Image from Nestle Japan's web site.
Apparently, someone got with the program and this rebooted version offers 6 hazelnut mini bars and 7 orange ones (the reason for such an imbalance escapes me). Both of these, in my experience, are from the U.K. versions. I've seen them for sale at Cost Plus Imports for a slightly high cost. If I were in Japan, I'd be all over these because hazelnut in particular is an underrepresented flavor among confections in Japan, and you can never lose with orange and chocolate. As flavors that might interest those who are interested in Japanese sweets, these aren't going to float many boats. For those who are interested in testing the way the wind is blowing in the world of Japanese KitKat, this is somewhat interesting news.
If you're in Japan, word is that these were released yesterday and they should be showing up on local shelves soon if they aren't already there.
4 comments:
I remember running into dark chocolate orange Kit Kats in the UK, I think, and then in Canada. What a revelation!
There's still nothing too interesting about Kit Kats in the States beyond, what, dark and white versions? They release "seasonal" varieties, but it's just plain ol' milk chocolate bars in holiday wrappers. I enjoyed the big Extra Crispy bars, but they seem to be getting harder to find (bad for my tastebuds, good for my hips).
Canada appears to be featuring mint and caramel varieties right now, plus chunky peanut butter and chunky toffee Kit Kats. That might be worth a stroll over the border.
Dear JSR. I've been lurking on this site for over a year and now I'm in Japan again for a while. I've NEVER seen anything interesting in the Kit Kat varieties. Only one is the green tea matcha, which I love. I'd come to realise I don't think you like Kit kat all that much. And the reasons I can understand. Often, they're just a bit too sweet , without the special flavour that makes the variety. But Match Kit Kat, I adore. I love all green tea flavoured things. So now am I to start looking in the local Don Quixote for these? Because chocolate orange hazelnut has got to be on e of the best flavours ever. So far I've had to order Wasabi and Sweet Potato kit kat from Amazon Japan. I can't even find Orange Kit Kats, let alone the Hojicha or Blueberry Cheesecake. Anyhoo. I love this blog.
Hirayuki: You're right about the American KitKats. They are very conservative for reasons I'm unclear about since there are many other types of candy with variations. Perhaps the distributor in the U.S. has other candy it markets with variety and feels the standard KitKat does the trick.
Tordy: I actually love the kinako KitKat and the big bars from Japan and really liked the adult sweetness matcha and raspberry. I also like the plain ones, though they are pretty sweet. One nice thing about the adult sweetness versions is that they are less sweet.
However, you are right that I often don't care for the strange flavors. I think that many people must have felt similarly so and that's why Nestle has changed their marketing and stopped issuing so many of them!
In the mainland, I often see packages of orange or hazelnet KitKats (also, caramel and mint) from countries served by Cadbury (the U.K., some middle eastern countries). I see them both at small ethnic markets and CostPlus World Imports. Good luck finding them! They are very good and worth the search!
Thanks for your post! :) I haven't seen them in the supermarkets and convenient stores in my city yet, but I will keep looking. I'm interested in the hazelnut flavor.. :)
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