I picked this box up in the city for $2.00, just above the usual price ($1.69) for Chocoball. Chocoball by Morinaga is a great little treat which my husband also loves, and seeing as it was a flavour we had not tried, i decided to take it home.
Kokutou or "black sugar" is from Okinawa and is popular in sweets made in Japan. I guess it gives regular sweets that exotic feel without having come from outside of Japan.
The black sugar flavour is in the milk chocolate which coats a cocoa biscuit. The chocolate layer is not very thick and the ball is made up mainly of biscuit. I actually couldn't taste the black sugar at all, it was more of a malt flavour. My husband said he could taste the black sugar flavour but it was very light. Usually black sugar candies are strong and have that definite black sugar taste, so this was a little unusual in that respect.
The box was also different, more like a tin of sardines where you peel the lid back, than the usual corner opening.
This is ok for a one-time tasting but i wouldn't buy it again as the flavour is more malt-cocoa than anything else. I think if you are going to make something that is inspired by such a popular flavour, then do it right and make it strong, than the way Morinaga have done this Chocoball.
