Fujiya Co., LTD. - PekoPopo Chocolate (pops) - Dec. 1, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Fujiya Co., LTD. 
PekoPopo Chocolate (pops)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: .84 oz. (24 g.) in 1 package of 2 pops
Calories: 140 calories (estimate) in 2 pops
Cost: $3.25 for 1 package of 2 pops
Purchased from: de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA

Irasshaimase (welcome) to Day #8 of Chocolate, Movies & Entertainment Theme Week. 

How about edible cartoon characters from Japan, courtesy of a Manga exhibit in San Francisco?

Today's PekoPopo Chocolate (pops) were from Fujiya Co., LTD. (a large confectionery business based in Bunkyo-ku, Japan*). The company was founded in 1910. 

In 1950, a cute cartoon of a six-year old girl named "Peko" became the mascot for Fujiya's Milky milk candy brand. Peko-chan was later joined by a young boy named Popo-chan when the sweets (and Peko-chan) proved popular. Seventy-five years later, the smiling faces of these two famous, forever-young characters can still be seen across Japan (and beyond).

Aroma notes included: biscuit/cookie; freshly toasted bread with jelly; and milky, sweet hot chocolate. 

Texture: light, creamy, milky

Flavor notes included: sweet, mild and creamy milk chocolate--with no bitterness or acidity one might encounter with darker chocolates.

It's probably not polite to say I enjoyed eating adorable children, but these two milky chocolate cartoon kiddos were sweet and tasty (despite containing a lot of additives).

I did enjoy the Manga exhibit at the de Young Museum; and I appreciated the museum's decision to offer these Japanese chocolate pops for sale in their cafe. (And, yes, there are numerous examples of "fan-created manga" featuring Peko-chan.)

Ingredients: Sugar, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (Palm, Shea, Sunflower), Unsweetened Chocolate, Whole Milk Powder, Lactose, Powdered Skim Milk, Cocoa Butter, Hydrogenated Modified Oil and Fat (Sunflower, Rapeseed), Polyglycerol, Polyricinoleate, Soy Lecithin, Artificial Flavor, Red Beet Juice.

Allergen-related information: Contains: Milk and Soybeans. May Contain Wheat, Egg and Peanuts. Contains bioengineered ingredients

*This chocolate was imported by JFC International Inc. (Los Angeles, CA).

Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate - Hazelnut Milk Chocolate 55% (bar) - Oct. 2, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate

Hazelnut Milk Chocolate 55% with Alexandre Family Farm A2/A2 Milk

Good ++

Weight: 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar

Calories: 300 calories (estimate) in 1 bar

Cost: $9.50 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #12 of Chocolate, Nuts and Something More Theme Week.

Today's Hazelnut Milk Chocolate 55% cacao (bar) with A2/A2 milk from Alexandre Family Farm (Crescent City, CA) was handcrafted from bean to bar by Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate (Eureka, CA). 

Lightly roasted Oregon hazelnut bits flavored this 55% milk chocolate. The cacao used to make the base chocolate was from Brazil. Any subtleties in the cacao flavor were muted by the rich milk, the overall blend was a very harmonious one. A slight touch of vanilla added subtle warmth to the bar.

The milk really did play a starring role. A2/A2 milk comes from cows that carry A2 casein protein (rather than the more prevalent A1 casein protein milk found on most supermarket shelves). A2 milk is thought to be easier to digest and is more similar to goat's milk.

This nutty, milk chocolate bar had a soft creaminess to it. Taking a bite was like relaxing into a favorite plush sofa. It was sweet, to be sure, but the peppering of small hazelnut bits helped balance out the sweetness and added some contrasting texture.

Ingredients: Cacao, cane sugar, A2/A2 whole milk powder, cocoa butter, vanilla bean, hazelnuts.