As I was starting to write this review, I thought I should research the flavors of Kit Kat candy bars made in Japan. When I found the presumably complete list on Wikipedia, my head literally exploded. Literally. I have no head.
These are just some of the Kit Kat flavors made in Japan:
* Pickled Plum
* Bubblegum (made with blue chocolate)
* Mango (made with yellow chocolate)
* Rose
* Lemon vinegar
* Kit Kat Cacao 61% (newer version of Kit Kat Bitter with 61% cocoa content)
* Kit Kat Sakura (Cherry blossom)
* Kit Kat Cacao 72% dark chocolate petits with 72% cocoa content
* Kit Kat White , Spain
* Kit Kat Iced Tea
* Kit Kat Wasabi
* Kit Kat Caramel and Salt
* Kit Kat Cucumber
* Kit Kat Kinako (soybean flour)
* Kit Kat Wa Guri (Chestnut flavour)
* Kit Kat Apple
* Kit Kat Café Latte with Hokkaidō Milk
* Kit Kat Kiwifruit
* Kit Kat Strawberry
* Kit Kat Peach
* Kit Kat Gold petits with fudgelike covering and dusted cocoa powder on outside
* Kit Kat Cantaloupe
* Kit Kat Triple Berry
* Kit Kat Mango
* Kit Kat Azuki (red bean)
* Kit Kat Green Grape Muscat [20]
* Kit Kat Caramel Macchiato (September 2008)[21]
* Kit Kat Zunda (only in Yamagata and Miyagi prefecture,mashed edamame beans)
* Kit Kat Beet (only in Hokkaido prefecture)
* Kit Kat Hascapp (Hokkaido blueberry) (only in Hokkaido prefecture)
* Kit Kat Soy Sauce “Tokyo Limited Edition”
* Kit Kat Yakimorokoshi (grilled corn) (only in Hokkaido prefecture)
* Kit Kat Jyagaimo (only in Hokkaido prefecture, potato)
* Kit Kat Daigakuimo (candied sweet potato)
* Kit Kat Pepper:
* Kit Kat Kobe pudding “Kobe Limited Edition”
* Kit Kat Houjicha (ese roasted tea)
* Kit Kat Kokuto (black sugar)
* Kit Kat Watermelon and Salt
* Kit Kat Pumpkin
* Kit Kat Edamame
* Kit Kat Lemon Chocolate (Valentine’s limited edition)
* Kit Kat Cookies & Chocolate
* Kit Kat Cookies PLUS
* Kit Kat Apple Vinegar
* Kit Kat Veggie [20]
* Kit Kat Ginger Ale
* Kit Kat Ramune
* Kit Kat Cheesecake
You guys still with me?
Apple Vinegar?
Candied sweet potato?
Grilled Corn?
Forget EVERYTHING I’ve ever said about Japanese candy not being particularly interesting. They win. Like the flavors or not, you have to love the weirdos in Japan who are spitting out random flavors like these.
Watermelon and salt?
What I’m gonna talk about today is the double flavored bag that my favorite flight attendant Dodie picked up for us on one of her jaunts to the far East: Green Tea and Intense Roasted Soybean. Yeah baby!
Here’s the long and short of it: they’re good. Both flavors, but especially the soybean. The reason they’re good, and I’m sure the reason there’s 243 different flavor varieties in Japan, is due to subtlety. Nothing’s overpowering here.
The green tea Kit Kats, despite appearing semi-bilious, actually taste a bit white chocolate-y. But there’s definitely a wave of matcha flavor, yet it’s subtle. The wafer still stands out nice & strong. I wouldn’t say these are amazing, but they’re good-and others who tried them seemed to love them.
The intense soybean Kats were my favorite. Although…are they named correctly?
When you first take a bite, it really just tastes like a normal Kit Kat. But after you swallow, you get this nice aftertaste of sesame that really works. Some might say it’s floral. But I won’t. I’ll just say it’s a sensory experience for your mouth and nose. Intense? No. Delicious? Abso.
For a moment though- Kit Kat? Seriously? Why would Japan glom on to THIS candy bar and make uber varieties of it? Why not M&Ms? Snickers? SKITTLES, for fu@k’s sake! I never really appreciated Kit Kats, and truthfully…I still don’t. But these are most definitely tasty. Additionally, everyone I gave these to at work loved them, so we know they’re good, because the people I work with know food. We have organic arugala growin’ up in here, for shit’s sake! ‘Nuff said. Sound people like eating.
But I digress-we now need to locate them. Therein lies the rub. I’ve searched long and hard, but not reading or writing Japanese has yet again proven to be my downfall. I know that you can easily search on Ebay and find small packages of many flavors, but you’re gonna get jacked on the price.
Anyone know of a good Japanese treat online store? Send it my way. In the meantime, just remember that in addition to the Japanese being generally smarted and thinner than us Americans, they also get to feast on Wasabi Kit Kat’s.
Bastards.
UPDATE!!! – Thank, RoddyGibbs, for sending me this site- check it out, it’s got it all:
Enjoy everyone, and thanks again Roddy!
Would you happen to have any scans of the 4 finger boxes to share? Thanks
http://aworkingarchive.com/2010/06/30/kitkat-bars/
haha no prob, Jonny, I’ve been meaning to place an order myself. No shortage of crazy snack stuff.
Rodzilla, you magnificent bastard! The post has been updated with your link. Thanks!
napajapan.com seems to be a popular place.
Grocery store in Japantown? At least you could find a bunch of pocky.
We’re trying to determine if we should sign up to be the purveyors of these hard to find treats, not just write about them. Stay tuned on that. I’m not sure…it would seem to me that if it could be done well and cost effectively, Amazon would be doing it.
It constantly amazes me the variety of candies, sodas and the like of American products that aren’t available in the U.S. Seriously, NOT COOL.
You say it has a bit of ‘matcha’ flavor. I’m apparently an idiot because that doesn’t mean anything to me. Though I did just fill out a CAPTCHA code, so you know, I have that going for me.