Black Thunder – Double Kinako

The Black Thunder chocolate bar is something I’ve heard about for some time now. My understanding was that it is a relatively inexpensive chocolate bar that was supposed to be easily marketable to a wide audience. Up until now I’ve only ever seen it on websites or in pictures. I figured I wanted to figure out what all the hype is and I bought a few. I will admit that the packaging and marketing is quite eye catching. Once it catches the eye, you will probably also notice that it is pretty cheap as well (usually going for less than 100 yen). Based on the description of the bar, they come in a wide variety of flavours but a few things seem to be consistent across the bars. They seem to all be comprised of chocolate cookie pieces along with puffed rice as well as whatever filling the variation has. It is then topped off with some milk chocolate. I say topped off, but from the pictures it looks more like it was dipped or enrobed in chocolate. Can we just take a quick moment to appreciate the word enrobe? It seems like such a classy word, yet rarely do we get the opportunity to use it. Anyways.

This particular flavour is the double kinako, and is also the mini version. For those who are unfamiliar, kinako is roasted soybean flour. It has a very distinct flavour and smell, and is a little hard for me to describe. It is apparently commonly used in Japanese cuisine. My experience with it is generally as a topping on desserts. It adds a slightly sweet, nutty flavour which is very pleasant and mild, nothing overpowering. My favourite use so far is when it is used on mochi. If I had to liken it to something more commonly known, I would say it is reminiscent of a drier, powdered version of peanut butter.

This thing weighs in at 17g, and it feels quite small in hand. It kind of reminds me of the snack sized chocolates you get during Halloween. You know, the ones that adults buy on November 1st when grocery stores and retailers sell at deep discount. The one’s that come in a box of 30, and if you don’t go in the morning of the 1st, you are left with the not-so-great-options like the Nestle one. Nestle knows everyone loves the Kit-Kat’s and Coffee Crisps, so they stuff the boxes full of Aeros and Smarties that no one wants. Ugh. Horrible. I’m sorry but if you’re favourite American chocolate bar is Aero, I’m afraid we can’t be friends.

Opening this package up, I discover that the bar is actually smaller than I originally anticipated. The saving grace I see to this is that it looks dense and tightly packed, which I prefer over a bigger piece that is too light or fluffy *cough*Aero*cough*. What can I say, I’m more of a texture guy. The smell is very familiar to me and yet, I can’t quite put my finger on it right away. Kinako is not a flavour that is very common or even known over here in the arctic North. I couldn’t figure out what it was at the time, but I now remember that it was reminding me of puffed oats cereal I had as a kid. Not quite as sweet smelling as Sugar Crisps, but the off-brands that didn’t have quite as much sugar or honey mixed in. It’s a very enticing smell, and I can’t wait to try it. The bar itself looks like a rice crispy square that was completely en robed in chocolate. Picking it up, the bar is quite solid and unlike a rice crispy square, it is tightly packed and won’t slowly fall apart if held improperly.

As expected, it looks quite dense and packed in the cross-section. It looks promising so far, and I see ample amounts of cookie pieces and puffed rice. This particular bar is called double kinako, which I can only assume means they have a LOT of kinako in it. Based on smell alone, I would say they have succeeded. But only one way to know for sure. I’m trying to think of a western version of this, but I can’t seem to think of anything off the top of my head. The selection of chocolate bars here is a tad limited compared to our American friends in the south.

The bar met my expectations (based on smell and look) and managed to exceed them. I’ll start with texture. As I mentioned before, I am a texture guy, and this checks a lot of boxes for me. It’s got a lot of crunch in it, and its consistent. It’s not all over the place like a hot mess of a taco that has crunchy bits but then soft bits as well. Maybe it’s the size of the bar, but it also manages to stay relatively light without leaving a strange aftertaste or “heavy” feeling after consuming.

In terms of flavour, the combination just works. Cookie pieces and puffed rice mixed with chocolate seems solid as a combo on it’s own. But then you add in all that kinako and it really elevates it to the next level. I’d say that is largely due to my enjoyment of kinako, but I would wager a bet that even if you haven’t had kinako before, you would enjoy this bar if you liked Sugar Crisps or puffed oats cereal. It has a similar taste and is well balanced, not being too sweet. If this is the double kinako flavour, I’m not sure I can settle for normal kinako. How does that old adage go? Once you go black, you can’t go back? Well in this case, once you go double mini, you can’t go back. Wait….does that even make sense?

My only complaint, whether or not it’s justified (probably not) is that it left me wanting more. I know it’s designed and marketed to be mini and inexpensive, but I can totally see myself buying 3 or 4 of these and blowing through them in a single sitting. I would definitely recommend giving this a try if you can find it for a decent price. I got this for about $1 CAD, which I’d say is a fair-ish price. This is also a great buy if you are feeling nostalgic for Sugar Crisps but don’t want to buy a whole thing of it to relive the experience.