It's not easy being a Kit Kat. You're definitely been stuck in the shadow of your overachieving Twix sibling for so long (Why are you so small? Why don't you contain caramel?). When the average person thinks about a candy bar incorporating a chocolate-covered cookie, they probably aren't thinking of the flimsy wafer and barely-there creme inside of a Kit Kat.
Don't believe me? Instead of passing out Snickers or Baby Ruth bars this Halloween, pass out packets of wafer cookies instead...just prepare for your house to get "egged"! Wafer cookies may go great with coffee or tea, but they certainly don't offer the sturdy sugar rush of other candy bars, including Twix.
And yet, Kit Kats have always had an advantage which Nestle is finally beginning to exploit--versatility!
Unlike a Twix, which is going to always have the caramel and cookie and can basically only tweak the coating (white chocolate, fudge) or add other flavors (peanut butter) inside, the Kit Kat's wafer, creme and thin chocolate coating are so insubstantial that they can allow for a myriad of changes. Seriously. These things are like chameleons...no wonder there are close to 400 Kit Kat flavors in Japan! We haven't been nearly as lucky here in the US, though, and occasionally get tricked when Nestle changes the color of the coating at holidays without changing the flavor. Fortunately, our luck is starting to improve and we are now seeing a larger variety of Kit Kat flavors...though, so far, none appear to be permanent.
That's not to say that Kit Kats can do no wrong--wasabi, baked potato, sweet corn and cheese (all real flavors, by the way) would never fly in this country. But fruit flavors? Those taste great with the light wafer and are something that a Twix bar will never be able to emulate. Nor should it.
The most recent fruit-flavored Kit Kat to appear here is blueberry muffin. Again, why not just "blueberry"? Or blueberry pie (like the Oreo cookie)? Or even blueberry cake? Why call something that crunches a muffin? And, personally, while I love to slather butter on my blueberry muffins I wouldn't want to think that taste is present in a candy bar.
But I digress..
Texture is important, of course...no one wants to feel like they are biting into a candle or potpourri...but my number one rule for fruit-flavored cookies, toaster pastries, cakes or candies is balance. And that is not easy to get right! Some candies have the barest perceptible hint of fruit, suggesting that the confectioners are worried that you'll hate the full flavor. ("You want the fruit? You can't handle the fruit!") Yet others err on the side of excess, hitting you smack in the nose with an intense smell before you even take a bite...which then assaults your tastebuds with an overpowering of artificial flavoring. (Strawberry, by the way, seems to be the fruit flavor that goes wrong most often.)
I'm happy to say that in this case Kit Kat got the balance just right! The aroma is light and not overwhelming. The taste appears to be spread evenly throughout the coating, wafer and creme filling. These taste like blueberry alright, but not like the artificial flavor of Boo Berry cereal. Don't be fooled by the purple-colored coating, which may suggest a too-sweet candy--these Kit Kats taste lighter, somehow, perhaps not even as strong as a blueberry pie but more like a...a...blueberry muffin. Hmmm...
It's too early to tell if these will catch on, but they were certainly the focus of a huge display when I visited Las Vegas this summer (attracting much more attention than I've seen given to other flavors). If blueberry isn't your thing, nothing I can say will convince you otherwise, but I am hoping that this Kit Kat flavor breaks through and becomes a mainstay. I loved them!
RATING: 5/5
