Japanese convenience store creates a frappe from a popular candy

Family Mart frappes are becoming more iconic by the day.

Recently, Japanese convenience store chain Family Mart has become known for its frappes, which are sold in the freezer section and blended by customers at a machine on the counter. Every now and then, the chain adds a limited-edition frappe to its freezer section, and its newest release has everyone excited, not only because of the flavour but because of the nostalgia served up with it.

Called “Yoglet Frappe“, these frappes aren’t a misspelling of the word “yoghurt” — they’re made with a Japanese candy called “Yoglet“, which has been around since 1979. The sweets in the frappe are described as “yoghurt-flavoured ramune candy” —  “ramune” here refers to small, crunchy candies that taste like ramune, or lemonade-like fizzy drinks — which have a delicious, sweetly tart yoghurt flavour.

▼ The candies can be seen in the poster below.

Image: Press Release

While the candies taste fantastic, they also contain the goodness of yoghurt, so you don’t have to feel too guilty about drinking them in Frappe form. In fact, Family Mart says each cup contains 435 milligrams of calcium, or roughly half the recommended daily intake, which they say is good for helping the body to adjust to temperature changes, making it perfect for summer, when people are constantly switching from extreme heat to air-conditioned environments.

Our reporter Anji Tabata is a big fan of Yoglet, and looking after her body, so she went out to purchase one of the new frappes as soon as they were released on 1 August. Before placing it in the machine, she lifted off the lid and was surprised to find…

▼ …it really did contain pieces of candy!

Yoglet candies are like big tablets in their original form, and although smaller varieties have been produced over the years, these were the smallest Yoglet candies Anji had ever seen. As mentioned in the store’s promotional materials, though, these are small, ramune-style candies, and they appear to have been specially made to blend perfectly with this drink.

Sure enough, once it had been blended in the machine, none of the candies remained whole — they’d crunched down beautifully to meld with the milky yoghurt base of the drink. And when she got to taste it, it was absolutely delicious — the refreshing flavour of yoghurt instantly spread throughout her palate upon first sip.

It had a mellow mouthfeel and a perfect balance between sweetness and tartness. The aftertaste was also refreshing, making it incredibly easy to drink, and though the texture was mostly smooth, the tiny candy granules in the mix helped to create a nice textural contrast.

▼ It was like drinking a frozen yoghurt, or frozen Yoglet, as the colour scheme and familiar font matched the ones used on Yoglet candy boxes.

Anji says the frappe far exceeded her expectations, which had already been high before even trying it, seeing as the candy has such a longstanding history of popularity in Japan. Priced at 350 yen (US$2.45), she’ll definitely be enjoying it again while it’s around during summer, and highly recommends you try it too, next time you visit Family Mart for their generous sandwiches.

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