Starbucks Sakura Chocolate Latte (product announcement)

You know that spring is on its way in Japan when the "sakura" (cherry blossom or cherry depending on the entity that distributes it) foods start popping up. In my buffer, I have a post I've been sitting on which talks about seasonal flavors and sakura is definitely a harbinger of the end of winter. Starbucks is launching a very pink-looking beverage the day after Valentine's day. You'd think they'd do it before, but I believe this is a way of appealing to palates that are tired of all that chocolate. This is cherry and white chocolate with strawberry-flavored candy bits on the top. While I have to admit that the colors are beautiful, this is the sort of thing I'd avoid because I'd expect the fruit flavors to create a strange melange and the white chocolate to make it too sweet. 

Green Tea Cherry KitKat

After sampling this KitKat, I started thinking about what the essential elements of the brand are. Wafer-based sweets have been around for a very long time, and there are many of them to be had. In fact, one of my favorites is the less-sweet European-made bar, "Toggi" and if I was offered an assortment of wafer snacks, it'd be my first choice. For the record, the Toggi wins with me because of the inclusion of hazelnut paste. If I were a goddess, my followers would have to make offerings of Nutella to me in order to avoid incurring my wrath.

How is it that Nestlé formulated, packaged, or promoted a combination of very common elements and made a hugely successful brand name while many other similar variations seem like also-rans (even when they existed before the KitKat)? What separates a KitKat from any other confection with a wafer base and at what point does a creation cease being what we'd consider a KitKat? No, that's not an existential question. How far from its basic formula can Nestlé Japan drift in flavor, size, color and texture before what we're consuming isn't a "KitKat" anymore?

The reason this question came to mind is that this KitKat in many ways came across to me as the least distinctive KitKat I have ever had. In fact, it ended up tasting about 80% like nothing more than a very sweet sugar wafer. There was a light roasted green tea flavor but I mainly tasted it in the first bite or two, and no cherry that I could even detect. Note that this lists only .5% as the portion of green tea extract powder. That's just not much at all. The filling was sweet, as was the white chocolate, and it had a sense of "creaminess" to it that I associate with sugar wafers. It didn't even smell like anything other white chocolate.

I'm not sure how Nestlé Japan managed to formulate a KitKat so far divorced from its roots that it tastes pretty much like a sugar wafer, but, perhaps surprisingly, I liked it. I liked it because I like said wafers and have no access to decent ones in Japan such that this felt like a bit of a blast from the past for me.

Because this was "yet another green tea (and/or cherry)" KitKat, I wasn't keen on sampling it when it first came out on March 1. I saw it on sale in many convenience stores and a few drug stores and strolled on by. I was only convinced to try it when it showed up for 69 yen at Okashi no Machioka. I was a little surprised that it was in the discount bin so quickly. I picked this up on March 27 so it was reduced in price (original price: 120 yen) within a month. This could mean it was over-produced, wasn't popular enough, or that the market for KitKats is a little over-saturated. It is definitely uncommon for new flavors to make such a rapid journey to the discount bin.

This was also reviewed on Jen's KitKat blog, though she seemed to have a much greater sense of the cherry flavor than I did. I simply couldn't distinguish it at all, but I have noticed that one of the issues with food reviews is that all of our taste buds work differently so it's helpful to look at more than one review to get an idea of various experiences. Note that if you hate green tea, this probably won't put you off. Yes, there is a mild green tea flavor, but the bitter notes that come along with it are snuffed out of existence by so much sweet white chocolate and creamy sweet filling. Like the green tea big bar KitKat, this is a good "starter bar" for those who aren't fans of green tea because it is so weak and inoffensive for those who dislike the tea's inherent bitterness.

I liked this, and am giving it a  happy rating because these ratings reflect my feelings about such things, but I'm not sure if I could recommend this bar to people who like green tea or cherry necessarily. If you like very sweet, wafer-based treats with a slight Japanese flair (from the green tea), then go for it.

Yamagata Sakurambo (Cherry) KitKat

One of the things you can either love or hate about life in Japan are regional foods designed to be area-specific souvenirs. If you travel a fair amount, you can show your coworkers and friends that you thought enough of them to bring back something unique from the place that you visited. They can enjoy a treat which they know could not be purchased anywhere else.

