Candy Bar Lab

There are a ton of Kit Kat varieties in the world, especially in Japan. To date, I’ve reviewed four (including this one) and I’ve had many of the originals before. So that makes 5 for me that I’ve tasted - probably more than the average American will ever have. Jen in Japan has reviewed over 60! I’m pretty sure I’ll never reach that number.

Structure
A two-segment molded bar of green tea-flavored white chocolate with layers of crispy wafers inside.

Texture
Classic Kit Kat texture - a soft chocolate shell with a crispy interior.

Taste
It’s really no surprise that Kit Kat has so many varieties. It’s the perfect vehicle for applying various flavorings because the white chocolate and wafers are so flavor neutral. For this bar, the green tea is the
dominant flavor, though it’s still pretty subtle. Overall, I’d say this is a sweet, but not overwhelmingly tasty product.

Verdict
I’m giving this a thumbs down because it wasn’t as good as the other green tea, white chocolate, crispy candy bar from Japan that I reviewed. I’m not a huge fan of green tea either, so I’d rather try one of the Strawberry or other fruit-flavored Kit Kats next time.

I mentioned in my last Kingsbury Chocolates post that I would possibly try out the ChocObama Bar in the future. Well, thanks my friend who picked one up for me, here it is.

Structure
A mint-flavored milk chocolate bar with a dark chocolate Barack Obama bust printed on the back.

Texture
Nothing special about the texture other than it’s really smooth milk chocolate.

Taste
Wow, the mint flavor is REALLY intense - like I just brushed my teeth with Altoids. I couldn’t really taste the chocolate in fact because the mint really took over.

Verdict
This is a quality product with really smooth milk chocolate and while the mint flavor is intense, it doesn’t taste good. Ultimately, I’m giving this a negative review because it just doesn’t work as a candy bar. These should be served in smaller pieces as after dinner mints. There’s just no way for one person to eat the whole bar - especially in one sitting.

I believe when this was given to me, my friend told me that it came from a popular store in Tokyo. In my head, I pictured the Japanese version of Neiman Marcus or something along those lines. Most of the packaging is in Japanese, so I have no (easy) way of identifying the manufacturer. There is one line in English that says “Green Tea”, so I at least knew what to expect before I ate this odd-looking, green candy bar.

Structure
A single, green bar of green tea flavored white chocolate with whole pieces of puffed rice incorporated throughout.

Texture
This is a solid candy bar that takes a little bit of effort to bite through. Two things came to mind when I first bit in. One, it reminds of a the Nidar Smash I previously reviewed - though it’s not as crunchy. Two, the puffed rice immediately reminded me of Honey Smacks, which I haven’t eaten in about 20 years.

Taste
The green tea flavor is light, but definitely noticeable. This is my first green tea chocolate product that I’ve tasted. I wasn’t completely turned off by it, but I wouldn’t say that I liked it better than regular old chocolate. The puffed rice actually has some rice flavor to it, which makes it different from the flavorless rice crispies found in candy bars like Nestle Crunch. Overall, this product’s flavor was subtle and different from anything I’ve tried before.

Verdict
I’m on the fence on this one. I wasn’t exactly craving more after a few bites, but I ultimately decided to give it a thumbs up because it’s clearly well made with quality ingredients and would be a very good choice for anyone looking to try a green tea flavored candy bar.