Super Lemon

Japanese candies have always been these anomalies. Odd little things kids eat with poor spelling on the package and strange flavors and names. I've tried so many in my youth, but my favorites were the sour candies. But never, in my life, have I had, nor do I think I will ever have sweets as sour as the Super Lemon. They look harmless, like lemon drops which are sugary sweet with a lemony flavor. Looks are the only similarity.

Super Lemons are atomic bombs. Each bag contains about 22 individually wrapped candies. They are small spheres with a white powder which I can only liken to a hot chili. You pop the tiny sucker in your mouth and in about 3 seconds, the true nature of the powder reveals itself and all the hairs on your body raise as the sour flavor registers in your brain. It is intense and incredibly satisfying in a way. As I crave the need for intense feelings, I once went too far and had an entire bag in one sitting: about 30 minutes. I could feel my eyelids sweating. I thought my face would melt. But the masochist in me just kept popping them in my mouth and letting them settle on my tongue. By the 20th piece, another flavor entered my mouth: salt. Ah yes, 20 Super Lemons resulted in my tongue oozing blood as it couldn't take anymore. Rather than take this as a sign to stop, I figured I might as well finish the last two; I was always rather stubborn and hard-headed about those things. A few days later, my tongue was fine and I was forbidden to eat them again by my mother.

15 years later, I wish I knew where I could find these little morsels of torture or if they even still make them. The li hing mui I eat like the lemon balls, just don't do the same thing those little candies, deceptively innocent looking, did. Here is my call, to everyone, please, if you know where I can find them online or a store that carries them, please email me. I really would like to see if they still make them as excrutiatingly painful as they did in my youth.