Since I don't travel much in Japan anymore, I haven't been reviewing the regional KitKat variations. That being said, I live in Tokyo and haven't done the Tokyo-specific ones either, but that's because you don't see them just anywhere. Mainly, people get them at Narita airport. I didn't get these KitKats by traveling to Yamagata. I got them because Helen at La Vida Loca very generously bought them and sent them to me. Otherwise, well, I wouldn't be reviewing my very first Japanese regional KitKat in the history of this blog. Thank you so much, Helen!


Since this is my first experience with regional KitKats, I was impressed by the packaging. The boxes are set up so that you can easily open it and present the bars for people around the office to take. The box is also a nice size because it's compact and easy to carry in a briefcase or backpack. It neatly stores 12 mini bars. While most of the writing is in Japanese, there is English written on one side which says "Tohoku Limited" and " Japanese Cherry Flavor", so they are clearly designed for foreign tourists to buy as souvenirs as well as for domestic travelers.


The bars smell pleasantly of cherry and have a good mild cherry flavor with a bit of a hit of citric-acid-like bite at the end. It's not too sweet or flowery. The fact of the matter is that I like vaguely floral flavors in some fruit-flavored sweets and this strikes a good balance for my tastes in that regard. It's enough for interest, but not enough to make you think you're noshing on a bar of soap. While these bars were similar to the previous limited edition Sakurambo KitKats, they aren't exactly the same. I think the tart finish at the end of the non-Yamagata variety was a bit more intense and these are a little sweeter.

I would definitely recommend picking up a box of these if you find yourself in Yamagata. I think they'd make a beautiful and tasty souvenir for folks back home. The fact that Japan is associated with cherry blossoms and these are cherry flavor is icing on the cake.

Tirol Gundam Chocolates

Gundam is one of those parts of Japanese culture that I constantly see, but never read about. Every Japan blogger in Tokyo has taken pictures of the giant Gundam robot that was set up somewhere in the city, and many reported on the marriage that was done near the robot statue thingy.

For those who are as ignorant of Gundam as I was before I had to research for this post, it's an animated series about big ass robots. It's so integrated into Japanese culture that it has been featured on postage stamps. It is brought to us by the same people who created Godzilla. Gundam has always struck me as a real male interest type of thing, but what do I know? There may be legions of female fans out there who find all of the potent phallic imagery of guns and tall, erect robots appealing.

Displays for Tirol Gundam candies have been showing up in 7-11 convenience stores and I decided to sample one of each flavor. The picture above is of just two of the package designs. There are far more pictures, but only two types of candy. One is American cherry and the other is "white and coffee". I'm sure Gundam fans might want to collect all of the wrappers, but I'm really just interested in the candy itself. These are Tirol premium size candies that cost about 40 yen each and are 1 inch (2.54 cm) square in size.

White and Coffee:


I refrigerated my candies and the white chocolate and coffee one fragmented rather badly when I cut it in half for a picture. It's a pretty straightforward candy made up of white chocolate full of little coffee bean fragments.You can really smell the coffee when you give it a whiff. The white chocolate is soft and sweet and the coffee beans are crunchy and bitter, as one would expect. Despite being a simple combination, it's actually pretty good. The sweetness of the white chocolate is offset well by the strength and harshness of the coffee flavors. This one is 64 calories, which makes it about 10 calories more than the average Tirol premium chocolate.


American cherry:


The American cherry is filled with a sticky, thick cherry jelly. It smells a lot like Cellas chocolate-covered cherries. The chocolate is dark and bitter and the center is sweet, but not overly sweet, cherry flavoring. There's no alcohol flavoring like many chocolate covered cherry confections. The combination is intense, but good. The chocolate dominates just enough to keep any cough syrup notes in the cherry center well at bay. This chocolate was 54 calories.

Of the two, clearly, the cherry is better for me. I love chocolate covered cherries and used to get a box of them every year for Christmas. I might stock up on several of these as a substitute and keep them in my refrigerator for the holidays. I think these are both very good consumer chocolates. I like that both have high contrast flavors and think that fans of either coffee bean candies or cherry chocolates might enjoy them.

Tirol Cream Anmitsu Chocolate (Premium)

Anmitsu is a slightly complicated Japanese dessert with multiple components. The nutshell explanation is that it is cubes of clear, relatively flavorless jelly with sweetened beans (an), fruit, and a sweet, black syrup (mitsu). Given that the dish incorporates a lot of flavors and textures, making a tiny square of chocolate that brings the dessert to mind would seem to be tricky.


