New Location!!

I'm going to be moving this blog slowly to a new location, complete with a new design! Posts will be trickling over to the new site as I get them translated and/or redone. I hope you'll check out the new site to see new flavors and some throwback postings too!

Click here!

International KitKats: Australia

Well aren't these the snazziest KitKat bars? Apparently Australia has also gotten into interesting KitKats, and luckily I have great friends who have great friends! Anyway, each of these "Chunky 3" bars has three sections. Each section is the same flavor, but they're each a different texture: smooth, gooey, and crunchy.

Australia Chunky3 - Cookies & Cream (April 2014)

My friend got three different flavors, and she and I decided to pace them out. The first day, we had the cookies and cream flavor. Flavor-wise this was pretty different than cookies and cream in Japan. It was cookies and cream filling in a chocolate KitKat, whereas in Japan, it's usually white chocolate with cookie bits in it. We tried the gooey part first. It reminded me of those Cadbury cream eggs that come out at Easter. Not bad, but not the best for a KitKat. The crunchy one seemed a bit pointless, because the KitKat itself has a wafer center, which is crunchy. I have no complaints about the smooth. And really the other sections weren't bad - just a bit confusing. 

Australia Chunky3 - Choc Mint (April 2014)

Next we decided to go with the Choc Mint. I personally am not a huge fan of Mint Chocolate. I don't hate it by any means, but if it was between that and another flavor, odds are I'll go for the other flavor. There was another problem with this KitKat - my friend and I realized we were late for something, so we ended up practically inhaling them. I think I liked the smooth one better this time because it reminded me of those Andes chocolates.

Australia Chunky3 - Caramel (April 2014)

Finally we tried the Caramel KitKat. I love caramel and chocolate, but my friend doesn't really so much. Opposite from the Choc Mint. Anyway, this was probably number two out of the three for me. But the crunchy section was my least favorite of all. The "caramel" was just too weird. The texture wasn't right, and the color was way off. Not a fan. Though the other two sections were okay. 

Anyway, these were a bit strange and at times a bit disappointing, but I really liked the concept! And trying new KitKats is always reward enough! Thanks marching/marching's friend!

Adult's Sweetness: Orange Peel

オトナの甘さ: Orange Peel (April 2014)

I found another KitKat from the オトナの甘さ (Adult's Sweetness) series. This time it was Orange Peel. Luckily this time I got to share the new flavor with my mom, who was visiting! The KitKat balls have started to grow on me, and they are perfect for sharing. My mom and I tried them at the same time. 

"3. 2. 1....."

We had two very different reactions. I really liked the bitterness of the darker chocolate and the citrus peel flavor. My mom fought with all her power not to spit it out on the ground. She clearly doesn't have the refined KitKat tastes that I do. Or something like that. She probably wasn't prepared for the bitterness level actually. I didn't read the flavor carefully so I just said "It's orange!", so...

Anyway, I liked it.

Chocolatory: Cream Cheese

NEW FLAVOR! I'm loving the new store and the new flavors there. I'm also loving that a fellow KitKat fan lives in Ikebukuro. She stopped by the store on her way to meet me and another friend, and after a 10 minute wait, she was able to get her hands on the new Cream Cheese flavor. Yes!

We were not even slightly disappointed in this flavor. The flavor was again very subtle as first and then it slowly built up. But it never got overpowering. It tasted like a cross between cream cheese and rare cheese cake. I was a bit disappointed when it was over, I'm not going to lie. What're they going to come out with next?

Another Strawberry!?

One of my friends found a new Strawberry flavor. This one is 和苺(Japanese Strawberry?) and I'm not sure how I missed this. But it's probably because I thought I had had it already. What is the difference between all these strawberry flavors?!?!? It's another sweet flavor but as far as I can say, it's the same as any of the others. Good  but not special.

和苺 February 2014

Happy Valentine's Day!

I found these while perusing the Snoopy Store in Tokyo Station. It's just regular KitKats - traditional chocolate flavor. But look how cute the boxes are! They're vintage style Snoopy and Valentines-themed. ♡♡♡♡

Chocolatory: Sakura Green Tea

I happened to end up with a free Saturday afternoon and a friend that wanted to hang out. I suggested Ikebukuro because it's pretty convenient for us. And I wanted to stop by the KitKat Chocolatory again. I was hoping to be able to get one of the other flavors but I wasn't actually expecting to have much luck. And my friend and I got there only to find all but one flavor was sold out and there was a line going out of the entire department store! Luckily the one flavor in stock was Sakura Matcha! And they hadn't sold out by the time it was our turn. The KitKat gods were shining down on us!

Sakura Green Tea 2014/01

If I had enough foresight to know how delicious this was going to be, I would have bought more than the two boxes that I bought. I bought two so that I could share with people, but I quickly realized I wanted a box to myself. Darn. The regular sakura matcha is delicious but it's more matcha than sakura. This one has a very clear sakura taste. And I love sakura. If you don't like that flavor, this is not for you. If you do like it, we might end up fighting over a box.

Chocolatory: Chilli

Special: Chilli (January 2014)

My first experience with the new special flavors being sold at the new KitKat Chocolatory is Chilli. First off, the box is lovely. I quite like the shape and the specialness of it. It feels like you're eating high-class chocolate and not just (!?) a KitKat. As I mentioned in the previous post, this flavor is the product of a collaboration between KitKat and Yasumasa Takagi.

The chilli flavor is quite subtle and comes only as an aftertaste. I like that about spicy chocolate. Going down it's basically just chocolate, but then something lingers and gives a bit of a kick to the experience. Alright KitKat, I approve.

A KitKat Store!?

I've fully forgiven KitKats for their lack of action in the recent year(s). Who knew they were working on opening a KitKat specialty store!? It's in Ikebukuro and it's like a fancy boutique. In English, they're calling it a KitKat Chocolatory. And they've teamed up with chocolatier Yasumasa Takagi to create special flavors not sold (I'm guessing) anywhere else. It opened on January 17, and my friend and I went there on the 20th. They're currently selling three flavors, but by the time we got there, they were sold out of all of them but chilli. A little disappointing, but still pretty darn exciting! They're supposed to be changing the flavors periodically too. I might need to move to Ikebukuro.

Omiyage: Nagoya's Souvenir

"Azuki Sando" Jan 2014

So, one of my KitKat scouts went back to his hometown over the New Year Holiday and came back with a fantastic souvenir - Nagoya's Regional KitKat! The flavor is あずきサンド味 ("azuki sando"), which is a local "specialty" of toast with margarine and azuki beans. Apparently it's something only people from Nagoya eat and is a source of a bit of mocking. I'm sure it tastes quite good. BUT the KitKat is pretty awful. I like azuki and azuki paste, but the artificial flavoring leaves a bad taste in one's mouth. This is probably the second worst KitKat I've ever tried. The worst one being cheese. But it's another KitKat on the list, so I'm still super happy!