Omiyage: Tokyo Rum Raisin

So, I was waiting for my friend in Hamamatsucho Station when I decided to pop into the New Days convenience store. Imagine my delight when I saw this lovely blue box staring back at me. Let's just say I was more than a little pleased. I love that there's real alcohol in the KitKats (0.056% alcohol content) and that there's a warning that you shouldn't give these to children or people with a low alcohol tolerance. As for taste, they're pretty good. Definitely rum raisin mixed with KitKat sugary white chocolate. KitKat, you're doing it right.

Tokyo Rum Raisin 11/2012

Gran Wafer

Gran Wafer (2012/10)

So, KitKat has really been letting me down these days. What happened to the good old days when they used to release a new flavor every month or so. Sad. I feel like they've gotten kind of lazy, but anyway. It just makes the new flavors that much more exciting.

Well, not really in this instance. This is the newest release - the Gran Wafer. They've even been advertising this with TV commercials. But it's just a box of 10 mini KitKats without the outside layer of chocolate. That's what I expected when I bought the box, so I wasn't surprised. And it is pretty good. More cookie tasting and less rot your teeth out sweet. But, I was still hoping for so much more.

Vanilla Ice Cream

I was quite pleased to see this in the convenience store the other day. Again with the bags - in this case a mini one - but I'll take what they give me. I quite enjoy summer flavors because they always recommend that you eat it cold. Right on the bag - ...... And surprisingly enough, it really does make quite the difference. Vanilla ice cream KitKats taste good at room temp, but something magical happens when they come out of the freezer. It must be because they really do taste quite a bit like ice cream. Sweet and delicious!

Omiyage Kuromitsu

Kuromitsu (2012/06/24)

I got another Omiyage from one of my friends. She's so great to think of me so much. This 黒みつ or Kuromitsu is apparently a KitKat flavor from Tokyo, though I hadn't seen it before. I was surprised by that actually. The box says it's specifically from Tokyo Nihombashi. That's rather near my side of town, and I still didn't know. Anyway, if you don't know what it is, Kuromitsu is basically syrup that's similar to molasses and it's used in Japanese sweets. I like it in "anmitsu". I was rather torn on the KitKat though. It was sweet but in a deep way - like molasses tends to be.

Salt and Puff

So, they came out with another Bar style KitKat last month. This one is called "塩パフ" or "Salt and Puff". I think that if it had been a bit saltier, it would have been better. I found it to be a bit boring myself. And as you may know, I'm not really a huge fan of the bars to begin with so........

2012/06/06

Raspberry for adults?

You may or may not recall an earlier post talking about オトナの甘さ or the more grown up "adult" KitKats. They're usually a bit less sweet and they have a bit of a biscuity texture to the chocolate. Anyway, one thing I love about the airport is that it's easy to find KitKats there. They had a few that I had never tried before but most were omiyage ones, which are regionally limited, so I went with the seasonal KitKat, which is time limited.

The flavor is Raspberry. Now, raspberry is one of my favorite berries. It falls second to blackberries. So I was excited about this KitKat. As an オトナ flavor, it's a bit disappointing. It's REALLY sweet. But as a KitKat in general, I have no complaints. It was quite yummy and I'm embarrassed to say that I finished the whole bag on my own already. It's a good thing that I only bought the one bag.

SkyTree!

I found a new KitKat! You have no idea how excited I was to see this. Thrilled! So, according to the box, this is the most popular flavor - orange. And they decided to use it as the Tokyo SkyTree Omiyage KitKat. I wonder if this will stick around or if it's just for a month or two now that the tower is about to open up. I guess we'll see. Until then, I'll enjoy this box of boxes of delicious and creamy orange flavored KitKats.

There's three regular sized packs inside the SkyTree box

Marron

Marron (aka Chestnut) 02/2011

I'm always amused when Japanese people assume some loan word is English. Marron is one that surprises many of my clients. I never even heard that word before coming to Japan. I did learn that it is used in culinary circles but that is hardly a world I belong to. In my realm, we say chestnuts. Now, I'm okay with roasted chestnuts. Not something I seek, but I'm okay with them. And they do smell amazing. But desserts like Mont Blanc are really popular here. Of that, I'm not a fan. These KitKats, again I don't remember, probably had that Mont Blanc taste to them.

Almond

I should say I used to really dislike nuts. When I was a kid, the ONLY nut I liked was fresh pecans. (I am Texan after all.) Now I'm okay with most nuts, but I still don't like almonds. There's something about their texture that puts me off. These KitKats have almond flavoring but no pieces, so they were okay. I don't really remember these (surprise?). I'm sure they were mainly chocolate tasting with a small hint of something else. The something else being almond of course.

