There were many to choose from but TokyoTreat seemed right for me. It promises 13-17 different Japanese treats - this can be sweet, savoury or non-consumable - every month for $34.99 which is the premium plan. It roughly converts to £25 a month (conversion rates depending), with no shipping fee anywhere in the world!
There are also the regular and small plans which cost less but also give you less. I like my food. I had to get the premium plan. I compared it to a number of other boxes but TokyoTreat seemed the best deal to me.
May's theme is 'Matcha' so I came into it expecting a lot of green tea flavoured foods. I wasn't wrong. Until this box, I hadn't tried anything matcha flavoured so I was wary but overall the box was great and I have warmed to the taste.
What's in the box? Some wonderful, wonderful things.
Let's start off with what's in the small plan.
'Gudetama Character Seal & Gum'
Gudetama is part of the Sanrio family (the ones responsible for Hello Kitty) and appears to be an unmotivated egg who has taken Japan by storm. He now has his own anime shorts, roughly a minute long each, with a whopping 250+ episodes.
This item is a single piece of chewing gum that comes with a collectable card featuring one of the Gudetama characters. The chewing gum is a standard flavour but last for quite a while, and even when you're finished there's still the cute little guy that comes on the collectable card. The card itself is thin and about the length of a little finger, so I think I'm going to put mine on my giant corkboard for safe keeping!
'Crunchy Matcha'
When opening the box, this was the first thing I wanted to try. Never having tried matcha flavour before, I thought matcha chocolate would be a safe place to start. The chocolate itself is bright green which, to me, was a bit off putting. However, once I tried a piece I was happily surprised.
The chocolate has a mild green tea flavour mixed with creamy chocolate and tiny biscuit crumbs. All in all it wasn't an over powering taste and something I would recommend to those, like me, who haven't tried matcha before.
The bar itself is pretty big - you get six rows of four and it's light so it's quite a possibility that you'll eat the whole thing in one sitting. I only stopped myself because I really wanted to have something nice to come back to, should I have hated the other items.
'Yochan's "Sweating Spicy Snack" '
This seemed like an interesting snack, however once I read in the description "you will also taste a hint of cod" I realised this was not a snack for me. When I put one in my mouth it had an unusual, quickly softening texture but all too fast I was overwhelmed by a fish taste that I could not stand.
If you like typically fishy tasting things then this might be for you. On the plus side, there was definitely the spiciness that was promised, though not hot enough to actually get me sweating. On the up side for anyone who does like the flavour, you get quite a handful of the snack, so you'll be able to munch on it for quite some time. Just carry some mints for afterwards!
'Kabuki Actor, Shido Nakamura's Potato Curry Chips'
Shido Nakamura is best know for his roles as Dragon in Ping Pong, Takumi in Be With You, and my personal favourite, the voice of Ryuk in the Death Note Japanese live-action films. Not only does he bring a creepy but loveable shinigami to life, he also endorses crisps.
I love crisps, so I was happy to see this item in the box. (For future reference, when I say crisps, I'm talking about American potato chips). It was a generous sized bag and, when opened, was actually filled with more crisps than air!
If I had to liken them to anything, it would be Kettle Chips. Nakamura's crisps are extra crunchy and packed with lots of flavour - somewhat of a barbeque taste. I absolutely loved this treat and really hope I get chance to try it again in the future.
'Thick Uji Matcha Brownie'
I open by saying this brownie didn't last long. Like the Crunchy Matcha chocolate, this brownie was beautiful. It's a pretty hefty sized brownie, and it's soft, moist and I honestly could not get enough.
It has an overtone of sweet milk chocolate and an undertone of matcha. In this brownie, the tastes really compliment each other. Unlike some of the other products, the tea flavour isn't overpowering so chocolate lovers like me will really love it. Again, it's a really soft texture, almost doughy, like it's fresh out of the oven. Yum.
'Plum Jam Crackers'
I wasn't sure what to make of this to begin with. I assumed the plum jam flavour would be there in the actual crackers. In fact, you get it in a sachet and the crackers are simply savoury wafers. But you get a good few of them. If I had eaten all of them, I'm not sure there would have been enough of the jam to put on all the crackers. However, the plum taste I was expecting when I bit into a cracker smeared with the jam didn't come. It has a rather bitter and artificial taste to it - not like the sweet plums you find in the markets here.
As it is the only Japanese plum-tasting treat I've had so far I can't say if their plum and our plum are two different things, but for now it's safe to say that I didn't enjoy this treat too much and most went in the bin.
oOo
The next set of items can be found in the regular plan, along with all those found in the small plan. It's usually 4-5 treats more than the small box.
'Chocolate and Banana Soft Candy'
This is a DIY kit. They're very popular in Japan, and basically it gives you all the bits to make your own sweets! This one, I have to say, has been one of my favourites and the most tasty.
The idea of this one is that you take banana flavoured foam fingers (about the size of a wotsit), stick a toothpick in them, dunk them in chocolate sauce then dump them in sprinkles and eat. Everything is provided. Me and my boyfriend had a great time playing with these, and he ended up licking the tray clean.
