Sometimes Foodie: Vanilla Bean Kit-Kat - Asian Food Market: Cherry Hill, NJ

Vanilla Bean Kit-Kat - Asian Food Market: Cherry Hill, NJ

I got my hands on one of the fancy limited edition Kit-Kat bars from Japan. This flavor was released in the winter back in Japan, but it just became available in the states.
(Only at Asian grocery shops of course.)

The packaging is mostly a stark white color to represent vanilla flavoring, but there are also black flecks of vanilla bean and gold accents scattered about. Overall, I like the packaging and it seems to be really well thought out. The accents and vanilla bean details keep this white package from looking boring, and the puddle of french vanilla cream in the upper left corner is really appealing. (I just want to eat it up with a spoon.)

Inside, the candy bars are mini-sized and individually wrapped. The wrapper design is very similar to the outer packaging, but there is this really cute little detail on the backside.

You have space to add a custom message. I think this is a really well thought out detail, not only does this make the item more fun and personal, but it utilizes otheriwse wasted space on the candy wrapper. The images on the backside vary. I had a few with this pen and others with a little song bird. (Personally I prefer the song bird but I didn't notice the backsides were different until after I had photographed everything.)

Unwrapped, the candy is a milky white chocolate color with visible flecks of vanilla bean. It smells sweet and milky, similar to Dove's white chocolate, but there is also a slight tangy aroma that reminds me of cream cheese.

I took a bite, and the insides are actually black. The chocolate creme filling that is in normal Kit-Kat bars has been replaced with this lightly gritty black substance. I peeled the chocolate apart and tried the black stuff on it's own, and it really didn't have much of a flavor, it's really more like a texture. The filling feels like finely ground coffee, and it had a mild vanilla flavor, but it was nothing like a freshly scraped vanilla bean pod. (Which I think it's trying to imitate.)

As for the vanilla coating, it's creamy, milky, and there's a decent dose of vanilla. To me, this tasted very similarly to French Vanilla Ice Cream. As for the "vanilla bean" factor, I'm not 100% sure that all of the flecks in this thing truly are vanilla bean. Vanilla beans can be quite expensive, so I doubt a lot of them went into the making of this Kit-Kat bar.

This candy was sweet and delicious, but for a limited edition item the taste was quite boring. I can get a lot of foods and candies here in the states that recreate this flavor and they won't cost nearly as much as these Kit-Kats.

In the states these things run from $7-$14 for one bag, so I won't be buying these again due to the price alone, but they were enjoyable. (Just not anything special.)