Bitter Almond 06/2010

Kuchidoke Almond 02/2011

Olympic Maple

This bag of maple minis was released at the same time as the 2010 Winter Olympics. Because if there's anything that the Japanese associate with Canada more than maple, I don't know what it is. I've heard this flavor existed before, so it's quite possible it was RE-released for the Olympics, but sadly not created for it.
Anyway, the KitKat was, as I'm sure you can imagine, really sweet. But in the way that pancakes are really sweet - but so delicious.

Bars

So, I'm really stretching for categories now. This one is the remaining big bar KitKats that haven't been posted. I'm not really a fan of these big bars. It's just too much KitKat at one time. If I could choose the ideal size, it would be the petites. Usually 6 or 12 come in a box and that means you can share the greatness with everyone else. And the amount of sugar you consume at one time is less, leaving you to feel a lot less like death.

Anyway, the first one this time is Banana. Um...not really delicious. It tasted like fake banana flavoring, something I'm not a fan of. But if you like that, then you'll probably like this KitKat.

Next was good but super sweet. Salt caramel. This flavor is so popular in general. And while I wasn't really a fan at first, salt caramel has really grown on me. It's my Dean and Deluca coffee choice too.

The last bar one in my collection, until a new one comes out, is Bitter Strawberry. I know that chocolate and strawberry is a very common and popular combo. But I'm just not a fan. I should point out that actually, I'm not a huge chocolate fan. I like it, of course, but I can be slightly picky about it. But this is another one of those if-you-generally-like-the-flavor-you'll-love-this situations.

Spicy goodness

This was easily one of my favorite KitKats. My friend found it and brought it to work to share. She doesn't like spicy things but she likes to share in my KitKat obsession. Anyway, I remember when I first ate one of these, I was so disappointed. It just tasted like normal chocolate. But then suddenly, after swallowing, there was a small surge of fire in my throat and mouth. My eyes must have lit up like a child on Christmas. I was so excited and happy. I just kept saying "it's like a party in my mouth!" My friend, however, wasn't so thrilled.

Desserts

I've finally got less than 20 KitKats to post and I'm running out of themes. After this desserts post, I'm not sure what to do! Anyway....

Aloe Yogurt 06/2010

Framboise 04/2010

 The first one is Framboise from 2010. It was definitely berry-ish, but I'm not sure I can say more than that. I don't really remember liking it, but as I've said many times, I don't really remember many of these. That's the trouble with starting a blog 3 years late.

I do remember the next one though. I remember being surprised by how much it tasted just like the real thing. Aloe Yogurt is so good! It's better as actual yogurt, but the KitKat was delicious!

Dessert Pack 11/2011

Strawberry Cake 06/2010

The next one is Strawberry Cake. I'm nearly 100% positive that it tasted just like any of the other strawberry flavors. It might have been a bit sweeter, I guess.

There was also a dessert pack. I wasn't going to get it because it had Custard Pudding in it, and I've had the custard pudding twice already. But I couldn't resist the Tiramisu.  

Pumpkin Cheesecake 09/2011

And last but not least is Pumpkin Cheesecake. This one was much more recent. It wasn't particularly pumpkiny, but it was really yum!

Puddings

Custard Pudding 03/2009

The theme this time is puddings. I'm not really a fan of pudding here. It's a lot like flan, which something else I'm not a huge fan of. The texture and I just don't get along very well. Anyway, in KitKat format, the texture isn't such a problem. The amount of sugar trying to rot out my teeth might be though. They're all quite sweet. Anyway, here we go.

Custard Pudding Big Bar 03/2010

We've got the standard Custard Pudding. They keep releasing this flavor, sometimes in different forms like the Big Bar. There's also Mango Pudding, which I actually do like because mango is delicious. And finally, there's Caramel Pudding. I don't remember how it's different from the standard custard pudding, but I can guess.

Well, there you have it for puddings... I wonder what I can manage for the next theme.

Mango Pudding multi pack 07/2009

Caramel Pudding 09/2009

Cheese and chocolate

So this KitKat was easily one of the worst I've ever had. What were you thinking, KitKat? Cheese? And not like cheesecake. No, actual cheese flavor! It tasted like that fake powdery cheese nastiness that pops up in snacks from time to time. I recommend trying it just to say that you have. But that's about as far as I'll go with that.

Japanese style

Caramelized Sweet Potato 02/2009

So "Japanese style" might be a little redundant since these are all exclusive-to-Japan KitKats. But anyway, these are flavors that happen to be a bit more Japanese than the other ones still left to post. The first one is Caramelized Sweet Potato (大学芋). I can't decided if I like the real thing, because it's a little stickier and harder than I prefer. But the flavor is alright. As for the KitKat, it was much too long ago.

Kinako 07/2009

Kinako Ohagi 09/2009

After that is a two pack mixed bag. Chocolate minis, of course, and Soybean flour (キナコ). I always feel that Kinako has a peanut butter feel to it. So I liked the KitKat but I was a tad confused. There was also a Kinako Ohagi KitKat. I've never actually had the real deal before, so I can't really comment on how authentic the taste was. Not that I can remember anyway.

