Rating System

So that readers can skip reading my reviews and just see what I thought, I think I need some kind of rating system. I'm no candy expert or anything, so I'm not really sure where to go with this. I could always do a scale of 1-5, 1-10, some kind of elaborate point weighting system, or something creative that I haven't thought of yet. Ugh, I'm at a crossroads. What will I do?

UPDATE: I've settled on going with what I know - school! So now, I'll be rating things F through A+. I'll try to work my way through old reviews to add grades.

Nestle Uji Matcha KitKat

Matcha is my favorite flavor ever. It used to be peanut butter, but for the past couple of years, it has been matcha all the way. And this Matcha KitKat is on top of its game. This is yet another purchase from the Pacific Mall near Toronto, and my favorite of all the KitKats I've tried. Even better than Caramel, but I may be biased toward matcha.

This is everything a matcha KitKat should be, and so much better than the last matcha KitKat I reviewed.


The chocolate is, of course, smooth, and the matcha flavor is sweet and creamy. The matcha filling in between the wafers is nice and bitter, and the crunchy wafers really add to the texture. The matcha flavor definitely wasn't overpowering to me, but those wary of green tea flavor might find it to be too strong.

In my book, this is a perfect KitKat. I could be biased.

A+

KitKat Website (Japanese)

Nestle Mint Aero

More candy from my husband's and my trip to Toronto! I took a picture of both milk and mint Aero bars, but we gave away the milk chocolate one. This picture was taken in the car because I knew we wouldn't wait to try the mint flavor.

I had heard of Aero before in Japan but never tried it. Apparently, it was sold in the US in the 1980s, but unfortunately didn't catch on. While in Toronto, I spied caramel and dark chocolate flavors, too, but had already spent way too much money on candy.


Aero was not at all like I thought it would be! It was so light, airy (hence Aero, I imagine), and smooth. For some reason, I was expecting it to be more like Nestle Crunch or Lotte Crunky, but it wasn't at all crunchy. I can't say I really "felt the bubbles melt" because I didn't really feel the bubbles, but it was quite a pleasant experience.

The taste was a lot like a giant Andes mint, but a little milder. I was glad my husband and I split the bar because I don't think I could have finished it, but it was delicious. Great for mint chocolate fans. However, it did upset my stomach, and I later noticed that milk was pretty high on the ingredients list. So next time, I'll come prepared.

B+

Nestle Website

Nestle Sakura KitKat

During our weekend in Toronto, we went to the Pacific Mall to look for Japanese snacks, and I found them. Because I wanted to restrain myself at least a little, I got mainly KitKats. This is the first of several. I was really amazed with the selection of KitKats available at Pacific Mall, but couldn't bring myself to spend $8 on a bag of mini KitKats, so I stuck to the regular sized ones.

There's quite a bit of flowery (ha) text on this box. Sakura (cherry blossoms) are an important symbol of Japanese culture, so it's rather exaggerated here. The box says up top "The sakura will definitely bloom..." and "Spring will surely come, wishing for sakura in full bloom." The name of the KitKat itself is something like "snow look sakura." It's all very flowery, indeed.


The bars themselves are gorgeous, but I love a swirly KitKat. The actual KitKat is good, but maybe not as inspiring as the box. It's very interesting and definitely tasty, but not as good as some other KitKat varieties out there (for example, Caramel).

The cherry flavor is light, and a little flowery. It's almost soapy, but my husband said that it tasted like how you wish soap would taste. What it really reminded me of was cherry frosting or a cherry cupcake. Very sweet, slightly floral, and fruity. Definitely a winner.

Check out the photo pool links below for many, many more photos of different flavors of KitKats. Also, if you have suggestions for better translations than mine of this box, please let me know.

B+

KitKat Website (Japanese)
Have a break, have a KitKat photo pool on Flickr
Japanese KitKat photo pool on Flickr

Orbit Crystal Mint Gum

This is the elusive 16th flavor; the last current regular Orbit flavor I had to find. I bought it at Meijer, near the checkout lanes. They had 3-packs in the candy aisle at one point, but they were all gone when I went, and it looked like they were on clearance. The pictured pack is all beat up because it was in my purse for a week or so before I remembered to take a picture.

Anyhow, I knew it would be minty, since it's Crystal Mint, but seeing as Orbit already has a Peppermint, Spearmint, and Winter Mint, I wasn't exactly sure what I would be getting. Would it be like Dentyne Ice's bizarre (and overpowering) Arctic Chill? Or more like Extra Polar Ice (meaning Extra Xylitol)? Or do those two gums taste the same?

What I got surprised me. This gum tastes a lot like Wint-o-green Life Savers. You know, the ones you could crack with your teeth in a dark room and make sparks? In fact, the whole experience reminded me of those sparks, bringing a pleasant nostalgic feeling.

Also, this gum has little blue blobs in it that I assume are "flavor crystals." I wish I took a picture, but if you've ever had Ice Breakers gum, you know what I mean.

My only complaint is that I'm not sure it tastes very different from Wintermint. It's been a long time since I had that flavor, so I'll have to try and compare them.

B+

Orbit Website