I can not begin to tell you how excited we were to receive our first shipment of Kit Kats from Japan! We created World of Snacks for a few key reasons and my personal favorite is so we can try rare and hard to find flavors of the treats we already know and love. The Kit Kat brand is known and loved not only in the US but on a global scale as well. The international variants of the traditional Kit Kat are worthy of their own blog but the unique flavors to certain global markets are truly captivating and absolutely need to be explored. Although most Americans will tell you that Kit Kat is a US based snack offered by the Hershey company, it was in fact created in England. The US Kit Kat is licensed by it international owner Nestle. Originally released in the 1920s this sweet candy bar has become the favorite of many snack enthusiast across the world. Generally we'd dive a little more into the history of the snack but we are excited to finally taste a truly rare flavor. Kit Kat Otona no Amasa (Black) if the first of many unique flavors we intend to sample in the upcoming weeks. Unless you speak Japanese you may wonder what "Otona no Amasa" means. The name of this candy bar translates to the "Taste of Adult." This product was released as an upscale adult version of the traditional Kit Kat in 2010 and has gained tremendous popularity in Japan. They also offer the Otona no Amasa in white as well and hopefully we can review that flavor in the near future. But what does a black label Kit Kat taste like? We intentionally tried the bar prior to doing any research. Our supplier simply had it listed as "black taste." Our Director of Taste was the first to try and being a 10 year old we literally had to fight him off it until we were ready to do our taste test. Even though this is an "adult Kit Kat" he was immediately a fan. To sum up the flavor, the Black Kit Kat taste like a less sweet version of the traditional candy bar. I found myself looking for more flavors being I didn't know that it was simply an adult version of the bar. The chocolate outer layer seemed less sweet than I would have expected but the filling in between the wafer layers had a little twang to it. The filling started off sweet but left a mild bitter after taste. I also wanted to say I noted an orange hint to the filling but after my research it doesn't seem that is the case. Being titled the Black Kit Kat bar I assumed it would contain dark chocolate, which it did not. Overall it was a pleasant treat and it is easy to see why it is a hit in Japan. Will worldofsnacks.com offer the Black Kit Kat from Japan in the US? We hope so! Finding a supplier for this product was very difficult and it appears there are no US based companies offering this flavor. We intend to not only have a page dedicated to the best snacks from Japan but another section of our website will be solely dedicated to hard to find and rare Kit Kat bars from across the globe.
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We hope all our snack enthusiast following along enjoy chocolate because we are off to Spain to review another deliciously sugary treat. Today we are ripping open a pack of cookies, or as the Spaniards refer to them- a pack of chocolate cream biscuits. Before we get down to the taste test lets talk a little bit about the brand Cacaolat (and no it’s not Spanish for chocolate.) Cacaolat is a well established brand created in 1931 with a claim to fame in the snack drink business. This may explain why there is a little dude on the logo running with what appears to be a soda bottle. The little bottle turns out is a milk shake! Cacaolat is credited with creating the first industrially produced milk shake in the world and the bottle it came in was constructed of glass, explaining why it resembles a tradition coke bottle. Over the past decade or so the brand has been in turmoil and was recently purchased by a brewing company called Damm. It appears Nestle was initially the front runner for purchasing the brand but the smaller Damm beat them out. Now with that all being said we imagine the bottling company is licensing the brand to a cookie manufacture. It appears to be manufactured by Elgorriaga, a candy supplier in Spain. We are unsure the popularity or length the cookie have been on the market. Either way one thing is for sure, we are going to eat them right now and tell the world all about it!
Now the taste test for Cacaolat Galletas Con Creama De Cacao! The snack is constructed of two mild and flaky thin cookie halves with a chocolate cream filling. The cookie texture is soft and crumbly even though typical cookies of this nature are generally more crunchy and firm. The flavor of the cookie halves is sweet but not over powering. The chocolate filling has a distinctive taste of cocoa butter and is also not over powering making this premium cookie feel like it should be enjoyed by adults. My first reaction was to run and grab a glass of milk, this cookie begs to be dipped. After our initial test we took the rest of the Cacaolat pack on the road with us through the neighborhood and our first stop instantly stated they’d love to dunk the cookie in a glass of hot tea. While researching the product further it appears that they are designed to dip in a Cacaolat milk shake. Cacoalat Galletas Con Crema De Cacao do have a fun American equivalent. Any guesses? Here is a hint. They are claimed to be made by elves in a hollow tree. These premium cookies resemble the Keebler E.L. Fudge cookies. E.L. Fudge cookies though are much sweeter, more mass produced, and are targeted at children. That means if you want to be more sophisticated and entertain your adult guests with a cookie you know they will love than you may want to consider purchasing Cacaolat. The initially feedback from our test panel was strongly positive for this treat. We are not sure if we will offer Cacaolat as a full time feature on our World of Snacks store but may bring in a small test batch to see if there is enough of a following to warrant it’s full time inclusion. At last our global snack blog is reaching England. After spending most of my snacking childhood years in the UK one of the main reason for initially exploring the idea of creating an international snack store was to be able to locate items I grew up on. Unfortunately this is not one of the items I loved as a child but I wanted to start with something I could share. So let’s get started!
