the candy is shrilly screaming, “STOP TAKING MY CLOTHES OFF!” while I unwrap it but that’s beside the point.) The candy’s shape is a very modern and sleek… prism? I’d like to describe it as a pyramid with a square base but there is no pointed, stabbing edge at the top. Just a smaller square. So it’s pretty much a nice, disproportionate square prism. Either way, it’s fun to roll around with your tongue and let it clink against your teeth.

Okay, so you’ve stripped this succulent little candy (I apologize, I’m getting creepy but on the inside, I’m fangirling) of its clear wrapper and now you’re holding it awkwardly. Alright, bring it to your mouth – slowly, slow—TOO FAST—perfect. Just let it sit there, maybe roll it around a bit. Is your tongue exploding into fits of passion yet? Nope? I’ll just wait then.

Here’s a bit of forewarning for those who don’t like overly sweet candies: back away from the computer screen. You hear that? Get back! This candy is like pouring water over a witch – you’ll wither away and burn. Want to know why? The Golden Drop is pure sugar cane candy. I’m not even making this up. It’s on the packaging, flaunting its sweet little self. If you’re a person with a raging sweet tooth, pass Go and collect $200 worth of this stuff. If you’re not, go straight to jail and do not collect any of it. None. Leave it for the sweet lovers.

Now that we’ve narrowed down our tasters, time to decode this. It tastes like cooked, golden sugar – you know, it has that slightly caramel and toasty flavor to it in which you just know they cooked the pure sugar until it was bubbly and gold before giving it to us. I’m sure you’ve all tasted this before if you’ve had a childhood that involved some sort of fair, carnival, circus, large school event, etc. Haven’t guessed what I’m talking about?

Cotton candy. It’s a mouthful of hard, smooth cotton candy. Not the flavored kind where the synthetic blueberry and strawberry curdle on your tongue, but the pure and real deal. This is the fluffy stuff in compact form with none of that dry, crystal residue that paints your tongue a neon color. And boy, does it last long. In fact, I just had it in my mouth for 20 minutes and it still tasted and felt as if I’d just popped it in. Of course, as you know, I gotta chomp stuff so in my crunch test, I observed that it crunched quite easily but kind of sticks to your teeth. No worries, I won’t be sacrificing any bit of my time anymore by doing that – I want to savor each bit of this candy.

Either than a pleasant and sweet flavor, it leaves no kind of residue or trace that it was even there. Usually, when I have stuff like this, it dries my mouth out and I crawl into the kitchen gasping, “Water, water…” as if I’ve just stepped off the plane from the desert. Not this stuff. It’s in and out like a first love. Wonderful, awesome, oh no please don’t break up with me noooo stop melting away, and then bitter sorrow at its loss. But it’s without the drastic heartbreak, so don’t worry!

But you must know: this is the stuff your mom, your dentist, and your doctor warned you about. This is PURE sugar. Seriously, the ingredients are only ‘pure cane sugar’ and ‘corn syrup’. You’re not going to get anything more sugary than this unless you just starting shoveling sugar from a bag with a spoon to fix your sweet tooth. The reason this stuff is so good is because it’s cooked for that amazing, roasted taste. So please, please, please don’t eat a whole bag in one night! In fact, I only let myself have one once a week (but you know I ration hard core). If you don’t heed this, expect many cavities. I don’t need to read the stars to know your teeth’s future.

However, can you read the stars to figure out our candy’s future? Let’s look into the crystal ball. I see a very good rating in your future, Golden Drop…

Congrats, Golden Drop! This is like the Miss America of candy awards!

Wow! Yep, you probably saw this coming. Sorry, I’m just so biased towards this candy. It’s knock-your-socks-off good in my opinion. Anyway, it feels great to be blogging again. I hope you guys aren’t mad and will continue reading.

Stay cute!

-蜜