These remarkable Japanese Kit Kats are made with wasabi! It’s not fake wasabi or the imitation horseradish that’s often passed off as cheap “wasabi” either. Nestle Japan teamed up with the huge Tamaruya-Honten Co Ltd (who has been manufacturing wasabi since 1875) to make these delicious snacks. I couldn’t resist trying this weird flavor so I snapped up the Wasabi Kit Kat as soon as I saw them.
There are 12 pieces of Kit Kats in the box, all individually wrapped. A regular pack in Japan holds 3 wrapped pieces of 2 Kit Kat mini bars so this is four times the amount. It’s presented in a nice box meant as omiyage (souvenirs). It opens up from the front to reveal two rows of Wasabi Flavored Kit Kats. There is writing on the flip side of the cover which explains the provenance of the product.
No, I didn’t inexplicably start reading Japanese from a single trip to Hokkaido. I took a photo of the text with Google Translate and it showed me the English translation. That’s actually how we got around in Japan when we were there earlier this year. Haha. These are special edition Kit Kat from the Shizuoka-Kanto area.
Tamaruya-Honten uses only wasabi from the Shizuoka Prefecture with no coloring and horseradish added. The latter two is basically what makes up virtually 100% of wasabi locally. No such shenanigans here, the stuff Nestle Japan puts in these Kit Kats is real wasabi made by a reputable wasabi manufacturer. There is a blurb at the back introducing Tamaruya and a link to their website. I believe “honten” means original shop.
I took a bite and was startled to find out that the wasabi flavor was really strong. It cleared up my sinuses and I could taste/feel the pungent wasabi notes through my nose. It was not unpleasant but the taste combination was strange. My better half didn’t like it though, she found the strong wasabi kick rather off-putting. I didn’t mind, I’m quite fond of wasabi but honestly it doesn’t go very well with chocolate.
These Wasabi Kit Kat are more of a novelty item. I was glad I got the chance to taste them but I probably won’t buy them again. I love how Nestle Japan hooked up with an established wasabi producer to make these Kit Kats. The Nestle x Tamaruya partnership for this makes for a great story. It’s the perfect souvenir due to its exclusivity and a regional specialty to boot, but they’re really not that great to eat. I’m definitely keeping the box though.
I love their green tea ones.
Yeah, I love some of their matcha ones too! 🙂
The best is Uji Matcha Kit Kat with green tea from Uji (a famous tea producing area). Second best I’ve had is Kinako Green Tea which adds in toasted soybean flour. The Japanese matcha Kit Kat are generally very nice. However, the China ones and the Thailand ones are horrible. I just had the Thailand one, disgusting, full of cheap vegetable oil and low grade “green tea” flavoring. I had a terrible matcha Pocky from PRC last week too, would never again touch anything matcha that’s not from Japan.
Frankly, I do not like wasabi but I would not mind to take a bite to know how it really tastes like! I guess the strong wasabi flavor will overpower the chocolate flavour eh
Yeah, me too! 🙂
I thought wasabi would probably not go well with chocolates and after eating it, that just confirmed my initial suspicions. It’s not bad per se, it’s just a wierd and unusual combination. I’ve had awesome Chili + Passionfruit Kit Kat made by Kit Kat Chocolatory. We got it in Daimaru Sapporo, it’s the only shop in Hokkaido and there’s only a handful of shops in Japan where you can get these limited edition Kit Kats. They have Butter Kit Kat too, it’s quite nice and a Hokkaido speciality but also only available in Kit Kat Chocolatory. However, chili goes well with dark chocolate but wasabi isn’t spicy, it’s pungent, which is a different sensation and taste. It was very nice to try the Wasabi Kit Kat but the most delicious ones I’ve had was another Kit Kat Chocolatory exclusive – the “I <3 Fruits" Kit Kat collection. It's really expensive and only available from the 8 Kit Kat Chocolatory shops in the entire WORLD. I still have a couple, will write about it when we finish eating them.
That’s a cool one, dear! Kit Kat sent me their green tea version & I kinda like it too. Love to try this as well. Have an awesome week!
wasabi kitkat is indeed interesting flavour. i enjoyed eating them! same i prefer green tea ones.
Green tea always my top choice and I cannot taste the different between Thailand produced green tea Kit Kat and Japan one >_<
I would like to try this wasabi kit kat because I like to eat wasabi ice cream. Do you like to eat wasabi ice cream?