Kumi Ame - the art of Japanese handmade rolled candy

Our McCain and Obama lollipops, as well as the Campaign 2008 small hard candies, are made with the Japanese art of kumi ame (rolled candy). This is a form of candy making that has never been mastered by candy makers in the United States (or, at least, after extensive research, we weren’t able to find anyone who could do it). Even in Japan, it is a dying art form, as there are very few candy makers left who have the skills to make candies like these. As with many other handicrafts, the demands of the global marketplace favor automated, high production volume over the unique qualities of hand-crafted work, causing skills such as kumi ame making to slowly die out.

The kumi ame making process starts in a way that is similar to “crystal cut” or rock candy - boiling sugar and a variety of other ingredients, as well as food coloring. The real talent comes in the next step - as the candy starts to cool and solidify, the candy makers have a very limited time to shape the different colored pieces into the design they wish to make. They form the design within a wide, fat, cylinder shaped candy. After the design is done, they then roll the candy so that it gradually becomes narrower and longer (it’s similar to rolling a piece of clay back and forth between the palms of your hands). This long and narrow candy is then sliced up into individual pieces. For the lollipops, the sticks then need to be inserted. And remember, this all has to be done before the candy hardens!

It is our belief that the internet is the perfect place to introduce the art of kumi ame to the United States. Through the internet we hope to reach everyone in the country who appreciates unusual, fun, and flavorful candies that are unlike the mass produced candies you find elsewhere. For Halloween we will be expanding our kumi ame offerings, and soon we’ll start offering other kinds of fun and tasty candies too - from the US, Japan, and other parts of the world!