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Kit Kat Strawberry CakeKcal 69 Fat 4.0g Carbs 7.7g (per Mini bar)
Normally I like to designate whole posts to the latest Kit Kat flavours out in Japan but todays was so similar to a previously reviewed variant I thought I should just bundle it in with the rest today. Indeed this Strawberry Cake flavoured Kit Kat came as a very similar proposition to the Kit Kat Sparkling Strawberry I reviewed back in March 2010 (See HERE). The cake proposition platform did provoke intrigue, but I wasn't naive enough to think that it was ever going to be groundbreaking.
I recieved these Kit Kat Strawberry Cake in a 'Mini' format so I was able to dish out the 12.3g bars amongst my family. Aesthetically everyone was happy with the product in hand - the on pack pictures of the cakes clearly signified the flavour variant, and the small sized bars looked cute on the eye with light pink colouring. Unfortunately this is where the praise ends. The aritifical strawberry smells were very indicative of the horrible fake tasting strawberry experience that followed. In a nutshell the taste was wholey dominated by these chemically sugar intensive flavours - not a single one person on my taste panel had a decent word to say about the strawberry element. Younger consumers may be more appreciative of these, but I wont be recommending them to anyone, anytime soon.
5.7 out of 10
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Meiji Rich Matcha Chocolate BoxKcal 177 Fat 11.9g Carbs 15.9g (per 30.0g box)
I got sent so many products from my Bits n Bobs Meiji post last week that I had to rollover a few of the products into this weeks Bits n Bobs edition. If you are one of those people that have been reading the site for the last few years you might be aware that I have reviewed both the product format and product chocolate in some sort of guise before. It was only a few weeks ago that I reviewed another variant from this the Meiji Rich Chocolate Box format (See Meiji Rich Strawberry Chocolate Box HERE), whilst back in March 2010 I reviewed the Meiji Rich Matcha Chocolate (See HERE). Today was all about seeing what we got when we put these two things together.
Like the Kit Kats above, the box format allowed me to taste test these amongst my family so once photography was completed I again served these up to all that were willing to try. I say all that were willing, as certain family member *ahem* my wimpy sister *ahem* physically couldn't bring herself to taste the green coloured chocolate - the presentation alone was enough to 'turn her stomach'. The rest of us braved out the experience and not surprisingly the 52.0% matcha chocolate closely matched my experience with it before. The green tea taste was established from the outset and no one was doubting that the herby, grassy noted flavours weren't delivered on. There was universal dissastifaction however in the form of the aftertaste with everyone voicing displeasure at the bitter tea flavours left in the mouth. For a totally authentic Japense chocolate experience look no further - I can't promise it will give you the greatest levels of enjoyment or satisfaction though.
6.0 out of 10
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Meiji Meltykiss Rum & Raisin ChocolateKcal 328 Fat 21.8g Carbs 28.6g (per 60.0g box)
Making their sixth ChocolateMission appearance in little under two weeks, Meiji round off our third Japanese Superpost today with their Rum & Raisin Chocolate. Just proving the point further that Meiji are just totally random when it comes to the format and styling of their products, these thin mini chocolate bars came described as 'individually wrapped chocolate mini slabs, with rum and raisin flavor' - nothing like anything I had tried from them before. You may have picked up that Meiji have a great talent for presenting their products beautifully, as was the case here, but one thing is for sure, I have given up trying to guess what their products will look like.
Unsealing the chocolates from their mini foil packets a pleasant array of rum and sweet chocolate scents set the mood nicely for the taste that followed. These chocolates were made of three distinct layers, which each contributed an interesting textural element to consumption (god that sounds geeky!). The outer crisp shell of milk chocolate, and inner softer chocolate truffle were similar tasting and established the familiar sweet, creamy Meltykiss chocolate experience. The real explosion of flavour came from the raisins contained within, and they established a pleasant amount of mouth feel heat and short sharp burst of spiced alcohol fruit flavours. The interplay of the textures was nice, however it would have been all the better had inner truffle chocolate been infused with the rum aswell as the fruit. These chocolates would fall comfortably in that category of 'nice but not worth the import costs alone'.
7.4 out of 10
Posts
54 comments:
Man that strawberry cheesecake kit kat looks totally diff to the one I bought from japan about a yr ago.
The one I had was bigger, white in colour and sounds like it was creamier rather that fake strawberry tasting. You would have liked that a lot more I think. It's a shame you had this one instead.
Lol good to see you are back reviewing chocolates that look like they could kill you :)
That green tea chocolate just looks 100% bizarre. I've said it before and I will say it again. You have to be mad for trying some of the stuff you do. I respect your commitment to the cause mate.
Ewww Jim why do you insist on putting forward these yucky looking green chocolates and insist on them tasting ok. Personally I just get the impression that the chocolate is past its best before date and its gone mouldy. I'm sure Japanese people must have to be more atune to this sort of thing.
