Reviewed by
Mary
For a taste of gourmet Japanese snacks, Sakuraco is a wonderful place to start. Every month you receive a box of beautiful artisanal and specialist snacks, along with an item of Japanese homeware.
This month celebrates autumn with the Kyoto’s Crimson Leaves box. The packing box has a different themed design every month, and this one features all the gorgeous colours of autumn.
Inside the beautifully produced booklet is a full descriptive menu of all the items inside, including an allergy guide. As well as this, there are wonderful articles and photographs, where you can learn about different producers of the goodies inside, plus themed cultural guides. Autumn in Kyoto looks absolutely magnificent!
A selection of Kyoto Candy, handmade by the traditional method of cooking over an open fire. These hard candies have flavours include matcha, plum, ginger, and black sugar, specialties of Japan.
Yuzu is another classic Japanese flavour, and is highlighted in the Yuzu Dorayaki.The soft pastry dough outer is infused with yuzu, and inside is the traditional filling of white bean paste, a beautiful combination.
Chocolate and fruit are always a winning combination, and the fairground snack of chocolate-covered banana has been given an extra classy upgrade in the White Chocolate Fruits: Banana. Pieces of banana have been soaked in white chocolate, which makes for an incredibly decadent treat.
Adobe Arare are a delicious selection of rice crackers. In a variety of colours and flavours, each one is unique with tastes including shrimp, soy, pork, and apple.
Salt & Pepper Yuba Chips are a snack that sound a little odd but are really very delicious! Yuba is made from the film that forms when soy milk is heated, and is dried into thin sheets. This is then seasoned and cut into pieces, resulting in a snack that is flavourful, surprisingly smooth, and very moreish.
Matcha is one of the primary flavours of Japan, and features in the Uni Koicha Bouchee. It consists of two soft cake layers with filling of matcha cream, where the matcha is sourced from one of the primary tea gardens of Kyoto. A real local delicacy.
The adorable Heart Wasanbon Senbei are little rice crackers, which have been sweetened with Japanese sugar. They’re a really lovely little mouthful.
As a contrast, Sansho Arare are another type of rice cracker, this time made from glutinous rice and flavoured with soy. This version has an additional coating of spicy Japanese pepper, and the combination of sweet and hot is marvellous.
Hojicha Tea is one of the lower-caffeine varieties of Japanese tea. It is made from roasted green tea, which gives it a delicious earthy, smoky flavour, and is the perfect cup for the colder autumn nights.
Matcha is featured once again in the Matcha Cream Cookies. The outer shell is made from crisp rice cracker, and inside is a rich matcha cream. the smooth cream contrasts wonderfully with the crunchy outer roll.
One of the prettiest snacks, this Adzuki Pear Jelly brings both the colours and flavours of autumn. the jelly is infused with pear, and it contains adzuki beans from Kyoto, and is finished with little ginkgo and maple leaf touches. The flavours are a beautiful combination of tart and sweet, and with the smooth texture with the bite of the beans, it’s a wonderful autumnal treat for the eyes and the tastebuds.
Nikki Yatsuhashi are a traditional cookie from Kyoto that has been enjoyed for years. The cookies are thin and crisps and flavoured with cinnamon, and the curved shape reflects the shape of a Japanese harp.
Hinerinpon are fried arare rice crackers with a lovely light texture. The have a gently spiced coating for extra savoury flavour, and are crisp and delicious.
This Soba Cookie is a traditional product of Kyoto, made with buckwheat flour. this gives it a little savoury edge, and it’s specially made by Kyoto craft confectioners Helwa.
The homeware item this month is this beautiful Brocade Flower Dish. It’s handpainted by artists at Bloom, and the design features traditional Japanese botanical motifs with the colours of indigo and red.
The cookie is a Momji Cookie, momji being the Japanese maple leaves. The cookie itself is thin and crisp with a lovely light flavour, and is produced by artisan bakeries.