For those who don't know or have forgotten, I'll state again that Tirol Premium chocolates are about 1-inch square (2.54 cm) candies sold individually in convenience stores for between 30-50 yen each (between 30 cents and 50 cents). My husband bought this one and he said it was only 21 yen (about 20 cents) for some reason. The "premium" variety tends to be more complex than the smaller ones that come in variety packs and of higher quality, so expectations of this type of candy are a bit higher.


This chocolate has a milk base and a white dome with a little blob of jelly in the middle. There is a dark, sweet syrup on top of the jelly. Clearly, the texture of the gelatin in anmitsu is supposed to be conveyed by the gummy-like interior and the black sauce by the syrup. The scent is somewhat hard to pin down but there is definitely a fruit scent in there along with chocolate.

The first bite reminds me of a funky chocolate-covered cherry flavor. "Cherry sugar" is one of the ingredients and clearly is present to bring to mind the fruit in anmitsu. The jelly center is not tough, but also takes some effort to bite through and has a tendency to just pop out of the softish chocolate. This is quite sweet, but there is just the quietest whisper of a bitter note at the end.

I've never eaten proper anmitsu because the concept just doesn't appeal to me, but I liked this because it is very reminiscent of a chocolate covered cherry and I love those. That being said, this may not be for everyone. Though the cherry flavor is not strong (no cough syrup notes here), there is a bit of an intense flavor which is connected to the syrup and it's very sweet. I ate mine with some coffee and I think that helped not make it a sugary overload for me. I recommend it provisionally, and I'd buy one again if I were in the mood.

Tirol has added a desktop picture for this particular chocolate to its collection. If you'd like to download it, you can get it here.

American Cherry Hi-Chew

What is the difference between an American cherry and a Japanese cherry? I'd say about 500 yen (about 5 dollars) per 4 oz. (about 118 grams). Nyuk, nyuk. That may be a lame joke, but it's the painful truth. Japanese cherries are sold in small plastic compacts that hold about 12 cherries for $4 or $5 (between about 400-500 yen). American cherries are sold at Costco in freakishly huge honking plastic boxes for about 1000 yen ($10) for about 4 lbs. (about 2 kg.).

The kind of person who can consume Japanese cherries on a regular basis.

As far as I know, there is no predictable difference in taste between a Japanese cherry and an American one. As was said on Seinfeld, fruit is a gamble and there is always variation in both so there is no uniform difference in sweetness, texture, or acidity that I've discerned. That being said, I'm not wealthy enough to eat Japanese cherries on a regular basis. They are clearly for the monocle and sash-wearing set.

These cherry Hi-chew candies are part of Morinaga's "world fruit" series. The other type is a type of Peruvian cherry called "camucamu". Morinaga is holding a campaign where purchasers of the two Hi-Chew flavors can win some sort of kewpie doll trinket which shows it's oh-so-cute face and hands stuck in some colored plastic balls meant to resemble fruit. If you need more plastic junk in your life, you can send in part of the label and hope for the best.

Yes, it actually looks rather purple rather than red or pinkish as one might expect a cherry-flavored candy to look.

The Hi-Chew itself is pretty much par for the course. The texture is chewy, gum-like and a bit like latex. The chew is long-lasting and flavorful throughout. The flavor is somewhat tart cherry with a good balance of sweetness and cherry bite. To me, it doesn't smell particularly good. It smells a bit chemical-like and reminds me of cherry Kool-aid or Pixie Stix. Fortunately, huffing Hi-Chew isn't really necessary so one can enjoy the candy and ignore the smell.

This is a nice Hi-Chew, and a definite repeater if you're a fan of this type of candy and cherry flavor. I like cherry a lot and would certainly consider this again if I were in the right mood. I'm just not big on the Hi-Chew experience overall.

Sakuranbo KitKat

When my husband brought home this KitKat, I thought, "oh no, another pink KitKat". In the past, there have been several variations on this. There was a triple berry one and strawberry Senga Sengana one. There have also been numerous cherry, berry, and strawberry ones which pre-date my writing this blog. Does Nestlé Japan really need yet another one of these? The answer appears to be, yes. Yes, they do.