I can't ever imagine the day when green coloured chocolate will be seen as normal for us though.
Rxxx
Cheers for reviewing the strawberry cake KK Jim sorry for pestering you about it for so long. Having now seen what you said about it I think I will take your word for it and give it a miss. Thanks for the honest advice.
They aren't half generous with the food colourings in Japan are they lol. Do you think its their intention to make their foods look as disgusting as possible?
:] yeh! I love these bits and bobs posts you do. I like them the most because we get to see a number of different smaller things rather than just one big one. It can be so disappointing if the review is well long and I dont like what you are talking about.
I have an insanely rude enquiry but what would the average age of your 'taster group' be? If its your mum and dad then you haven't tested those kit kats on smaller children at all.
Kids might think they are loads nicer cause they prefer sweeter stuff than you lot will do.
What a shame that Kit Kat sounded like it had a great deal of promise. I can sorta imagine the type of strawberry flavouring you are talking about though.
I had this strawberry milkshake drink from tesco the other day and your description of this Kit Kat matches exactly what I thought of that shake. That sort of sweet flavouring would be ok for kids but not for us adults, sugar overkill to the power of ten.
Quality reviews again mate. I love it when you mix it up with the reviews coming from all parts of our world. It would be immensely tedious if you were just to focus on the one country, I'm sure it would drive you mental aswell if you just countries chocolate aswell.
Interesting. I was half way convinced about trying some green tea chocolate until I read your latest review.
Do you genuniely think the flavours don't work together or would you say the low score is more based on the brand of green tea chocolate not being any good. From what you say in the post it would seem that your main issue was just that it had a bitterness that it generated so that implies you enjoyed it for the most part.
If anyone is looking for a decent rum and raisin that they can buy in the Uk can I suggest you try the cadburys old jamaica bar. I dont believe Jims reviewed it yet (odd for him) but I can ensure you its pretty nice. The chocolate isn't the nicest ever but the rum and raisin bits are dosed well.
@Jim it would be awesome to see what you make of it if you get the time inbetween your green tea exploits.
I dream of the day when we can all just quickly buy these wacky flavours for ourselves and not have to pay through the nose for them.
Who does everyone think are better to use Jlist or Napa Japan?
I would ask Jim but I think he might be tied to his allegiance to Jlist lol. Any one here used either of them before?
Hey Jim,
You have a big game tonight in France don't you mate. Sorry but I fancy Marseillie to get themselves something out of this game. I think you will do them over when they get to OT, but you guys are so rubbish away I think I can see the froggies nicking a 1-1 draw from you tonight.
Its a pity the Kit Kats didn't live up to much. It seems to be like you are finding that all these Japanese chocolates are comonlly sounding better than they actually taste. Better luck next time mate.
Cheers
N
Jim have you seen they have a japanese kit kat chunky up on that site now.
Do you think it would be worthwhile doing a side-by-side comparison with our English one. I would be interested to see how they are different or if they are at all.
The scored are so low this week. Are you having a bad one or something?
Ace reviews Jim you know how I love seeing the latest new ones they get in Japan.
I'm currently planning my travelling route after I finish my exams this summer. I'm scared that when I get to Japan I will end up spending all my money on the different pocky they have. lol I will buy some to bring back for you if you like. Don't worry about them getting damaged. Tokyo is the last place I will be visiting so they wont get backpacked around New Zealand etc :-) Let me know if you are interested.
Do you get these all free then? That is so so unfair if you do. How the devil did you swindle that.
Yay well done for another set of reviews Mr.
I especially like the ones when the flavours are traditionally Japanese like the green tea one. They should just stick to the flavours of their country rather than try things like strawberry cheesecake. That seems to be where they come acropper more often than not.
Dx
Come on mate we said this last time .................. whats the point of doing a post about chocs from Japan if you don't get Pocky involved. They are easily the most popular thing you can review from their, if you want to keep people interested in these reviews you should make sure you always have at least one pocky thing in there.
I would still try that kit kat for two reasons
1) They are only 69 calories each
2) Its pretty and PINK =)
I do like those sugary strawberry sweets so it might pass the test for me.
Try another flavour of the calorie mate snacks. Your first review of the chocolate one made me laugh so hard. It got one of the worst CM scores in history didn't it :)
Jim what was the last decent KitKat you tried from the far east? I know us lot always complain that we don't get as many flavours as they do, but if you look back at some of the latest ones its clear that they are progressivelly getting worse and worse ratings.
It would be nice having a few more of these flavours but if that means we would have to compromise quality I'm not sure I would be all that keen
Cripes seeing and reading about that strawberry kit kat makes me reconsider what I was saying last week about our 'new' dark 70% kk being too boring. That strawberry cake one not only looks horrible but it sounds like your average grown up isn't going to get much joy from the taste of it.
