Black Thunder – Hokkaido
When I was a kid, I always wanted more from my candy and chocolate. I don’t mean more in the quality sense. As a kid I just wanted something to taste good, what did I know about quality?? I loved it when bars came in the “KING SIZE” or giant variety, because it meant there was more of it to enjoy. As I get older though, I begin to have a strong preference for quality over quantity. Part of this is because I don’t have the metabolism of a pubescent teenager, but it’s also due to having standards, and an income to afford fancier things. Realistically though, I’m saying all this to rationalize to myself the premium I paid to obtain these two chocolate bars, both of which weigh in at 24g. If you read my review on the double kinako bar then you would know that I was instantly a fan of the Black Thunder line of chocolate bars. Suffice to say, I’m raring to go for these two.
In the interest of expiry dates and work, I’m going to do two products today. They are both part of the Black Thunder brand, and are limited varieties exclusive to Hokkaido. Chance are if you’ve heard of Hokkaido, it was a comment or remark about their milk. The milk is unlike typical milk that we in the North here are accustomed to; it’s supposedly smoother and richer in flavour. It’s believed that it’s due to the environment that the cows live in, that allows the milk to be superior. I’m just spit balling here; I’ve unfortunately not had the pleasure of trying the milk fresh or first hand. Any experience I’ve had with it is from products which contain Hokkaido milk, supposedly. The two bars I will be trying today are the White Chocolate and the Strawberry Cream.
The white chocolate bar got a little melted in transit, so it’s not the prettiest thing to look at. It’s still intact enough for you to get a rough idea of what it is – a white chocolate coating a cookie bar that has crisped rice for added texture. The first thing I notice upon smelling it is that it smells remarkably like cookies and cream. Looking at it would convince you of that as well.
Taking a bite, it reminds me of a cookies and cream bar, albeit with a creamier white chocolate and slightly richer without being too sweet. The cookie is great to balance out that sweetness and give it a nice crumbly texture. It reminds me of a premium version of the Oreo cookie, except it doesn’t leave as much grit behind and get all up in your teeth. I’m honestly not sophisticated enough or well-traveled enough to notice if the Hokkaido milk makes a difference. I just know this is a tasty, bite sized bar. If I ever find myself in Hokkaido, I’m bring boxes of this back with me.
Moving on to the strawberry cream flavour, this one is similar to the white chocolate one, but this one is covered in strawberry chocolate and has the addition of freeze dried Hokkaido cream pieces inside. This one has that signature artificial strawberry smell to it, which I love. At no point do I expect natural strawberry flavour when I purchase strawberry flavoured chocolates. I think part of me just wants to relive that nostalgia of strawberry Pocky, without actually buying the OG product. Anyways…
The inside of this bar looks on point with the other one, with the inclusion of tiny one flecks which I imagine are the freeze dried cream pieces. You might think that this would taste similar to the white chocolate bar, and you’d only be partly right. While most of the components on the inside are the same, with the crisp rice and the cookie, the strawberry coating seems to overpower the flavour of those components, resulting in an experience that I can only describe as strawberry Pocky 2.0. One of the gripes I had with Pocky as a kid was that the chocolate wasn’t coating the entire stick, resulting in some naked biscuit on it’s own. Never was a fan of that, despite knowing the utility of the cookie handle. I say this is version 2.0, because it circumvents that, and the strawberry coating more than makes up for the drier cookie on the inside. All this put together results in an experience where it tastes like a girthier, bigger version of the Pocky. All the best parts, enlarged and improved upon. I am all about this bar.
If you couldn’t tell, I am a big fan of both these bars. I especially liked the strawberry cream one, and I will need to find a way to hook myself up with a connection to get these at wholesale prices and quantities. Ugh. Kind of regret trying these now. Ignorance is bliss indeed. If you see these, I absolutely recommend getting them. And you know, if you happen to see more than one, maybe buy them all and send some over to your friendly neighborhood bearviking?
