In the spring, a young woman's fancy turns to thoughts of fruit. Unless she lives in a country where the fruit is fantastically expensive (180 yen for a single apple??), in which case her thoughts turn to thoughts of Lotte Rich Fruit Chocolate -- a bar of which costs less than that single apple.
I was especially excited to see this candy in the conbini because raspberry is a favorite flavor of mine (ah, Razzmatazz smoothie from Jamba Juice, I do miss thee), but not very popular or prevalent in Japan. I was also intrigued by the extremely mauve color of the chocolate pictured on the package. It looked like a scoop of black raspberry ice cream and I bought it without giving the other flavor of Rich Fruit chocolate on the shelf (strawberry, yawn) a second glance.
As soon as I opened the outer package, I was hit with the tangy scent of raspberries. The first bite reminded me of what I had always hoped my Red Raspberry Lipsmacker might taste like if I ate it, sweet with a tartness that was almost juicy. There was a graininess at the end that wasn't unpleasant, probably the residual bits of freeze-dried raspberry powder, and overall the chocolate has the creamy tang of a good-quality raspberry yogurt rather than the aggressive sweetness of most flavored white chocolates.
It isn't often I so sincerely look forward to trying a candy and it actually lives up to my expectations -- I feel like I've happily keeled over into a bed of raspberry satin, just like the woman in this Rich Fruit Chocolate commercial. (From that page, click on the button on the left if you have a broadband connection, the one on the right if you don't.)
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Comments (9)
Ohhhhh, this one looks like a real winner! Wants!
Do you think it's similar to the 70% Strawberry fruit bar Meiji came out with earlier this year?
Posted by Sera | May 5, 2007 1:58 AM
Please, please I want this candy.
Posted by Joanna | May 5, 2007 8:23 AM
I love fresh raspberries and I usually prefer "real" chocolate - no fruit, thank you - but this looks intriguing. The fabric is marvellous, as usual!
Posted by Christine | May 5, 2007 10:55 PM
Haha.. love the commercial. Note the continuity error. :)
Posted by HM | May 6, 2007 10:46 PM
That is such a lovely color, and hey, no seeds!
Posted by Mariko | May 7, 2007 9:46 AM
Sera, yes, it looks similar to the Meiji strawberry chocolate -- I think it's Lotte's response to that candy. It would be great if they came out with even more flavors!
Posted by Anjali | May 7, 2007 12:14 PM
I thought so! Ohh, I hear you 100% Anjali! More flavors would be great! :D Hard to think of what would work well next...
Posted by Sera | May 8, 2007 2:33 AM
look yummi! i want to taste it too ^^
Posted by kuki | May 26, 2007 7:48 AM
Well the girl in the chocolate commerical her name is Leah Dizon and she is some what a popular artist in japan but does speak english too!
Posted by Amanda | June 4, 2007 1:42 AM