Cool reviews mate. I know you aren't posting as much these days but you should make sure you give us one b&b post each week. I think they are the favourite thing of what you do for a lot of people.
Is strawberry chocolate the new fashion in Japan or something. I see that almost everything in the top selling snacks advert has strawberry or raspberry in it?
not a single one person on my taste panel had a decent word to say about the strawberry element
That sorta condemns something that is supposed to be strawberry flavoured then :P
I say all that were willing, as certain family member *ahem* my wimpy sister *ahem* physically couldn't bring herself to taste the green coloured chocolate
I don't blame her. The rest of you are nuts, it looks so disgusting.
Great reviews again chocolate man :P
It would be nice to try all three of these but none of them are going to get me reaching in my pocket.
Have you ever tried a custard pudding flavour KK Jim? It for all the money sounds like it should be amazing but im wary that a load of these KK flavours have ended up sounding better than they really are. I would be so annoyed if I spent a load of money on something that wasn't all that nice.
When is this bloomin news page going to appear Jim? You teased us with it but haven't given us anything yet. Get on with it will you lol.
The scores this week have been woeful.
Lets face it, the cadburys big race thing was pants and these aren't exactly that much better. If anything the kit kat and and green tea stick things are even worse.
I hope you have something up your sleeve for Friday jim. It's pretty pointless if everything you review in a week ends up being poor.
How the mighty fall hey? It wasn't that long ago that everyone was going head over heels about the amount of flavours they made for all these kit kats.
It looks to me like they are over stretching themselves now. They are making the same flavours again but making them worse. They should calm down on making so many new ones for a bit.
Has anyone here looked at some of the other produce that J-list have? I went on there for the first time today and couldn't believe some of the stuff they sold.
Talk about nuts. Some of the goods are perplexing ...... you have to wonder what sort of people buy that stuff. Actually I don't think I want to know lol.
Are you getting these chocolates directly from Meiji or something? You review so many chocs from them lot now.
I hope you don't mind me putting this here jim but could you please review the following if you can: Koala cheesecake flavour, oreo soft cookies, topppo double cream roll cake, tyrol chocolate kinako mochi, kit kat Daiguku Imo.
I have them on my Jlist wishlist but I thought I would see if you are reviewing any of them soon to hear what they are like. Thanks Jim.
Jim how would one go about requesting items from Jlist for them to stock?
I'm desperate to try this sea salt caramel kit kat they have in japan but they don't sell it. Can you ask them for me please?
You've spelt Japan wrong in the title of the post.
The best indicator of how good these japanese chocolates are has to be how long they stay in stock and in the website top ten adverts. When they come and go quickly you know they have to be good.
The strawberry kit kat has been in there for ages - point proven by the score lol. 5.7 is rubbish.
A review of the microwave cakes that you make in the mugs would be sweet. I tried making my own homemade version the other day but I forgot the baking soda lol. It was a disaster.
That's disappointing about the strawberry Kitkat, I'd have though it'd be better.
The green tea meiji looks a bit yukky...although I think I'd give it a try. The Meltykiss sounds nice, they seem quite consistent with their quality from what I can tell.
This made me laugh: "I have given up trying to guess what their products will look like."
They're trying to mess with your mind Jim! lol.
Nothing on the must have list for me this time, but a good review none the less!
@Ryan I'm another who wants to see the chunky comparison. I'm surprised they even know what plain milk chocolate is in Japan lol. I don't recall jim ever reviewing just a plain bar of chocolate from that country :) It seems like everything has to come with an added flavour or it doesn't sell. It makes you wonder what they would make of chocolates from people like Hotel Chocolat and Thorntons doesn't it.
What is with the scoring we have been seeing recently from these chocolates from Japan. I swear they are getting progressively worse and worse. Is this reflective of what is happening in general or are you just being unlucky with the stuff you keep getting sent? Your mate Peter isn't shafting you will all the crap he can't shift is he lol?
When is the next Japanese themed competition being done? You never give away chocolate anymore. I think someone is getting greedy in their old age Jim.
Pink and Green coloured chocolates :) you can't say they don't try to make things interesting for people out there. If you put them in front of your average Brit I'm sure they wouldn't get eaten lol.
Each KK is only just over twelve grams? Thats mental, why would anyone ever want something so small.
I remember last time loads of people asking you to review it so I understand why you have. I personally never had an interest in it so I'm not all that fussed that its scored as low as it has. The other flavour they have up there at the moment sounds far more interesting to me: Daigaku Imo. I don't know what that even means lol. Worth a review you think buddy?
