Kit Kat chocolates from Japan

One of my favourite all time chocolate snacks is the Kit Kat – who could possibly say no to bite sized wafers coated with chocolate! So you could imagine my excitement when I discovered that Japan actually sells unique flavours dependent on the region. I first discovered this thanks to a colleague of mine who has a Kit Kat collecting hobby and since I was in Japan, I set out to find some for myself.

Nestle Japan has produced over 200 different flavours of the beloved Kit Kat chocolate since the year 2000, so it would seem particularly easy to find some flavours. My first stops were naturally the supermarkets and convenience stores, but alas the only flavours I could find time after time were the original ones – milk, white and dark. How frustrating! I noticed that at the main train stations of each city I visited though, there was always a large tourist/souvenir store selling a variety of packaged foods and goods unique to the region. And hurrah! This is where I finally stumbled upon special Kit Kats packaged in special boxes which each contain 12 smaller pieces each. And so the tasting begins…

1. Brown sugar
This tastes like maple syrup and I find it quite weird tasting. I don’t think the flavour suits a Kit Kat but my friend likes it.

2. Shinshu Apple
Milk chocolate based with hints of apple. It smells quite strongly of apple when you open the wrapper but the taste isn’t that strong.

3. Green Tea
Milky and creamy chocolate with strong green tea flavours. Tastes exactly like green tea ice cream except in chocolate/wafer form.

4. Strawberry Cheesecake
White chocolate based but tastes like strawberry shortcake. Very similar to the Blueberry Cheesecake flavour except with strawberries.

5. Cinnamon Cookie
White chocolate based with a cinnamon flavour wafer, tasty!

6. Chilli
Dark chocolate based infused with chilli. It is quite interesting and leaves a slight tingling sensation on my tongue.

7. Blueberry Cheesecake

White chocolate based with blueberry hints – super delicious!

8. Houjicha (roasted green tea)
Despite the name, it tastes nothing like green tea but rather like a roasted rice tea. Very aromatic and one of my favourites!

I did eye a couple of other flavours including a collectors pack at the airport which contained around 15 flavours with 2 pieces of each in the box, but the flavours I ended up buying where the ones which caught my eye…plus I was running out of baggage with all my shopping! Overall, I wish Nestle would be a bit more innovative and produce some funky limited edition Australian flavours, but until then if you head to Japan do keep a look out for some unique variants on the classic Kitkat flavours. My top picks are the Houjicha and Cheesecake flavours.

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