Bokksu is a themed premium monthly box of tasty gourmet snacks and teas straight from Japan. Each box has a different theme, and contains a carefully curated selection of tasty artisan foods.
February’s theme is very romantic indeed: Doki Doki Kit Kat.
I’ve heard of the phrase doki doki, but I didn’t know it means heart-pounding. How romantic, and perfect for Valentine’s Day.
This month Bokksu have made a very bold move for their snack choices. The entire box contents (except for the tea and a little extra bonus) are KitKat bars! But we’re not talking the kind of regular KitKats with which you are probably familiar. These are Japanese KitKats, which are renowned for their fantastic variety of flavours.
Here’s the menu, with no fewer than ten different KitKats, all Japanese specialties.
The KitKats fall into three categories, and I’ll list them all in the same order as on the menu.
Luxury Edition: Larger single bar and higher quality ingredients.
Cranberry and Almond. These dark chocolate bars contain chunks of whole almonds and dried cranberries.
Matcha Double Berry and Almond. The crunchy almond and berry pieces are sprinkled on top of this matcha-flavoured bar.
Adult Edition: Bars created for adults who like KitKats but enjoy slightly less sweet options.
Dark Chocolate. These dark chocolate KitKats are less sweet than the regular, and also contain crunchy pieces of chocolate cookie.
Dark Matcha. This has a more complex matcha flavour than the other matcha varieties, and is of medium sweetness.
Matcha. This is a quite light matcha flavour with the sweetness of white chocolate.
Strawberry. This is a strongly flavoured bar containing tiny strawberry pieces. It’s both sweet and tart.
Limited Edition: These are various bars which are sold only in certain regions or at specific times of the year.
They are considered very good souvenirs from one’s travels!
Matcha Leaves. This has the strongest matcha flavour, with ground matcha leaves blended into the white chocolate base.
Hojicha. Hojicha is roasted green tea originally from Kyoto.. It has a lovely smokey flavour layered into the chocolate. This variety of KitKat is only sold in the Kansai region.
Amaou Strawberry. This is a sweet and fruity bar, with a sweet strawberry flavour. Amaou strawberries are grown only in the Fukuoka prefecture.
Purple Sweet Potato. This is inspired by the Japanese purple sweet potato grown in Okinawa. It is a rich flavour, and very popular in the Autumn.
As well as this excellent array of KitKat bars, there were a couple more items in the box.
White Peach Tea. This is a black ceylon tea flavoured with peach. It can be taken hot, or cold as milk tea.
These Mini Heart Senbei Black Pepper are a nice little bonus! Cute little crunchy senbei (rice crackers) with nice kick from of soy sauce and black pepper. The perfect savory bite after all that chocolate!
Well, this really is a remarkable selection. It’s a hell of a gamble to fill a box with different varieties of the same snack, but I think Bokksu has really pulled it off! I’m familiar with a couple of these bars, but most of them were new to me. I particularly liked the strawberry and Hojicha versions.
My only tiny gripe is that I would have preferred to have fewer of the matcha versions. Don’t get me wrong, I love the bitter edge of matcha, and I like matcha Kitkats very much. But three (or four if you count the luxury one) of the KitKats are some kind of matcha variety, and after a while it gets harder to tell them apart. I loved the Purple Sweet Potato version, it’s a very new flavour on me. However, I’m aware of other highly unusual KitKats such as wasabi and apple, and I would really have loved it if every single bar was a totally different flavour.
That aside, I think these are tremendous fun. Plus the small packages are very good for portion control. I like sweet things but I don’t like to eat much sweet stuff at once, so these small bars are perfect for me.
One thing that tickled me is that even in Japan they use the English slogan ‘Have a break, have a KitKat’ on every bar!
In case you were wondering about value, this box costs $39 (£27.28) per month. I found a few of these KitKat varieties on a British Japanese website, and just one of the strawberry bars costs £1.48! There are 28 bars in this box, as well as tea and senbei, so you do the math. Pretty damn good value.
This is a bit of a departure from the usual Bokksu fare, but it’s very enjoyable discovering that a snack that is so familiar can be so completely different. As for the romantic theme, I’ve left enough to share with my darling husband on Valentine’s Day. That is if I can resist the rest…
Click here to read previous Bokksu reviews.
*****
Here’s some blurb for you:
Bokksu is unlike any other Japanese snack box. We are totally in love with Japanese snacks, which is why it is our mission to craft authentic Japanese gourmet experiences for our Members around the world. We source directly from artisanal producers in Japan, so you won’t find our delicious snacks and teas anywhere else.
Classic Bokksu will take you on a gourmet journey through Japan each month. From Hokkaido white chocolate butter cookies to Kyoto handground matcha to Kyushu mango chiffon cakes, get the experience of tasting authentic Japanese snacks delivered right to your door. Each box comes with:
- 20-25 delicious Japanese snacks and a tea pairing curated around a cultural theme
- Our Tasting Guide that explains the story and flavors of each product in your box
- The option to pause or cancel anytime
- Free shipping worldwide
Payment is made upfront for the subscription period. The price starts at $39 (£29.71) for a month-to-month subscription, and the monthly cost is reduced the longer the subscription! You can find more details here.
A different version of this review was first published on allsubscriptionboxes.co.uk.
