Kasugai Lychee Hard Candy

Kasugai makes this candy in a gummy and a hard format. This review is for the hard candy.

Kasugai's Lychee Hard Candy (also spelled litchi, liechee, or lichee) has become an office favorite for those who have to work behind cubicles.

For those who don't know, the lychee berry can be found in specialty markets and at giant grocery stores. They rarely appear at smaller grocery stores or "mom and pop" stores in the United States. Fresh lychee berries are red on the outside and white on the inside, though refrigerating them makes the red rinds turn black, but that's normal. Canned lychees are hard and less flavorful, and often shrink while canning, so it's best to eat them as soon as you get them home. They have a good amount of vitamin C, followed by a trivial amount of folic acid, calcium and a few B vitamins, but you have to eat nine of them in order to reap the benefits. They were originally only grown in China, but now they're grown in India and on a few farms in South Africa as well as a few of the smaller countries in southeast Asia.

Since lychees are kind of scarce, most people settle for the candy version.

Kasugai's Hard Lychee candy is a milky-white color. When you first taste the candy, you'll notice a feint grapefruit taste. It's not as bitter as grapefruit, but it does retain a sour aftertaste that is similar. Some of the flavor is so light, you may not even taste the feint sweetness until just before crunching. The candy doesn't last very long, but it's not as sugary as US hard candies, making it a little easier on the teeth.

Younger children may not be a fan of the grapefruit-like taste, but this candy is a hit with adults who like something sour.

INGREDIENTS
Sugar, Corn Syrup (Corn Starch, Water) Acidulant (Citric Acid, Tartaric Acid) Artificial Flavor.

​Product of Japan.

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