Is it just me, or does this limited edition KitKat from Japan sound like an iPod accessory? Thankfully it’s not, as it would be both expensive and not a tasty candy bar.

The iStick KitKat was a summer release and unlike the other varieties, was found in the freezer section of stores. It is meant to be eaten cold. No rules apply though, you can eat an iStick at room temperature if you’d like. I didn’t eat my first one cold and I quickly found out why. The chocolate is so rich that it melts rather quickly in your hands, making one big delicious mess. Other than temperature preferences, the iStick is very different from all the other Kitkats.

The size is perfect, the in-between of a BigKat (or what they now call the KitKat Chunky) and a normal KitKat. Each finger 4 inches long and 1/2 inch wide and one package comes with two fingers in it rather than one or four. The rest of the makeup of the iStick is identical to a regular KitKat, except for the top of the bar where the wafers have been removed and a layer of fudge replaces it. Yeah, you heard me. A KitKat with a fudge layer in it. I am officially in heaven.

The taste? Wow, just wow! It is incredibly chocolatey, I could hardly believe it. It’s like eating brownie batter! The fudge layer is a lot larger than the box illustration lets on. It can take up to 1/2 of the inside of this KitKat, and boy can you really taste it! The fudge and wafers balance perfect texture-wise, and the smooth chocolate coating just adds another level of bliss. The size is perfect for eating too: not to big, not too small. It’s Ddefinitely one of my favorite KitKat bars EVER! I wish they’d make something like this in the U.S., I think it’d be really popular. I give it the Candy Addict Awesomely Addictive Candy Award!

• Kitkat Japan (Breaktown) Webpage

Spring is approaching (well, for some of us anyways) and no one understands this better than the Japanese. The cherry blossoms (sakura) will be in bloom followed by the intense and dreaded college entrance exams that many Japanese students study so hard for.

Parents of these students express their support buy buying them chocolate in the form of Kitkats! They do this because the the name of Kitkat in Japan “Kitto Katsu” translates to “you shall surely win/be victorious”. The Japanese love plays on words and puns, so of course they see KitKat as a very auspicious chocolate bar. Nestle (who makes KitKats in Japan, not Hershey) noticed the increased demand for the candy and has happily complied. They even released a limited edition Sakura Kitkat last year especially for the occasion.

• Japanese KitKats are Good Luck Article
• Japanese Kitkat Website

candy, sweets, kitkat, kitkats, Kit Kat, Kit Kats, Japan, Japanese, good luck, chocolate

These Japanese Kitkats are mini finger bars produced by Le Patissier Takagi. They’re the latest in “specialty” KitKats from Japan, following the “Wine” and “Noir” flavors from last winter. Each finger is about 1 3/4 inches long which is perfect for snacking, sharing or a quick treat.

Read More »

Ahh, Japan, the land of seasonal treats! The pumpkin, so revered by the Japanese as the quintessential autumn vegetable; it can be boiled, roasted, baked, steamed, and mashed up with pounds of sugar and turned into a seasonal candy!

I was recently in Japan, and a friend casually let it slide that pumpkin-flavored KitKats were available in stores, which of course then turned into a quest to find them. After searching through candy aisles at various convenience stores (amazing candy selection at Japanese convenience stores!) and supermarkets, I finally found them at, yes, a convenience store! The happy pumpkins on the package led me to believe these were for Halloween, which is not really celebrated in Japan, but hey, if there’s a chance to produce and market new goods, why not?

First, the aroma–the KitKat doesn’t smell particularly pumpkiny. It gives off a slightly fruity scent, kind of like how those raspberry-filled Russell Stover candies smell. I thought the KitKat might be orange in color, but it looks like an ordinary KitKat. One crunch in, and, well, it doesn’t really taste like pumpkin, either. It does have a less chocolately taste than a regular KitKat with perhaps a hint of uh, je ne sais quois. I find that the pumpkin-flavored KitKat is neither delicious nor repulsive. Maybe if I stare at a pumpkin while eating the KitKat, it will taste more like pumpkin?

• Nestlé Japan web site
• Buy Japanese KitKats at JList

(picture from Wikipedia)

These are also know as Kit Kat Crispy Monogatari and according to this ebay auction, they are limited edition and just came out in Japan earlier this month. They are essentially Kit Kats without the outer chocolate coating and according to Wikipedia, are a newer version of Kit Kat Crispy Sando (Sandwich).

Other than that, I can’t find much more info on it. It’s not listed in the Japanese Kit Kat store, and neither JList nor Asian Food Grocer are selling it. I did find some more pics of it on Flickr and one of them said “it’s a KitKat without the chocolate coating and with mango cream instead of that bizarre fake peanut butter”. Another one of the Flickr pics says the top of the box (possibly the bottom of the one pictured above) says “KitKat has put off its chocolate!”

• ebay auction
• Kit Kat on Wikipedia
• Multiple Flickr pics
• Japanese Kit Kat site

candy, sweets, kit kat, kitkat, nestle, chocolate, naked, japan, japanese, new products, limited edition