Monday, June 1, 2009

Morinaga Koeda Chestnut

Sweet Japanese Chestnut

Chestnuts are classic fall food in Japan. I bought these last fall and have had them since, and finally decided to review them. The expiration date was this month, too. I have had mixed experience with Koeda, but I really liked the matcha and I'm always willing to give things a try.

As I said, chestnuts are traditional fall food in Japan. They find their way into ice cream parfait, buns, and candy. Chestnuts aren't too common in the United States (except for at Christmas), but they have a nice, mild flavor.

Koeda Chestnut

The stick smelled toasty, and a bit like butterscotch. The flavor was most certainly chestnut, and the light crisps added a nice texture. The chocolate wasn't anything special as far as texture, but the taste was pretty complex.

Although rather sweet, there was a nice hint of bitterness. It wasn't my favorite flavor of Koeda, but it was still a tasty treat. The unique, twig-like shape makes for a fun snack, and I look forward to other limited edition flavors.

B

Morinaga Website (Japanese)

2 comments:

Orchid64 said...

I think I tried Koeda once. I thought the chocolate was too soft and lacked flavor. It reminded me of mockolate, but I can't recall if that was regular (chocolate) Koeda or some flavored stuff.

I think the concept just doesn't grab me much. I never saw this chestnut variety though. If I had, I probably would have tried it since I'm a huge fan of chestnuts.

ebidebby said...

I didn't like a white chocolate Koeda I had, but I do enjoy the matcha flavor. It's so pretty, and makes a nice garnish for ice cream.