Wow, I didn't think another Japanese post so soon was possible, just a shame that nothing proved to be particularly spectacular. Good to see another KitKat variant, even if it's bad, always wonder what variety they'll come away with next. It's weird seeing something like rum & raisin as I'd associate that more with western tastes. As for the green tea chocolate, I'm rather fussy about most food & their appearance but I don't think it's green colour would put me off (unless it was a worse green than the photo shows). Thanks for another review.
Hi All,
This will be the last Japanese post for a bit as I'm all out of J-List goodies for the time being. I might have to hassle Peter for some more, if you have any further suggestions other than the ones provided today then please be sure to share them with me so I can can stick them on the request list I send him.
Again the wealth of comments means it is a little much to answer everyone individually so I will leave some general thoughts on some of the broader issues raised. Thanks again so much for the continuous feedback on the products, apologies I couldn't feature some higher scoring products today ... I can only give my fair assesment on these things though.
* Why is everyone happier when I am eating foods that are coloured absurdly :D
* The Strawberry Cake flavoured Kit Kat was disappointing in the large part I'm afraid. I have reviewed some nice fruit flavours Kit Kats recently but unfortunately this one wasn't up to standard compared to them. If you guys are after a much better alternative I would suggest the Lotte Strawberry Cheesecake Chocolate. I remember that being surprisingly decent.
* Thanks again for the positive comments about the Bits n Bobs posting format. It seems to go down well with pretty much everyone. I haven't had a complaint about it yet ..... touch wood :D
* The average age on the tasting panel would be about 30/40, so no I didn't get the opinions of anyone younger than myself. You make a good point, perhaps they would be much more receptive of them.
* Green tea isn't a flavour that has done all that well on the rating system in the past, but I think if a brand can crack the problem of the bitter aftertaste that is common with so many of them, then they could make a really nice chocolate.
* I have reviewed the Cadbury product that Richard is speaking about ... in fact I have reviewed UK and Australian versions
http://www.chocolatemission.net/2009/04/april-6th-cadbury-bournville-orange-old.html
http://www.chocolatemission.net/2008/06/june-27th-cadbury-old-jamaica.html
* I can't offer an opinion on Napa Japan as I have never used their service.
* Nigel - I think you are right about the football tonight. I just hope we can nick an away goal to take back to Old Trafford. I should be attending the home leg :D
* A side-by-side comparison of the two chunkys would be a great review to write. You guys know I love to do that sort of thing. I will suggest it to Peter @ J-List and see what he thinks.
* The lack of Pocky reviews isn't down to me, I literally just review what they send me. I will make a point that you guys are after some more Pocky reviews.
* The last decent Kit Kat I tried from the Far East? Blimey there have been so many they all merge in to one. I remember their own dark chocolate one wasn't bad at all. Perhaps not worth importing though considering we just got our own new 70% bar.
* If J-List stock is anything to go by then yes you would have to assume that strawberry chocolates are the 'in-thing' at the moment. There have just been several new variants released.
* The news page will be up and running in the next few days. Patience is a virtue :D
* Don't worry I will make sure the review on Friday features a product that is high scoring. It's best we go into the weekend on a high isn't it :D
* Is there over exapandability of the Kit Kat range going on? Hmmm possibly! Lets see what the next few new ones are like before we make any rash judgements. They could slow down a little with the new variants maybe.
* Haha Sarah your post did make me laugh. My old man was looking on J-List the other day and he was shocked by what he saw :D I think he is yet to recover :D
* You can request for products to appear on J-List. Your best bet is to try get hold of Peter to ask him on Twitter. He is a busy guy but he will get back to you eventually :D
* I have no idea what the Eastern market would think of chocolates from the likes of Hotel Chocolat and the like. They seem to like lighter snacks so I'm not sure the whole slab thing would fit that well with their market? Who knows eh!?
* A Japanese competition you say? Well I do hav some Cheese flavoured Kit Kats leftover :D Anyone interested :D
Thanks again for the comments and questions people. If I have missed anything obvious out please just bring it to my attention.
As I said above the news section of the site should be up sometime later this week. I'm just putting the final touches on how I want it to run etc.
JIM
The green tea chocolate would be interesting to give a go but I think I can do without that Kit Kat. It sounds a bit horrible.
Oooh hello. Is that a news page I see there ;)
Rxxx
Nice one mate love the reviews again.
Despite what you say I can't get my head around anyone wanting a green tea flavoured chocolate bar.
I tried it once after a meal in a chinese and nearly threw up. It tasted so so disgusting. Give me a good ol cup of Blighty tea any day of the week.
can someone tell me what days jim writes reviews on now. i haven't been on here for ages and things look to have changed :S is someone else doing the chocolate mission now?
Thank you, I will take cheesey KitKats. :D
@george posts are MWF&Sa (I think?) with responses later..I'm still confused which days tbh :)
Top review mate. Nice work.
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