Cadbury Fingers are called a biscuit on the international market but state-side we’d call them a cookie. Basically they are long, narrow, finger like cookies covered in chocolate. They are sweet and crunchy and not too filling. It takes 2 or 3 to get a full cookie experience. Upon sampling them I immediately thought they’d be great with English Tea, which is why imagine they are so popular. Cadbury offers their Fingers in a variety of flavors but for our sample we went with the good old original. I shared these with many family members and friends and everyone seemed to enjoy them but only a few came back for more. That being said they are a solid snack treat but lack the wow factor of other products we have reviewed so far. Cadbury has been producing these delightful UK favorites since 1897 with the modern version being launched in 1951. It’s safe to say these are a traditional British treat. We enjoyed the large amount provided and noticed the option for a doubled size box which would be ideal for large parties. World of Snacks will most likely carry Cadbury Fingers in the normal size packaging. We hope to sample other flavors in the near future to see if we should offer the extend line up or focus on the classic. Although mostly unknown to the American candy market, the last few features on our Global Snack Blog have been popular treats from the countries they originate. The initial reasoning behind developing World of Snacks was to help people explore and locate these items and make them readily available through out the world. As we started our initial research we also discovered something that we are positive will be a big facet of our company. Brands that most Americans know and love offer rare and unique flavors in international markets! This will get any snack connoisseur excited. With the launch of our store we are already lining up pages focused to these exotic flavors. Until the launch of our store be sure to follow along as we include items you most likely have never heard but will be eager to try them for yourself.
This week’s snack feature is a Hazelnut Cream Chunky Kit Kat by Nestle. As a fan of the all of the American version of KitKat I could not wait to rip the wrapper and sample this product. First thing many candy lovers may notice is that KitKat is offered by Hershey in the US and not Nestle. Apparently Nestle is the owner of the Kit Kat brand and licenses them to Hershey in the US. This unique Kit Kat comes to us from Bulgaria but the Hazlenut Cream variety is offered in multiple European markets including England. This is my first encounter with a “Chunky” model. Instead of the multiple “give me a break” sections this is one thick log that can be broken width-wise into three small pieces. But how does it taste? The flavor is sweet with a creamy hint, and is less waxy then the traditional US KitKat. The chunky variety did cause me to miss the regular style bars. The wafer was thick and crisp with a thing sweet filling, and if I never had a normal Kit Kat I would think this is how it should taste. Hazelnut in general is a subtle flavor and is much more common in Europe. Overall it was a pleasant experience but did not have the wow factor of a rare candy bar that I had hoped. If you are a fan of Hazelnut or are just searching to explore an exotic flavor KitKat than I would definitely recommend it. Our Director of Taste claims it’s better than the US model but both I and my partner enjoy the traditional Kit Kat a little more than this Bulgarian counterpart. In the very near future we are receiving our first shipment of Japanese Kit Kats. This will give us a chance to find the strange and unusual flavors we are searching for. Being this snack is offered by Kit Kat, World of Snacks will most likely offer it for sale in the US. Our goal is to seek out every version of Kit Kat in the world!
We are following up our review of Daelmans Dutch Carmel Wafer with another wafer style snack. This time the flaky treat comes from Poland. Prince Polo was first introduced to the country in 1955 and it's parent company Olza has been a delicious snack supplier since 1920. If you are one of our American readers you may have noticed the familiar Kraft logo in the corner of the packaging. Kraft eventually purchased Olza in 1993. The Prince Polo has long been one of the most popular candy bars in Poland. It is also loved by many of the surrounding countries including the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Ukraine under the name Siesta. If you are not familiar with this international snack you are probably wondering what exactly it is. This product consists of four wafer joined by three layers of white chocolate filling. To add to the excitement it is then dipped into white chocolate and sprinkled with coconut. Some international snack blogs and sites are offering the Prince Polo as a healthy alternative to a normal candy bar. From the nutrition facts we still believe this bar is far from healthy. Luckily nutrition is not the point because the Olza Prince Polo White Chocolate Confection with Coconut is delicious! Generally we'd include more details of the taste on our snack review but we have a little something different for you today!
You may have noticed the new video review on our blog. Since the entire site is still in development you may see many changes to our formatting and presentation as we finalize our concept. Jayden our Director of Taste will weigh in with his reviews on occasion as he tracks down the world's best snacks. We know the production value could be improved but right now we are just having fun! Look for improvements and other exciting changes as we progress.
For our next adventure in our journey across the globe through snacks we ventured to Holland. This product intrigued us from the start being there really is no US equivalent. After a little research we discovered that this strange looking waffle style cookie is called a stroopwafel. This type of snack dates back to the 18th century in Holland and is a traditional treat loved by many international snack enthusiasts. In fact the manufacture Daelmans has been in buiness since 1909. The founder of the company Hermanus Daelmans was a baker of fresh pastries and hand-made treats. Today the company is in many international markets and is still family-owned. Now the history is out of the way it's time to get down to the important part of our review, the taste! We served these after dinner with a few house guests to get a consensus. Everyone seemed to enjoy them although one younger guest said he wishes they were a tad bit more sweet. The texture is very waffle-like with a crisp crunch. The caramel center is thin and sweet but not overpowering. The packaging mentioned that Daelams Dutch Caramel Wafers are great with coffee however I went with a glass of cold milk and it made for an excellent pairing. We struggled to find something based in American that is similar and the nearest product mentioned in our intimate test group was Caramel deLites, the Girl Scout cookie, although the similarities other than caramel are limited. Overall with such a strong international following and unique taste and texture Dalemans Dutch Caramel Wafers have a strong probability in making in our standard inventory for our international store to be launched in the fall on World of Snacks. With the official product tag line "Holland's Tastiest Treat" we are not sure if we have much of a choice but to offer it! Buy Daelmans Stroopwafels in our international snack store.
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The Snack Blog
Follow along as we explore cookies, cakes, candies, chips, crackers, and nuts from all across the world. Many of the international snacks that we highlight will be offered in our store over the course of the next year. We currently offer British Snacks, American Snacks, German Snacks, Mexican Snacks, Filipino Snacks, Japanese Kit Kats, Pakistani Snacks, Italian Snacks, & Korean Snacks. Each month this year we will add a new country and their best snacks inventory. Shop
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May 2018
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