Reviewed by
Mary
Bokksu is the only Japanese snack box that sources directly from snack makers in Japan, so many of our artisanal products cannot be found anywhere else. Start your cultural journey through Japan by subscribing to Bokksu and receiving a curated box of premium Japanese snacks and teas delivered to your door every month.
They have two levels of subscription: the Tasting, which is smaller, and the one I have received, The Classic.
Subscriptions are prepaid for one, three, six, or twelve months.
For the Classic box they work out at $39 (£29.07), $37 (£27.58), $35 (£26.09), and $33 (£24.59) per month.
As usual, they are priced in dollars, so GBP conversion is according to today’s exchange rate. Obviously this will vary, but it gives you some idea of cost.
The theme for this month is Modern Kyoto. Here is the info on the menu insert so you can read a bit about the idea behind this theme.
The box itself arrived in a regular cardboard box, which is not very interesting, so here is what was inside.
A lovely design. Minimalist but bright, and a proper solid box.
Once again, the presentation is beautiful. I love the straw packaging material.
The menu is incredibly well laid out, and has a description of every item. It also contains a list of possible allergens.
Oh, and the smaller card with the cat on it?
This is what was on the other side! A very cute cup indeed. It’s actually plastic, so I wouldn’t use it for hot drinks, but I love the design!
OK, let’s have a look at the snacks inside.
This is Sencha and Matcha Blend Tea. The tea is different to what was listed in the menu, but there is a helpful little correction insert. I like Matcha tea a lot, so this combination should be very interesting.
Saku Saku Kakao are yummy chocolate sandwich cookies. Light chocolate cookies with a rich chocolate cream inside. Yum.
This Koto Matcha Milk Rusk is very pretty indeed (even though it’s broken). Japanese rusk is like dried bread with sugar, and in this case, matcha. Rusk sounds rather odd, but it’s actually delicious, and although it’s crispy it’s not dry like the making process would suggest.
Young Sardine Pepper Senbei. Senbei are crunchy rice crackers, and this version has the flavours of sardine and pepper. Now, I have to say that sardine is not my favourite thing, but they are, well, interesting.
This is more like it. Four little packages of Matcha & Chocolate Azuki Beans. Azuki beans are red mung beans, and these dried ones are dipped in white chocolate and matcha powder. Crunchy with a great bitter/sweet flavour combination.
These are another sweet/savory flavour combination. Ararezutsumi are a savory senbei inside a sweet wafer.
More matcha here in these Kyoto Matcha Baumkuchen. Baumkuchen are actually German cakes, but are also very popular in Japan. This one has a creamy matcha filling.
This is a Natural Yeast Bread Matcha. A sweet and remarkably light bakery item, it’s like a cross between a cake and a bread roll.
These Yuzu Sandwich Cookies are beautifully wrapped and are from a very traditional Japanese ingredient. The Yuzu is a citrus fruit, very tart, and the juice and zest rather than the whole fruit are used in cooking. This is another sandwich cookie, with soft outer layers and a zesty yuzu cream filling.
These are great little nibbles to have with a glass of wine! Ofu Smoked Crackers are a mixture of baked crackers and peanuts, and have a wonderfully savory smokey flavour.
Finally, these little Kyoyuzen Candy Mix sweets are beautiful little fruity translucent sugar squares. They’re almost too pretty to eat!
This has been another lovely adventure into Japanese flavours. Even opening the box is a huge pleasure, as the presentation is exceptional.
As for the items themselves, these aren’t the kind of snacks you get in a convenience store. They really are proper artisanal sweets and savories.
I think the mixing of the traditional and modern has been done very well. The little Baumkuchen are especially interesting, as I didn’t realise that a German cake was so popular in Japan!
There are a lot of matcha varieties, but I don’t mind this at all because I love matcha flavour. Because it’s quite bitter on its own, it is a wonderful thing to mix into sweets and cakes.
The only thing I wasn’t really sure about was the sardine senbei, but I still appreciate the variety! The little chocolate beans are just gorgeous, and I love that there are four little packages. They are a perfect sweet treat, and great for portion control!
I also love the Yuzu cookies, it’s a wonderful fragrant flavour, and I’m also a huge fan of anything citrus. The little sugar candies are lovely, and a slight change from the rest of the baked items. Plus they look gorgeous.
The extra little gift, the cat glass, is a lovely bonus. Clearly this box is doing very well, as it deserves. I can’t think of anything similar on the market, and what it does, it does extremely well.
This box really takes premium to another level. The thoughtful theme, the high-quality and artisanal products, the considered quantities, and the stunning presentation combine to produce something quite sophisticated and exceptional.
It is not particularly cheap, but then these items are near-impossible to source outside Japan. I had a little look on Google to see what might be available in the UK, and not really had any luck. Even the excellent Asian supermarkets in Chinatown in London rarely sell things like these.
This would make a wonderful gift for anyone who enjoys and who is interested in the finer side of Japanese food culture, or of course, just buy it for yourself!
