These Iwata Dekopon Kokuto Kurumi are the last of the Kumamon themed bean snacks we picked up at the Anatagatadokosa store in Asakusa, Tōkyō.

They consist of large walnuts coated in dekopon juice from Kumamoto Prefecture and brown sugar from Okinawa. Kumamoto Prefecture is noted for its production of dekopon, a seedless and sweet variety of mandarin orange sometimes sold under the name ‘Sumo citrus’ in the West. Only products with a sugar level above 13°Bx and citric acid below 1.0% can be sold with the name dekopon, a name that was previously a trademark of the product from Kumamoto.

These walnuts have a bright and sweet depokon aroma, partially a testament to the sugar content of dekopon from the region. Upon tasting, the dekopon and brown sugar coating has a soft texture that carries an intensely sweet burst of juicy dekopon flavour. The sweetness and dekopon flavours are bold, and the nutty notes and firmer texture of the walnut provides a welcome relief to the sweetness, as the brown sugar and dekopon coating melts away and leaves the walnut for chewing in the finish.

This Iwata Dekopon Kokuto Kurumi contained 100 g. It was produced in Japan and purchased in Tōkyō, Japan in 2018.