Roasted Sweet Potato 11/2009

The last one is another two pack mixed bag. Chocolate minis, again, and Roasted Sweet Potato (焼き芋). Now, I'm a fan of real roasted sweet potatoes. But I do not care for the flavor in sweets hardly at all. So this one is definitely not in my list of favorites.

More omiyage flavors

Soy Sauce (09/2009)

It's been a while since I've done a strictly Omiyage post. So here we go. I remember being super disappointed by the Soy Sauce (しょうゆ風味) one. It was so promising and so disappointing. I remember that it actually reminded me of pancakes. It was surprisingly sweet is what I'm trying to say.

Uji Matcha (05/2010)

After that, we've got Uji Matcha (宇治抹茶). (Uji is a city in Kyoto Prefecture, and Matcha is of course green tea.) And from Kobe, there's Kobe Pudding (神戸プリン風味). I'm sure the Matcha one was yummy and slightly bitter, whereas the Pudding one was too sweet. From the Shikoku area, I got a Citrus Blend (柑橘黄金ブレンド).

Kobe Pudding (05/2010）

Citrus Blend (05/2010)

Strawberry Cheesecake (08/2010)

It was probably quite good. And finally, I bought one at Village Vanguard so it's not so much an omiyage as it's just a Regional flavor. Anyway, it's Yokohama's KitKat and it's Strawberry Cheesecake. Yum!

Zunda

So one of the Tohoku regional flavors is Zunda (or Zunda Mochi, rather). It's pretty yummy. I like the actual treat as well, though. So back in October of 2010, a friend sent me a box from her visit up there. Like I said, it's good. And green, which is always fun. Well, as I'm sure you all know, Tohoku was hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami. So, in June of last year, KitKat release a special edition Zunda KitKat. And for every box sold, 10yen went to Tohoku's recovery. I was going to buy it anyway, so I'm glad that even 10yen of that money spent went to a good cause.

The regular Tohoku box (2010)

The charity pack (2011)

Fruit flavors

White & Yellow Peach (02/2009)

Raspberry & Passion Fruit (01/2010)

 I'm finally starting to whittle these KitKats down to a manageable number. Soon, I'll be all caught up. One can hope at least. Anyway this time around is some of the different fruit or fruit related flavors that I've come across that haven't been mentioned yet. We've got a mixed bag with two types of peach: yellow and white. It's another case of I remember the bag but not the flavor. I can't remember if the Raspberry & Passion Fruit one was any good. I want to think it was amazing, because I love raspberry. But I feel like it might have been disappointing.

The citrus flavors that I have this time around are Sour Orange and Yuzu. You guessed it. I don't remember how these were either. They both could have been amazing or horrible. Citrus Chocolate can go either way, can't it. I think it depends on the chocolate that is used maybe. 

Yuzu (06/2009)

Sour Orange (08/2009)

More Drinks

Ito En En (08/2009)

Sports Drink (07/2009)

There's been a few other random drink flavors that I haven't posted yet. Some, of course, delicious, and some not so much. I wasn't an fan of the Sports Drink flavor, but my friend really liked it. As it was with actual sports drinks. But I did like the Ito En En veggie drink one. It tasted surprising similar to the actual veggie drink. I can't remember the Apple Vinegar one at all though. How sad....

Apple Vinegar (05/2009)

Strawberry!

I briefly mentioned in a previous post that there are a ton of different variations of Strawberry KitKats. I would guess that if I tried them all at the same time that there'd be some differences in flavor or at least smell. But since they've been over the course of about 3 years...
Anyway, since in my mind they were all the same, here they are.

苺味 (08/2009)

Ichigo Balls (11/2009)

Sparkling Strawberry (12/2009)

いちご味 (01/2010)

Rilakkuma Strawberry (04/2010)

Soda Flavors

Ramune (06/2009)

So, I'm on a roll getting some of these old KitKats posted. Yay me! Anyway, this time around we're going soda-themed. Starting with the best one - Ramune! Lots of people know Ramune, the soda in the crazy glass bottle and the marble, right? And because of the shape and opening mechanism, there's actually only about two swigs of soda actually in the bottle. But I digress. The Ramune KitKat was great because the chocolate was the same color blue as the bag. And that's always fun.

Ume Soda (07/2009)

After that, there's Ginger Ale, which if memory serves me correctly, was quite yummy but sweet. I also had Ume Soda. I can't remember that one at all. So I'm gonna say it was nothing special. And finally there was a double soda pack - Cola and Lemon Squash. I don't remember either. But knowing my general tastes in soda, I probably liked the Lemon Squash but not the Cola. Anyway....another 3 down. Only about 45 more to go!

Ginger Ale (10/2009)

Double Soda (07/2010)