Unusual Kit Kat Flavours

 Yes, it is finally here - my Kit Kat taste test. Japan has long been the home to unusual Kit Kat flavours - soy sauce, chestnut, pumpkin and apple just to name a few - and though some of these flavour sound bizarre, in my limited experience, they usually taste both realistic and delicious. On our supermarket shelves in Sydney, Australia, on the other hand, we usually only have access to a couple of chocolatey-flavoured Kit Kats with the occasional addition of caramel or cookies. Sugary and satisfying as those are, they are hardly adventurous.

When I heard news of Sydney opening its very own Kit Kat "chocalatory" at Mid City, I was pretty excited. Clearly, others were too: visiting involves putting down your phone number and waiting at least 40 minutes. Fortunately, they text you just as it is your turn to visit, so you don't have to wait there in person and can run some other errands in between.

There are lots of exciting things at the chocolatory, including some fancy made-on-the-spot super bars. There are also bars made with single origin chocolate, high quality matcha or the ruby chocolate that's been all the rage since its development, which really elevate Kit Kats from a simple supermarket candy to a somewhat luxe experience. 

For this review, I decided to stick with the basics: a range of new flavours have been developed for the chocolatory (these bear the name "chocolatory" on the package), and a couple that, I assume, were originally developed for the Japanese market. 

This one was clearly developed for the Japanese market. One thing that Kat Kat Japan does extremely well is showcasing regional produce and flavours. The melon and cheese which this Kat Kat imitates comes from Hokkaido, famous for its beautiful winter scenery and high quality dairy products. The melon flavour is very distinct, smelling it is like smelling an freshly-cut rock melon. The marscapone is more subtle, but I can taste how it lends the Kit Kat a creaminess that rounds out the fruit flavours. 

Continuing with the fruit theme, this pineapple flavour was developed for the chocolatory. Compared with the subtle and realistic flavours of the melon Kit Kat, this is a definite loser. The artificial pineapple taste is very similar to a cheap cordial, and it even has a bitter artificial sugar aftertaste which is particularly unpleasant. This comment is going to become a theme of today's review. Even though the Kit Kat is coated in white chocolate on the outside, the chocolate between the wafers are milk chocolate, which is interesting. If only it improved the flavour. 

I have never tried fresh guava, but if it is anything like this Kit Kat (and I strongly suspect it is not), I would not wish to try it at all. Yes, there is a tropical whiff, but I'm not picturing a sun-drenched, pristine beach with waving palm trees; I am picturing cheap tiki drinks served with highly-suspect ice, and the rubbish left behind by hoards of tourists. 

Stepping away from the fruits to a flavour that really excited me when I saw it in store: I am expecting a cinnamon hit and a lovely, slightly-burnt sugar taste. Well, there certainly was sugar taste: overly sweet and incredibly artificial (with that bitter after taste), there is zero subtlety to this Kit Kat. If I closed my eyes, I wouldn't be able to tell you what flavour I'm supposed to be tasting. It just tastes like a bad caramel monstrosity. 

The cotton candy flavour comes in an unappetising blue, and I should disclose that I have never been a fan of cotton cancy-flavoured or bubble fum-flavoured things. I repeat my comments of the flavours being nothing like what they're trying to imitate and that the Kit Kat is way too sweet, but it actually wasn't as bad as I'd anticipated. I'd say this is probably the best flavour that came out of the chocolatory range and isn't that just a little sad. 

The most unusual flavour sold at the chocolatory award goes to the sake flavoured Kit Kat that was clearly developed for the Japanese market. The sake used is Masuizumi, and the Kit Kat is infused with a wonderfully sake-sweet aroma that, despite smelling every bit alcoholic, does not taste particularly alcoholic on the tongue. I am in awe of how such a subtle and unique scent could be captured so perfectly. Whether or not you are a sake fan, I would recommend giving this Kat Kat a try. 

I have often heard, and I have no idea whether this is true, that one must judge a gelaterria by their pistachio flavour. Being so subtle yet distinct, it is very difficult to capture the essence of pistachio. As one would expect, the chocolatory failed at this spectacularly. The pistachio flavous is incredibly sweet and artificial, there is no depth and none of that distinctive nuttiness that makes a good pistachio, or a good pistachio gelato, so moreish. 

The strawberry flavour is a mainstay of Western desserts: we have had them readily available in ice cream form and in flavoured milk form for many, many years. Do you think that means we have perfected it? Nope. The strawberry flavour is just awful. Even  the smell of the bar reeks of artificial flavouring and that tell-tale bitter after-taste. Taste-wise, the only thing I can think of is for you to imagine a strawberry Nesquik-gone-bad. 

No, you are not seeing double; though if you ate the strawberry flavoured bar and the raspberry flavour bar one after the other, you may believe you were tasting double. The only thing that distinguishes the raspberry flavour from the strawberry flavour is an unnatural tartness that further enhances the bitterness of artificial flavouring. 

I am conscious of how negative my comments on the vast majority of the Kit Kats are, so I am cheating and sneaking in a flavour that cannot be purchased at the chocolatory. This highly seasonal flavour was found at my local Asian grocery store. I was a little skeptical at first: I was worried that the sakura flavour would be overly-perfumy. I need not have worried. If I could use one word to capture the essence of this Kit Kat, it would be "elegant". The sakura flavour is gently perfumed and subtle, the hint of red bean giving just enough sweetness, and I can even taste the starchy powderiness of mochi. Incredible. 

You may have stumbled upon a theme by now: all the Kit Kats developed for the Japanese market are subtle, unique and superbly-executed; whereas the chocolatory-specific flavours rely strongly on artificial flavouring, over-sugaring and are simply not that true to the flavours they are trying to imitate. There is something disrespectful about the way those Kit Kats were created: it is as though they just pumped some artificial flavours in, hoping the sugar high will make us overlook how shoddily the products actually are, without taking the time and effort to properly develop a good product. 

Creating flavours in candy form is difficult. An amazing amounts of research, testing and craftsmanship is required, which clearly went into the wonderful flavours developed by Kit Kat Japan. The rest of the world has a long way to go before we can even compete in the same league.