Meiji – Chocolate Pistachio

Meiji milk chocolate is what I consider the basic, standard flavour of what milk chocolate is typically in Japan. It has a distinct flavour to it that is hard to describe if you haven’t tried it, but I would best describe it as a formula made to balance taste and shelf life. By shelf life I’m referring to whatever they mix into it so that the chocolate isn’t super melty during the sweltering summers over there. It still melts, but it doesn’t melt as easily, and the flavour reflects it somewhat.

I think it’s fair to say they have their own process to make chocolate to adapt to the climate they live in. Something I feel people take for granted when living in cooler climates is how difficult it is to serve packaged chocolate at it’s optimal enjoying experience when the weather seems hell bent on turning everything into a messy puddle. It’s for that same reason that something may taste a bit different or off compared to what we get here in the west, but it’s all to be expected.

As I mentioned, standard chocolate that’s quite generic but expected. Nothing special here. The pistachio is also somewhat mild, as the nut tends to be. The chocolate is really all you taste for most of it, and the nut is mostly here for texture, it seems. Whereas other nuts like hazelnut and almonds have a distinct flavour to them, pistachios tend to have a softer, milder flavour that is very easily overpowered by the chocolate here.

On the texture, it’s not much to write home about either. Pistachios are softer but do have a nice experience when you’re crunching on them. The chocolate however, is a bit firm and also over powers the nut to the point that it doesn’t have a distinct enough snap or crunch to separate it from the chocolate. What you end up with is something that is more like a soft almond that was soaked for a little too long, and is kind of just soft and limp.

I imagine chocolate pistachios are not a more common sighting because pistachios themselves tend to be pricey and it’s not something that people tend to clamour for. After trying this I can see why – as tasty as pistachios are, it’s hard to combine that flavour with chocolate and not overpower them. The nutty flavour of pistachios is a bit bland and requires great care to not mask. As I say this, I also wonder if adding a bit of salt might bring out the flavour of the pistachio a bit more, or just make the chocolate even more overpowering…Something to keep in mind for experiments next time I try this.