Soy Bean KitKat (Setsubun Edition - Big Bar)

Nestle Japan currently makes six sizes of KitKats in Japan. There is this big bar, the regular 4-finger bar sold in boxes, minis, flat single finger minis used in cookie plus bars, flat longer fingers for regular Cookie Plus bars, and "petit" bars which are like 1/2 of a regular KitKat finger wrapped in foil as an individual treat. I've never reviewed the "petit" KitKats because they are simply regular milk chocolate bars in a different package. I imagine Nestle Japan offers these variations in size so that they can recycle a few recipes and offer them as something new by changing the sizes.


The notion that the recipes are being recycled wholesale (as opposed to being offered in small variations) came to mind after I sampled this Setsubun soy bean variety. It tasted exactly like the Ohagi KitKat that I reviewed last September. That is, it has the earthy, mossy, somewhat "dirty" or "moldy" taste that that bar had. I hated that flavor when I first encountered it in the Oshiruko KitKat, and found it more tolerable in the Ohagi one, and have reached a point of indifference after this bar. Next time they roll the same thing out in a new form, I may actually like it, though I'd prefer not to buy it again under a new name and in a different form.

This bar does have a few things going for it. It has a demon on it as a mark of the Setsubun holiday, and it is a big bar with plenty of crispy wafer goodness and nice milk chocolate. That being said, it was very disappointing for the flavor to be a repeat of a previous flavor. If you like the Oshiruko or Ohagi KitKats and regret that they are no longer on store shelves, you can grab yourself one of these at Family Mart for 120 yen ($1.32) and relive the memory. Otherwise, you might want to pass.