Chocoball – Hi-Chew Grape

Chocoball is a brand of chocolate coated balls (inspired, I know) that have a variety of fillings. The mascot named Kyoro-Chan is some strange brand like creature. Why this helps sell chocolate balls is beyond me, but it’s one of those things so cemented in the culture that it’s sort of something we just take as is. I remember having them as a kid and even then remembering they weren’t anything remarkable or special. But they did come in a container with Kyoro-Chan as a dispenser so I was thoroughly amused, even if the chocolate wasn’t particularly memorable.

The main selling point of Chocoball was that it’s inexpensive and easily accessible. I’m pretty sure this variety is more aimed at being a novelty, slightly premium product. I say that because it’s not in their signature small cardboard box, and it just oozes of nostalgia baiting, something aimed at people who grew up with it as kids, rather than kids. I could be way off though.

It shouldn’t be a huge shock that Chocoball is doing a crossover with Hi-Chew since Morinaga owns both. In fact, there are a few Hi-Chew flavours released in the past that were based off the Chocoball candy. They’ve done this before, so surely it should be refined by now, right?

Opening this pouch, the first thing I smell is that strong concord grape smell I get every time I open a pack of red grape Hi-Chews. There’s only a slight chocolate, dairy smell to it that would give you the vague idea that chocolate may be present.

The texture is interesting, but in a good way. I wasn’t fully sure what to expect as I bit in, but I can say I am pleasantly surprised. As a kid, I grew up with Meiji chocolate covered gummies that came in a cylindrical tube. I plowed through them like a beast, and these are just as good, if not better. The chocolate is soft and gives way to the gummy center quite quickly. The gummy is also soft but not too soft, and also not sticky at all. You end up with something that has just the right firmness and bounce to it without leaving a mess between your teeth. It also has a great flavour to it.

The flavour is also rather interesting. The chocolate is flavoured with a strong concord grape and has a fairly complex flavour. It starts off with a nice sweet, grape flavour to it but it also has a bit of tartness to it that you find in red grape. It’s weird but not in an unpleasant way, more of a “wow I didn’t think they could pull that off” type of way. The flavour is also really similar to the Meiji chocolate covered grape gummies I had as a kid, except these have a bit more of a complex flavour to it which I really enjoyed.

I’ll be honest, I went into this with super low expectations and treating this more of a gimmick flavour. While it still holds true that it’s a gimmick and novelty, this ended up being really enjoyable and I wouldn’t mind trying it on a regular basis. The combination of the flavour and the texture works really well to make these little balls quite addictive.