Last year I was bit by the kurogoma bug. Symptoms included: ordering anything and everything that included black sesame, mixing black sesame paste into whatever dessert would have it, and peering closely at anything packaged in black, to see if it was black-sesame flavor.

A black sesame roll cake filled with black sesame frosting that I ate almost entirely by myself marked the demise of the Kurogoma Days, but luckily the Kinako Era almost immediately followed and continues deliciously to this day. I'll say no more about what kinako is and what you can do with it, as these facts are already well-documented.

Kinako is not as easy to find as black sesame on the candy shelves, so I was excited to find Kinako-mochi Choco, made by Tirol, the same geniuses who brought us Coffee Rhumba. The outer layer of kinako-flavored white chocolate is sweet and nutty, like peanut butter fudge or Reese's Pieces without the candy shell. But it's the inner piece of chewy mochi that makes this candy addictive. At first it's a little strange. Mochi -- pounded glutinous rice -- tastes like nothing, after all. But it's chewy, a chewy little nub of nothing-taste that transforms the kinako-choco from a smooth, pleasant treat into something more substantial and interesting. Beyond the taste, I am now craving the texture of this candy.

I also really love the orange packaging and the tiny picture of kinako-dusted mochi on the wrapper of each piece. The candy's mascot seems to be a cheerful mochi ghost, perhaps the ghost of mochi already eaten? Why he's smiling at the imminent demise of his mochi brothers is a bit mystifying, but maybe it's because even he can't resist this candy.