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 (around £30), $37, $35 , and $33 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.
It looks like Bokksu’s new box design is here to stay!
Appropriately enough for February, this month’s box theme is Be My Valentine.
The enclosed menu booklet is always a pleasure to read, as it contains both a complete list of the contents, with helpful allergy guide, and also interesting snippets about Japanese culture and language.
Valentine’s Day is a popular holiday in Japan, and it looks like this month’s contents are going to reflect it both in taste and colour.
Lotus Root Chips Plum Flavor are distinctive both in appearance and flavor. The beautiful lacy slices take on the classic Japanese sweet/salty/sour flavour of sour plum, and are a delicious and unusual treat.
This month’s tea is Satsumarche Kagoshima Chiran Tea, an aromatic and mellow green tea that makes a wonderful palate cleanser.
Tsukisamu Anpan: Chocolate is also a great pairing with tea. This is an intensely chocolaty cake-like roll that is filled with white bean paste.
White Strawberry are one of the most delicious of the regular Bokksu goodies. Each one is a freeze-dried strawberry that has been soaked in white chocolate which give you the most intensely sweet strawberry flavour. Utterly delicious, I’m always happy to see these in the box!
This is a fun snack, a Giant Caplico Strawberry. It looks like an ice cream, but the wafer cone is actually filled with strawberry bubbly mousse, with chocolate hiding in the middle.
These little gummies are shaped like hearts, and the Pure Gummy Petite Lemon Flavour give you a lovely hit of sweet and sharp flavour.
Pancakes and maple syrup are enjoyed in Japan as well as America, and this Hokkaido Pancake Langue du Chat Cookie takes on all the delicious sweet and smoky flavours of the breakfast dish. Japanese langue du chat are sandwich cookies, this one having maple white chocolate as a filling between the two thin biscuits.
Chocolate and cherry is a classic combination, and these Choco Magatte C’est Bon Cherry Flavour are a terrific variation. They are little rice puffs coated in cherry white chocolate for a sweet and light crunchy treat.
Izumo No Emmusubi Taiyaki Azuki Read Bean is a mini version of the classic street food taiyaki. These are fish-shaped pastries filled with red bean or custard. This small cake version with the red bean filling is a terrific take on this traditional treat.
These Strawberry Tartlets might look familiar to people in the UK! Similar to the British jam tart, this is a butter cookie base filled with real strawberry jam.
We’re used to puffed rice, so these Mugikko Chocolate Wheat Puffs are something a little different. The puffed wheat is coated with chocolate for a sweet and crunchy experience.
These Funwari Meijin Mochi Puffs are a Bokksu speciality, and quite unlike anything else you’ll very taste. They’re mochi, but instead of being chewy they are incredibly light, crispy, and airy, and they melt away in your mouth. We’ve seen both sweet and savory varieties before, and this is a new version, Sakura Shrimp. The shrimp don’t taste like sakura, but are named so because of their beautiful pink colour.
Beika Mairasu Rice Cracker Plum & Kombu Flavour are delicious thin and crispy senbei. These rice flour crackers are a specialty of Sakata Beika, and are covered with pickled plum and kelp powder for and tangy and savoury taste.
Finally a fun treat, Anpanman Age Senbei. Anpanman is a popular children’s character in Japan, and this snack are fried rice crackers coated with soy sauce and honey.