I think my only negative about this is the shape of the tray that you put the chocolate and sprinkles in to. With the shape of the slightly curved bananas, the even more curved tray leaves some of the banana without chocolate. Though if you're willing to stick your fingers into the sauce and smear it on, that's no problem for you!
'Friend Bakery Matcha'
Another matcha flavoured snack, I actually really like this one. A very British thing to do is dunk our biscuits into our tea then eat them. With this treat, you don't have to wait for the kettle to boil before you can have the taste! Admittedly, it is the taste of biscuit in green tea, but it's only a mild difference to normal tea.
I was only expecting to get about five biscuits in the bag but surprisingly it was something like 10-12. I was very happy and found myself snacking on these as I worked through my assignments. Although, eating too many at once was a little overpowering in taste so I took my time with these.
'Raspberry Kit Kat (Mini)'
Now this treat was a much needed burst of extra flavour into this month's box. Three came in the box and I tried my very hardest to save one for my boyfriend to try but well... it didn't make it.
This Kit Kat is almost bite sized but full of fruity flavour. It's raspberry, but a tangy raspberry with a kick to it. And creamy. So creamy. Trying to break the Kit Kat in half, it separates smoothly with the raspberry coating like yoghurt.
In future boxes, I definitely hope to see more of these. Not just raspberry but all the wacky Kit Kat flavours Japan is known for. If the raspberry flavour is anything to go by, the rest will be a treat!
'Sour Spray (Apple)'
There was a chance to get one of four different flavours in this box and I got the apple one. Much like the raspberry Kit Kat, this was a much needed addition to the box. I found myself spraying this into my mouth every time I tried something with too much matcha in it. A little, handy lifesaver.
There are English equivalents of this treat and you can expect a standard, artificial, sour apple flavour when tasting it but all in all, I like this little treat. There's a quick burst of great flavour but it quickly disappears. I spray it four or five times to really get something to stick. It's only a tiny bottle but will fit in any handbag or pocket, and lasts for an unexpectedly long time.
'Matcha Caramel'
I have mixed feelings about this one. I've had something similar in a past box but that was cherry blossom flavour (yup, flower flavour), and wasn't overly keen on it. This one, once again, is green tea flavour. However, it is also caramel. Biting into it, there is definitely the hint of a traditional toffee but the matcha flavour in it is artificial and overbearing.
That's not to say it's terrible. Each caramel is individually wrapped and if you only eat one, the taste is alright. Any more than that, though, and you'll have to take a break to spritz the sour spray into your mouth.
oOo
The final section is the premium plan, which contains all the items from the first two plans, plus 4-5 extra items. It promises at least one liquid item (I'd say drink but in the February box I got soup in a can), and one non-consumable, 'premium' item.
'Matcha Cider'
Have no fear, it isn't actually tea flavoured cider. I'm pretty sure it's a soft drink.
Experience has told me not to judge a Japanese treat by its appearance. This looks like swamp water. If you shake it (which you shouldn't, as I later found out this is carbonated), you can even see slimy green swamp leaves in this bottle.
I don't like bits in my drinks, so I strained this out so there were no remaining matcha leaves then gave it a swig. It's actually really rather nice. It's fizzy green tea but with the sweetness of apples (which is why I think they called it cider) and honestly, I enjoyed drinking it. I'm not sure I would have liked it as much had I choked on or had to chew on one of the leaves though so beware!
'Re-Ment Nameko Charm'
This month's non-consumable item. It's a keychain/earphone jack based on the Japanese character Nameko. It's a mushroom. I really like this item - I was lucky enough to get the charm of the cat on the book. You can remove the cat from the book and use it as an earphone jack in your phone which is great because I was looking to get one!
The only trouble is the charm is meant to go in an iPhone so it slips out of a samsung pretty easily. Be wary if you want to keep the jack in when your phone goes in your bag. Overall though, I think this is an adorable addition to the box and I'll be carrying my grumpy cat around with me for some time, even if I have to sellotape it down.
'Rich Cheddar Cheese Crisps'
Another little bag of heaven. Unlike Nakamura's crisps, it's a standard size crisps bag. The crisps have a strong taste of cheesey goodness but the shape is more like conchiglie, so for the size of the bag you actually get more in it.
It's similar to some british products in taste, but for the fact it comes in crunchy shell-like shapes, it's something I'd happily go overseas to buy.
'Pocky Kasane Matcha'
Pocky in general is wonderful. It's a long thin biscuit, coated in some kind of flavour that you can either spend hours delicately licking off or minutes seeing how many you can fit in your mouth at once.
Matcha pocky is not for me. It's with a heavy heart that I have to say I hated this item. The matcha flavour is too strong and it even leaves the biscuit tasting peculiar. On the plus side, as with other unique pocky flavours, it comes as a two pack inside the container so should you like the taste, there's plenty more to eat.
oOo
Over all, this month's box was alright. The raspberry Kit Kats and the Nemeko charm really saved it but I don't think I like matcha all that much. I'm not deterred though, past boxes have been a lot more up my street and I believe they have announced a Sakura Cola will be in the June premium box. I missed the Sakura Pepsi in April so I absolutely can't wait!
If you want to have a look at the various Tokyotreat plans and maybe sign up, have a look here.
Peace until next time,
Sarah~!
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