The hook for the marketing on this particular KitKat is the ability to download one of three pop songs produced by Jin Nakamura for free if you buy it. The songs are "Sakura Million", "Merry-Go-Round", and "Flower of Life". The names are written in English on the inside of the box the KitKat comes in along with a serial number and a bar code which will allow you to download one MP3 per serial number.

The box says that this is on the KitKat "Through the Break" label, but I'm pretty sure that doesn't mean anything as it's not so much a label as a distribution network for those who promote themselves via KitKats. When you go to the site, they ask you to enter your gender and age in addition to the serial number, so I'm guessing part of this promotion is gaining demographics on who buys their candy.


With exceptionally low expectations, I opened up the package on this KitKat. It smells of cherry and sweetness. On the first bite, the cherry flavor is neither too strong nor too weak and the bar isn't as sweet or cloying as some white chocolate-based KitKats. There's a nice, tart aftertaste that reminds me of sour cherries. Unfortunately, as you eat more, the sweetness tends to build up and it approaches throat burning levels after the first finger. As seems to often be the case with KitKats, this has a pretty soft exterior at room temperature and will melt in your hand if you hold it for long. You can always tell by my pictures when a KitKat is on the soft side because it does not break cleanly when snapped in half. The wafers are nice crispy and fresh and make for a nice textural contrast with the softer coating.

If you're a fan of Japanese pop, this is probably a pretty good deal. You pay about 130 yen (about $1.30) and get the candy bar and an MP3. I downloaded "Sakura" and found it about usual for Japanese pop. It's cheaply produced bouncy pop music with a lot of synthesizer music. It has elements of ripped off rap rhythms inserted into it, random English words here and there, and pretty boy crooning. It's perfect music as a background in a commercial, unsurprisingly. It's just not my sort of thing, but it may appeal to some people. Since the download page is so simple, you could probably manage to download the songs even if you know very little Japanese. Just enter your serial number in the first box, click a radio button (for gender, but it doesn't matter which you choose), and enter your age in the third box then press any button that says "ダウンロード" (download) and you'll get there.

As for the candy bar itself, I was really on the fence with this between a "happy sumo" (might buy again) and "indifferent sumo" (will finish, but not buy again) rating. If I was in the right mood, or found this for a pretty cheap price, it's not out of the question that I'd buy it again. Mainly, I went for the more favorable rating because my husband really liked it and he's not even a fan of cherry so I figure it deserves a little boost.

Sakura Mist Soda Pop

Coca-Cola Japan is starting a new campaign that they are calling "Chill Time". If you think that's a translation of the Japanese, then you don't know how often Japanese marketers use distorted English to invent new words. The Japanese reads as "Chiru-taimu" (チルタイム) which is as close as they can get to the English using Japanese phonetic characters.

As part of that campaign, they're creating a series of what they hope are sophisticated and "relaxing" beverages that cater to the tastes of adults. The main points are that they not be too sweet, possess a bit of bitterness, and mix well with alcoholic beverages. I'm guessing at that last bit based on the fact that the side of the bottle of "Sakura Mist" that I bought has instructions for mixing vodka with it and serving it up with a cherry. In other words, this is not meant to be cherry soda for kids.

Since the Japanese population is top heavy with older folks, marketing a product specifically toward adults is probably not a bad idea. Marketing something which pairs well with booze, considering the rate of imbibing in Japan, is an even better idea. While I have vodka that a student gave my husband stashed away, I'm not a drinker so I will be judging this solely as a stand alone soft drink. I may attempt to bribe my husband into giving it a go. If I'm really lucky, perhaps I can even manage to convince him to get drunk on vodka and cherry mist so I can take advantage of him.

Cherry (sakura) was chosen because the cherry blossom viewing season is at hand. "Sakura Mist" was released on March 10 so I stumbled across it pretty soon after it hit the shelves. In a hideous merger of two concepts, this release is being called "chirutaimukura" ("chill time" + "sakura"). I view this sort of combining of words in the same manner that I view those obnoxious mergers of names like "Brangelina". If you're too lazy to say two words separately, then don't bother talking about the topic at all.

When I removed the cap, the first thing I did was give it a good sniff to see how strong the cherry flavor might be. It smelled a lot like cherry Nyquil with a hint of cherry Kool-aid. When I first tasted it, it really tasted much more like peach than cherry, but after getting through about 1/3 of the bottle and letting it sit on my tongue a bit longer, the cherry flavor came through. There is a hint of bitterness in it and it does taste slightly medicinal though not in an overpowering way. It reminded me a lot of club soda with some bitter cherry flavoring added into it. Considering the fact that Canada Dry makes club soda in Japan, I wouldn't be surprised if that is pretty much what this is.

