Toppo – Triple Berry
Do you ever go to a store or supermarket and see a product that just looks overpriced? Can’t figure out for the life of you why something is so expensive? Congratulations, you are guilty of judging a book by it’s cover. Admittedly I’ve been there before. I like to think I’m a small time offender though, since I still end up giving everything a try, for better or worse.
Toppo is what I would describe as Lotte’s answer to Glico and their ever popular Pocky line. Interestingly though, Toppo is different in the way the snack is made. While Pocky tends to have the biscuit in the middle, with chocolate and filling coating the outside, Toppo goes the other way, and has the filling on the inside of a biscuit like, pretzel stick. While both methods have their pros and cons, the biggest pro of the Toppo style sticks is that the sticks themselves feel more substantial, and it’s much less potential for mess, since the chocolate is on the inside.
These things are hefty. the box may only have 2 packs, but each of those packs feels hefty. Opening one of the pouches up reveals seven thick sticks filled with chocolate. It’s like if you took the components of two Pocky sticks and shoved them into one, single straw. These not only look substantial, they feel that way too from the weight of each stick. The outside is a smooth, pretzel looking cookie, while the inside seems to filled solid with the chocolate. The scent the chocolate gives off is of that nice floral mixed berry that is somewhat recognizable and almost generic in terms of Japanese style berry flavours, which is not necessarily a bad thing.
Flavour wise, they are fairly close to what you’d expect from the standard Pocky. The flavour is somewhat generic when it comes to mixed berry chocolates from Japan. It’s a fragrant, floral blend of strawberry, blueberries and raspberries. If you’ve had any sort of mixed berry chocolate from any Japanese brand, you’ll like be able to taste this with your mind’s tongue. These aren’t the overly sweet ones, which I appreciate. The pretzel or biscuit outer shell is fairly neutral, so most of the flavour is coming from the berries. The whole thing is quite tasty, and as substantial as these are, a full pack still leaves me wanting more. That’s more of me being a fat ass than anything though…
Texture of these is also different from Pocky. Pockys are thin and have a very clean snap to them. These aren’t as delicate or fragile, and are more like a solid pretzel. They can take much more of a beating. I say pretzel, but these are more like a solid biscuit with a slightly flaky outer shell. It doesn’t leave any mess or crumbs though, and also breaks clean. It’s just not as snappy or have that distinct Pocky break to them. While these aren’t as crisp, they make up for it in mouth feel. Because these are thicker, it feels more like eating a cookie stick with a nice filling. The filling is quite solid as well, and isn’t runny or melty. It’s not rock solid, but it won’t leave a mess of melted chocolate behind, if that makes sense. It’s just right. The end result is a feeling of satisfaction after having one, even if you do crave more afterwards (which I do).
Being the first time I’ve tried Toppo, I can honestly say I get why their expensive. Just thinking about how these are made, I imagine the cost itself is higher than making Pockys. While Pocky is always a nice light treat, these feel far more substantial and less messy. Depending on where you are, these may or may not be pricier than Pocky, though I wager they will most likely be more expensive, if not equal to the higher end Pocky flavours. I would highly recommend you give these a try though, as I am a firm believer in quality over quantity, which these really play to.
