Pumpkin Cheesecake Kit Kat

'Tis the season for pumpkin and other fall flavors. Around here that means lots of pumpkin with Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Starbucks, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin roll, etc. I even tried pumpkin frozen yogurt the other day which tasted absolutely nothing like pumpkin. The high school kid student behind the cash register said it tasted like "old vanilla coke." I told her she probably wanted to work on her sales pitch but she was essentially right. It didn't taste like pumpkin - kind of like the latest seasonal Kit Kat. I'm sorry to break your autumn loving hearts but the Pumpkin Cheesecake Kit Kat tastes nothing like pumpkin.


The Pumpkin Cheesecake Kit Kat has 68 calories and is made with yellow tinted white chocolate. It smells slightly of cheese, which after my encounter with the so disgusting I could hardly swallow it Cheese Kit Kat, had me a little worried. It tastes much better than the Cheese Kit Kat but the emphasis is on the Cheesecake part of Pumpkin Cheesecake and less on the Pumpkin. There was just a hint of spice in the creme that reminded me of pumpkin pie although it was too subtle for me to pinpoint what it was. I'm going to guess ginger.

Overall it was very blah. It reminded me of the Blueberry Cheesecake Kit Kat. That one too was more cheesecake than blueberry and not the better for it. Personally I think if Nestle wants to cash in on fall flavors they should go with Apple Cinnamon Cider Kit Kat.

What are your favorite fall flavors?

Final Score: 5

Bitter Strawberry Kit Kat

I think I finally need to admit to myself that I will never stop buying Strawberry Kit Kats. I say every time - THIS IS THE LAST ONE! And every time I see one available it's just different enough. You know why they keep releasing Strawberry Kit Kats? Because people like me buy them up. Damn you Nestle Marketing Team for making me buy your boring products every time!

In the past I have been taken in with Strawberry Cake, Sparkling Strawberry, and most recently Strawberry Hazelnut. Today I'm reviewing Bitter Strawberry. I've been home for Japan for just over a year now so it took me a second to remember that bitter is how the Japanese call dark chocolate. They didn't just decide to take some rotten and bitter strawberries and make a new Kit Kat. (Although maybe that will be later.) This ploy, of course, was why I couldn't resist this one. I can say no to white chocolate Kit Kat but a dark one? Never!


The Bitter Strawberry Kit Kat is made with dark chocolate and comes in the Big Kit Kat bar with 242 calories. I'm not a huge fan of the Big Kit Kats. I find them to be drier than the regular sized or minis due to the higher wafer to creme ratio but this one while still dry was pretty good. It smells of fake strawberry (I don't think they'll ever get the smell right) and reminded me of Capn Crunch crunch berries. The bitterness of the dark chocolate balanced nicely with the sweetness of the strawberry creme. Really the only thing that would make this better would be to release it in a smaller size so we lose the dryness of the Big Kit Kat. I liked it. I would eat it again. If Nestle is going to insist on releasing Strawberry flavors then this one is near the top of the pack.

Final Score: 8

Contest!

Nestle Japan is offering to bring back one past favorite flavor in December based on internet votes at their website. The winning flavor will come back in December. You can vote up to three times a day for your favorite flavor. You can vote for the following 20 flavors:

Almond Kit Kat
Strawberry Kit Kat (dear God, please no!)
Orange Kit Kat
Green Tea Kit Kat
Lemon Cheesecake Kit Kat
White Kit Kat
White Maple Kit Kat*
Cherry Blossom Kit Kat
Azuki Bean Kit KatVanilla Bean Kit Kat*
Kinako Kit Kat
Caramel Pudding Kit Kat
Salt & Vanilla Kit Kat*
Royal Milk Tea Kit Kat
Pudding Kit Kat
Tiramisu Kit Kat
Salt & Caramel Kit Kat
Cocoa Kit Kat*
Strawberry Cake Kit Kat
Black Sugar and Kinako Kit Kat


This has inspired me to host a comment contest of my own. Let me know in the comments which flavor you'd like to see come back. Once the Nestle contest ends I'll select a random comment and send that person whichever throwback flavor Nestle brings back (and maybe a few more from my collection.)

