Japanese Kit Kat Tasting - Presented in Three Acts

Act One

Recently I stumbled upon an interesting cultural phenomenon. Apparently Kit Kit candy bars are very popular in Japan, and they come in a variety of insane flavors.

I am fascinated when things that are very commonplace to me are made different in other countries. For example, Mexican Coke¹ tastes sweeter to me and has the slightest flavor of cinnamon - I highly recommend trying it.

Back to Japanese Kit Kats - according to Internet sources², one of the reasons the Kit Kat brand is so popular in Japan is that the name is very similar to the phrase "kitto katsu," which means "an assured victory!" With such an inspirational sounding name, it has become tradition for Japanese parents to leave Kat Kat bars as encouragement for their kids when final exams roll around. Nestle even got in on the fun and started printing blank areas on the wrapper so you could write a little note.

No doubt impressed by my newfound enthusiasm for Japanese Kit Kats, Anica surprised me on Valentine's Day with my very own box of Kit Kats imported directly from Japan! The box contained 11 different flavors in all. Last Saturday we invited my sister Lauren and her boyfriend Dave over for dinner. For dessert we had a Kit Kat tasting party. Since this was (most likely) a once-in-a-lifetime experience for all of us, I thought it was important to meticulously catalog the event in its entirety. Pictures were taken. Impressions were recorded.

We will explore all eleven Kat Kat varieties in Acts Two and Three.

1 - Mexican Coca Cola. This is a family blog!
2 - For more reading on Japanese Kit Kats, I highly recommend the ongoing feature on bakespite.net