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Kit Kat Just for Japan
Kit Kat makes original chocolate bars, in surprising flavors and limited editions. Only for Japan. |
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 Flavors: "Oshiruko", "Daigaku-imo" (Japanese desserts), watermelon with salt, and soy sauce |
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Kit Kat is a fun company. It doesn’t just produce the classic Kit Kat made of milk chocolate bars that the rest of the world is used to, but, every two or three months, it comes out with a new Kit Kat that surprises everybody with its original and unexpected flavors. It’s hard to get tired of Kit Kat in Japan! These products are made just for Japan, and nearly all of them are limited editions that are on sale for a few months. Others are sold only in some specific regions.
Kit Kat’s launched on the market may be classified by flavors:
Fruit Flavored
Peach, strawberry, apple, Japanese cider, watermelon, cherry, mango, banana, mandarin
For an introduction to the wonderful world of Kit Kat flavors, I recommend that you start with the easiest: fruit flavors. You might think this type of chocolate already exists on the market, but no one has managed to beat Kit Kat’s selection of flavors.
I especially recommend watermelon flavor. In Japan, we are in the habit of adding a little salt when eating watermelon, because it makes the watermelon itself taste sweeter. Kit Kat has respected this traditional custom. I’ve put together a few opinions from people who’ve tried it (from the website’s chat room Kitkat Japón) – "It tasted just like watermelon with a pinch of salt, and it was yummy!", “I tasted it with some friends, there were different opinions about the peculiar taste, but, personally, I liked it.”
Tea Flavored
Green tea, Houji-cya (toasted Japanese tea)
In Japan, there is a very widespread custom of drinking tea at all hours, and this too has been reflected in Kit Kat’s products: the green tea flavor has been one of their most successful. In Japan, this is considered to be a flavor for adults, sweet but with the bitter touch of green tea. I was very curious about the Houji-cya flavor, but it was not up to what I expected, even though it was good... Just to give you an idea, it tasted a lot like coffee.
Dessert Flavored
Tiramisu, strawberry or blueberry cheesecake, crème caramel
Let’s just say that these are intermediate level flavors, because they’re starting to get a little harder to imagine. If you’ve grown tired of fruit flavors, try one of these. A few opinions: “Blueberry flavored cheesecake: It wasn’t a real flavor, it didn’t taste like blueberries or cheese. I look forward to your next challenge...”, “Crème caramel: not just caramel, not just crème, it tasted exactly the same as crème caramel!”
Traditional Japanese Dessert Flavored
Daigaku-imo and Oshiruko
Daigaku-imo is a dessert made of sweet potato and honey and Oshiruko are kidney beans with rice, very sweet.
If you’ve tried these flavors, then you’ve already reached advanced level. They are traditional Japanese desserts and, frankly, they’re even a strange combination for me. Opinions: "Daigaku-imo: The flavor was very surprising and I want to try it again.", "It really tasted of sweet potato", "I still haven’t managed to try it and I can’t find it anywhere. I’m very tempted!”
”Top It All” Flavored
Soy sauce, cider with pepper (only in Kyusyu region)
You have to be very brave to go on to this level. If you have already tried these flavors, you can boast of being a “Japanese Kit Kat expert”. Opinions: "Soy sauce: it’s an unexpected taste, but it’s very good, very similar to caramel.”, “Cider with pepper: I was a bit scared to try it, but it wasn’t bad, with a pleasant touch of cider. I was brave to try it, but the person who invented it was also very brave.”, “the first mouthful was really rather spicy. I can’t say whether it was tasty or not...”.."
Unidentified Flavors
Tiramisu with green tea
I cannot even imagine how this Kit Kat tastes. It will be on the market in February.
As these are limited editions, some are still on sale, but others are no longer on the market. What a shame! I hope that one day someone brings you one from Japan so that you can enjoy one of these very unusual flavors.
And, to finish, an anecdote about Kit Kat in Japan. These chocolate bars, which are very popular with students preparing university entrance exams, have become a lucky mascot thought to help them pass. There’s one version called Kit Kat Mail thought up just for them: this Kit Kat has a blank space so that you can write a friend’s address on it and send it to them to bring them luck. Kit Kat carried out this project in collaboration with the Japanese Postal Service.
Kit Kat will continue to launch new products and fun ideas, and it will surely continue to give us lots to talk about.
Kit Kat Japan
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 (14 Aug 2008)
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(27 Jan 2009)
(26 Jan 2009)
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