And go vote for your favorite flavor at the Nestle Japan website! There are two Strawberry and two Pudding flavors in there - we can't let them re-release those for the 21323423th time!

*Haven't been reviewed on this blog so I'll be voting for these.

Cafe au Lait Kit Kat

I have to admit that this is one that has been sitting on my desk for a long time so if you read this and hope to eat it then I'm afraid it might be long gone by now. I went through a phase this last year where Kit Kats simply didn't interest me. Do you blame me? I've eaten a LOT of Kit Kats in the last two years. But I finally got back to some really great Kit Kats again this summer, including the Cafe au Lait Kit Kat.

I've tried, and really liked, other coffee Kit Kats in the past. The Cafe Au Lait Kit Kat promises to be extra special since the Lait in this Cafe au Lait is from Hokkaido. If you want to sell anything to do with dairy in Japan the best way to do it is to promise it is from Hokkaido. They have very happy cows up there producing the best butter, milk, and cheese in the country.


The Cafe au Lait is a mini Kit Kat and has 69 calories. It is made with white chocolate although it has a light brown tint to it. It smelled strongly of coffee. The coffee flavor was in both the chocolate and the cream, giving it a nice bitter bite to the sweetness of the white chocolate that I loved. It tasted just like a cafe au lait, although with more cafe than lait. I loved it the first time and I loved it again with the Hokkaido milk. I heartily suggest this Kit Kat to any coffee lovers out there.

Score: 9

Strawberry Hazelnut Kit Kat

Why oh why does Nestle keep making Strawberry Kit Kats? Probably because despite my promising not to buy anymore I still find myself buying them all. The latest strawberry incarnation I've tried is the Strawberry Hazelnut Kit Kat. At least there was something other than just strawberry going for it. At least that's what I told myself as I paid for shipping and handling for yet another strawberry Kit Kat.

Like the Cookies and Cream Kit Kat, the Strawberry Hazelnut Kit Kat comes in a box of 6 petits each with 25 calories. Hazelnut and chocolate is a no-brainer. Anyone who loves Nutella can attest to that. And strawberry and chocolate is Nestle's trusty standby, so I knew that despite it being yet another strawberry Kit Kat that this was something I looked forward to.


Upon opening the wrapper there was a strong fake strawberry smell. The chocolate itself is strawberry flavored with the hazelnut in the creme. The creme was very creamy and the hazelnut flavor kept the strawberry chocolate from being overwhelming. In truth this might as well have been named the Hazelnut Strawberry Kit Kat since there was more hazelnut than strawberry in my opinion. The small bites also prevented it from being too sweet since there was little danger of overdoing it. Overall, it was a great tasting Kit Kat. If you're going to try a strawberry version, I would recommend this one for sure.

Final Score: 7

Another lover of Kit Kats

Just a quick note encouraging you to check out fellow Kit Kat blogger haikugirl at My Kit Kats. She has several varieties of Kit Kat I haven't tried including Kit Kat ice cream, Kit Kat in yogurt, and a Kit Kat branded daruma.

Cookies and Cream Kit Kat

Although I'm obviously a fan of chocolate candy bars, Kit Kats especially, my real weakness are cookies. I always request a cookie cake for my birthday. My favorite ice cream flavors are chocolate chip cookie dough and cookies and cream. So I really appreciate it anytime Nestle decided to put the two things I love - Kit Kats and cookies - together, this time with the Cookies and Cream Kit Kat.

The Cookies and Cream Kit Kat are really petits. Very small, no more than just a bite, and only 24 calories each, they are made with white chocolate with bits of chocolate cookie mixed in. The cookies are obviously meant to be Oreos although it's not explicitly stated since there appears to be no tie in with Nabisco. The cookie bits are good and give the bar a little extra crunch. They actually taste just like cookies and cream ice cream but in candy bar form. Although they might be better straight from the refrigerator, I haven't tried it cold yet. It did make me want some ice cream so this could be a pretty good substitute if you aren't near an ice cream shop.


There are 6 small bites in each box so you can eat all six with a little guilt or just eat a few at a time with none at all. I ate two and plan on putting the others in the freezer to see if getting them cold doesn't make them even more like cookies and cream ice cream.

Final Score: 8