Bokksu is a premium Japanese snack subscription service. Each box includes an assortment of authentic Japanese snacks as well as a tea pairing chosen to complement and enhance that month's flavors.
The snacks are selected around a cultural theme, and each box contains a Tasting Guide that describes the items and how to best enjoy them.
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
The Subscription Box: Bokksu
The Cost: $39.00 per month + free US shipping
The Products: 13-15 premium Japanese snacks plus a tea pairing
Ships to: USA (free shipping) and Canada ($5 shipping)
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November's theme is Japanese Folklore. Folktales in Japan usually center around animals, so this box features an assortment of animal-related snacks.
Kitsune's Tail
This is like a croissant with maple white chocolate that's baked to look like a fox's tail. It's soft, flaky, and buttery. The maple white chocolate icing really elevates the flavor. This is everything I love about pastries combined into one perfect snack. No, really, this is perfection!
Hakata Mentai Shrimp Senbei
If you like shrimp crackers then you would be obsessed with these shrimp senbei. These are thin, crispy crackers that burst with the flavor of shrimp and spicy mentai (cod fish roe). Thankfully for me, they are not spicy at all.
Kumamon Cookie
These cookies were so cute I almost couldn't bear (ha!) to eat them. There are two flavors-- Original Butter and Chocolate. Both are delicious. They are not as sweet as you might expect, but I find that holding back on the sugar brings out the butter and cocoa flavors more.
Saku Saku Panda - Value $1.50?
I absolutely love Saku Saku Panda cookies! While I have received these in past subscription boxes, they had always arrived melted and not-very-cute. Now that the temperature has cooled considerably, I can finally see what the panda face look like. They sure don't disappoint! Each cookie is made from a thick layer of delicious chocolate that rests on a small biscuit. Each packet holds four cookies-- perfect for snacking.
Dream Animals
The info card explains that these cookies have been enjoyed by Japanese people throughout their childhood. They taste similar to classic American animal crackers, but they are thinner, more crispy, and very lightly salted. Each cookie also has the name of the animal printed on top.
Organic Sencha Tea - Value $0.87
The chosen tea pairing this month is sencha, which is the traditional steamed green tea of Japan. Bokksu explains that steaming prevents oxidation of the leaves and preserves the tea's fresh taste and green color. This organic sencha indeed tastes "fresher" and leafier than other green teas I have tried.
Verdict: There is no doubt that I love everything. The Kitsune's Tail was especially amazing; the taste left a lasting impression on me. I counted 17 individual items, so the cost breakdown is about $2.29 apiece. Obviously, the tea bags cost much less than that, while the Dream Animals and Kitsune's Tail pull more weight. Overall, Bokksu curates an amazing selection of Japanese snacks, but the price is still relatively high for what you receive. While it continues to be an amazing "treat yoself" box, I would be happy to see more quantity in the future.
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