We have a REALLY fun Snack from Japan today! Qoo, a Coca-Cola product, is one that I was first introduced to me by my college friend, Sarah Lou. She was fortunate enough to take a trip to Japan and was kind enough to return with an assortment of gifts for me. One of those items was a bottle of Qoo, in a variety that looked similar to a bottle of Calpico. Fast forward several years, and imagine my surprise when I see the Qoo mascot staring back at me in Mitsukoshi! This particular version is a Soft Jelly Drink.
BONUS! Japanese Word of the Day! Purun (ぷるん) means “shaking like a jelly.” Here, I believe it takes on an onomatopoeic form of the sound of something jiggling.
Price be darned, I HAD to buy this!
Apparently not just a drink, the Qoo website (in Japanese) features recipes using these as well! Since I did not remove the English sticker, more information on the nutrition in Japanese can be found here.
So what exactly is a soft jelly drink? As unhelpful as this may be, it’s exactly what it sounds like! Okay, okay. I’m sure most of you have eaten Jell-O at some point in your lives. The drink is kind of like a not-fully-set bowl of Jell-O, or when you’ve chewed a bit for a few seconds and it starts to break down, but smoother. You can kind of see its plasma-esque state in this sake cup.
The drink was a bit sweet, but had a good muscat flavor that I enjoyed. The texture was a bit of a surprise at first, but it wasn’t off-putting to me. I found it very fun. Matt wanted to try it and I warned him he might not like it, but once the brief look of confusion after taking a swig from the packet subsided, he noted that it wasn’t bad. Despite the price tag on this snack, I’d certainly buy it again, and would love to try the other flavors. Plus, how can anyone resist Qoo’s adorable mug! 
I believe Mitsukoshi was also selling the Peach version, but other varieties that are made include Orange, Grape, and Apple. Do you think you’d try one of these Purun Purun Qoo jelly drinks? Which flavor appeals to you?
Japanese snacks are the absolute best. Muscat sounds like the best of the flavors you listed, but I’d also try apple if it were more of a tart/sour apple…
I have had jelly products from Japan but this one is new to me. The packaging reminds of the “GoGo Squeez Apple Sauce” and others. I would definitely try all the different flavors. This brought me memories of this jelly/jello that came in little individual plastic containers the size coffee creamers. I used to have a lot of those as a kid. I believe they still sell them.
foodfitnessfantasy – I love love love Japanese snacks! I agree with muscat sounding like the best flavor for this drink, mainly because it doesn’t seem like it would be overly sweet. By the looks of the apple package, it appears that it would be like apple juice in flavor based on the red apples.
Ricardo – The packaging is just like the GoGo Squeeze! I’ve seen the little jellies in some of the Asian grocery stores in Orlando as well as online. I haven’t tried them yet, though!
I’ve not had muscat before… what does it taste like?
It’s a variety of grape. Have you ever had moscato wine? Their color varies, but in many cases, it’s usually green in color. Very tasty! More mellow than a red grape, but not as tart as a green one.