I'm not accustomed to drinks with sugar in them because I'd prefer to spend the calories somewhere else so I viewed drinking this as an indulgence and the taste had to be pretty good to be worth the sugar. The nutrition information says that this is 33 calories per 100 ml so the entire bottle is 165 calories which is a bit much for a "sophisticated", lightly-flavored club soda. Considering that the first ingredient is the equivalent of high fructose corn syrup in Japan, it's also something to be avoided for that reason if no other. I didn't hate this, but I didn't love it. I found the flavor mild and slightly interesting, but ultimately a bit bland. I think people who like weak flavoring might find this more enjoyable, but only if they can also tolerate a small chemical aftertaste. I wouldn't buy this again and wouldn't have bought it initially had I known what it was going to taste like.

Ghana Cherry Marnier Chocolate

Since today is Valentine's day, I saved an item that was clearly released for the holiday. It contains the Valentine's candy flavor trifecta - red fruit (cherry), chocolate, and alcohol (cherry liqueur). In fact, it proudly announces that there is .4% alcohol in this candy on the box cover.


Inside the box, there are two little conjoined trays with foil covers. They look like they should separate in the middle, but they can't be pulled apart. They packaging is like this so you can bend the sections in the middle while keeping two portions in separate trays. Each little "twig" of candy is about 5 cm (about 2 inches) long and there are 8 in each compartment. They are 22 calories per stick.


These smell vaguely of chocolate, cherry and alcohol. The sticks are soft and melt easily in your mouth. The filling is like a firm ganache, though the coating is not very firm. It has a low melting point, though it doesn't melt in your hands. These taste like cherry cordials though their texture is very different. The flavor strongly reminds me of Cella's chocolate covered cherries. Since I used to love those when I was growing up in the U.S., I liked these a lot.

These aren't too sweet though they have a bit of a sharp flavor from the alcohol. I can see where some people may find them medicinal because cherry cough syrup contains alcohol and these incorporate similar flavors. I think these are very nice and I'd revisit them again without reservation. However, if you are the least bit of a mind to dislike any of the risky component parts (cherry and alcohol), you might want to give them a miss.

Tirol Sakura (Cherry) Mochi Premium Chocolate

When I saw this little square of chocolate for 30 yen in a Family Mart convenience store, I was happy to see another "mochi" version of a Tirol candy. For those who don't know it already, Tirol sells small square candies either as part of variety or multi-packs or "premium" candy in 1 inch square (2.54 cm) sizes. The ones in the variety pack are about the same volume as a Hershey's Kiss, perhaps a bit bigger. The premium ones are about 1/3 larger than the small versions and sell for 30-40 (about 35-40 cents) yen each.

I'm pretty sure that this newest flavor was released to cater to the Valentine's Day buyers as well as get a leg up on spring-themed treats since "sakura" is cherry and cherry blossoms are all over the package.


The premium candies are molded with different designs on them. There are only 5 picture designs, a rocket ship, house, clock, car, and an airplane, and a basic checkerboard pattern. I think this is a good reflection of the fact that the companies earlier offerings were geared mainly at kids, but I believe the premium flavors may be equally oriented at the adult market, particularly the sweets hungry "office lady" (OL) crowd.


The top of the candy is pale pink tinted white chocolate with what I'm guessing are supposed to be little specs of cherry. The base appears to be regular milk chocolate. Inside, is the "mochi" gummy center which is a brownish blob. I was disappointed that there was no flavored "sauce" on the top as there has been in some other Tirol premium candies.

The candy smells like cheap cherry-scented perfume or air freshener. It's not a good smell. Unfortunately, it tastes like overly sweet cheap cherry perfume or soap. The coating is soft and carries all of the flavor. The chewy gummy center doesn't have much taste at all.

This was really quite dreadful, and a huge disappointment. I'm pretty tolerant of strong flavors and tend to favor them over bland ones. I also like cherry quite a lot, but this was a real failure in flavor balance. This is probably one of the worst things I've ever had and tops the Oshiruko KitKat as my most disliked snack food. I guess that means I'd rather eat a moldy sock over a bar of soap, not that that's a competition I'd relish taking part in.