Kaldi Coffee Farm is a well-known Japanese chain of food stores. They were established in 1977 in Setagaya, Tokyo, but their operations eventually grew to encompass not only coffee but various food products, especially imported ones. Now they are one of the go-to places in Japan if you are craving something from back home, such as Italian wine, Korean kimchi or Mexican guacamole.
Last week I went to Kaldi for the first time, because a friend of mine wanted to shop there. I wasn’t really looking to buy anything, but when I saw the big display of Sakura-themed sweets, I thought it would be fun to show just how Japanese food manufacturers go full on “mad genius” mode with the coming of spring. I bought so many sweets that they lasted me for a while... or did they? Lots of re-wrapping took place after the photoshoot.
Here are all the sweets and my review of each one, for anyone who plans on going to Kaldi soon.
桜 塩あんこ飴
Sakura Salt Anko Candy
Just like salted caramel, Japanese confectioners like to pair salt and sweet bean paste for a specific flavor. I was expecting a hard candy but these are soft sweet bean paste covered in a very thin layer of hard candy, so you can enjoy the best of both worlds.
桜まんじゅう
Sakura Manju
I think these would be really cute to take to a hanami with friends. The size is really cute and they are individually wrapped. The sweet bean paste inside is smooth koshi-an and although I am definitely a tsubu-an kind of girl, in this case koshi-an is definitely more appropriate.
カスタードケーキ いのち さくら
Custard Cake Inochi Sakura
Excruciatingly sweet is how I would describe this. It’s a delicately soft cake with a custard and sakura jelly filling that is soft but not too creamy so it keeps its shape well. I’d recommend this especially for people who have an insatiable sweet tooth and a fast metabolism.
ほろりくちどけクッキー
Horori Kuchidoke Cookies
The name is so pretty! “Horori” is an onomatopoeic expression meaning “falling softly” used for petals, etc. “Kuchidoke” is a word that means to melt in the mouth. Strung together the whole phrase is just really lovely. I actually really liked these crumbly bite-sized cookies. They are sweet but covered in a salty crumbly powder. I think that because of their size they would work really well as a little dessert in a bento.
とろけるくずもち
Torokeru Kuzumochi
Torokeru means “to melt” so it’s often used to describe food, but has a second meaning of “to be charmed”! So the name suits this mochi so well! It is excellent in both texture and taste. The kuzu mochi is smooth and slippery, so it has a very satisfying melt-in-your-mouth 食感. The sakura mitsu or syrup is equal parts salty and sweet, so it makes for a very subtle combination. I think it was my favorite out of all of the sweets I got. Only one sakura sticker was harmed in the process of this photoshoot and it’s the one that fell into the kuzu mochi.
さくらマシュマロ
Sakura Marshmallows
I love marshmallows, so I picked this up immediately. They’re not as sweet as regular marshmallows, but rather have a more subtle flavor, so I really like them. The cute shape is what you buy these for, but maybe due to the packaging they’re not as perfectly sakura-shaped as you’d expect, so sad.
ほろりくちどけクッキー
Horori Kuchidoke Cookies
The name is so pretty! “Horori” is an onomatopoeic expression meaning “falling softly” used for petals, etc. “Kuchidoke” is a word that means to melt in the mouth. Strung together the whole phrase is just really lovely. I actually really liked these crumbly bite-sized cookies. They are sweet but covered in a salty crumbly powder. I think that because of their size they would work really well as a little dessert in a bento.
桜スティックゼリー
Sakura Jelly on a stick
I generally prefer gummies on the sour side and ones that aren’t covered with sugar, but these grew on me. They were really sugary though. But the shape is so adorable and it is extremely photogenic as far as sweets go! Would be so cute in portrait photos!
Have you been to Kaldi Coffee Farms? What was the most delicious or unusual product you found there?
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