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.
The most exciting thing about the chilly month of February is Valentine’s Day, and Bokksu has curated a beautiful selection of items to celebrate this romantic holiday. Valentine’s Day is very popular in Japan, so there’s lots of opportunity in this Pink Valentine box to sample some of their special seasonal products.
There’s also a lovely menu booklet enclosed, which gives you descriptions of every item, including an allergy guide, plus extra things to read including a language guide and a map showing the origins of your treats.
Bake Chocolate, Umeshiso Uma Sen Rice Cracker
These bags each contains little individually wrapped chocolates that are incredibly rich and melting. Perfect to share, if you like, but they’re very good so you don’t have to!
As a contrast, these rice crackers are flavoured with the sour taste of perilla leaves and Japanese picked plums, with a dash of soy sauce to complement and contrast. These complex flavours make for a really interesting taste experience.
Hokohoko: Purple Yam, Hokkaido White Raspberry
Purple yams are a classic and delicious Japanese ingredient, and these little pastry buns are filled with a paste made from these colourful yams.
Raspberry and white chocolate combine with a crisp light slice made from rice , rye, and puffed corn. The sweetness of the chocolate is contrasted with the sharp freeze-dried raspberry topping, and the creamy and crispy texture is a perfect compliment.
Petit Noribei Rice Crackers, Miyako Knob Kelp Senbei
These mini rice crackers have a seriously savoury flavour of seaweed, but the addition of soy sauce tempers it with salt. These are incredibly moreish.
Another savoury snack, these larger senbei are flavoured with kelp and vinegar, and the combination of salty and tangy.sour is really incredible. Both these snacks are a wonderful contrast to the sweet items in this month’s box.
Spicy Mini Heart Senbei, Handmade Ume Sake Candy, Tsukisame Anpan Chocolate
All three of these snacks are exclusive to Bokksu, and created in conjunction with Japanese artisan producers.
The senbei – heart-shaped of course – come in a selection of wonderful savoury flavours, and all are coated with a little chilli powder for an extra kick.
The sake candy is much more sophisticated than your average hard candy. Flavoured with plum sake, they give a real taste of this traditional Japanese beverage in a much more unusual way.
Anpan are sweet and dense rolls that usually contain a bean paste. This version has a makeover and is filled with chocolate flavoured paste, for a seriously rich and decadent treat.
Azuki Chocolate, Monjayaki Senbei, Strawberry Azuku Crunch
Azuki is red bean, and it’s combined with creamy chocolate in these little squares. They are melting and creamy, and the bean flavour is surprisingly fruity, and goes very well with the chocolate.
Monjayaki is a type of fried Japanese pancake, and these little crispy senbei also have the additional flavour of tonkatsu sauce.
More azuki flavours, this time combined with puffed rice and white chocolate for a light and crispy mouthful.
Mini Chocolate Millefeuille, Haskapp Cookie, Choco Arare, Organice Hojicha Tea
French-type pastries are very popular in Japan, and this one is a miniature version with sweet vanilla cream with layers of wafer cookie, all coated in delicious milk chocolate.
Haskapp are a rare type of berry only found in Hokkaido. It’s both sweet and tart, and the cookie contains butter which is also from Hokkaido.
Arare are little rice crackers usually flavoured with soy sauce, but this sweet version contains almonds and is coated in chocolate for extra sweetness.
