Bokksu – May 2017 Review

Bokksu is turning one!  In celebration of their first birthday, Bokksu is revisiting some fan favorites this month.  I’ve been with them for several months now and have gotten the chance to sample many of their amazing snacks, so I’m curious to see how my favorites compare to everyone else’s!

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Bokksu always packages their boxes so perfectly!  Their signature orange boxes come in an outer cardboard box that fits closely for protection during shipping.  There’s also a crisp white ribbon inside that allows you to easily lift the orange box out from the fitted cardboard box!  The attention to detail for this box is amazing.

Bokksu always includes an information card that describes each snack.  They’re beautifully photographed and so descriptive, and contain important allergen information.  This month they also included a little note from the founder to highlight their first anniversary.

Bokksu is also unveiling a new tri-fold format for their information card this month.  It seems to be printed on higher quality paper, as well!  I’m loving these little upgrades.

The card folds out into a map-style chart!  It looks very creative and aesthetically pleasing, but still clean and organized.

Jaga Pokkuru

Oh my goodness, I can absolutely see why these made the Favorites list.  I opened the bag to taste one, and ended up the devouring the whole thing without realizing that I hadn’t taken a picture yet!  So yes, Bokksu actually included two packages of these delicious chips.  They’re made with Hokkaido-grown potatoes and are processed with a special method to maintain crispiness.  And oh boy, are these crispy.  They’re the perfect hybrid between a French fry and a potato chip.  It has the lovely salty flavor and texture of a perfectly cooked fry, but the snap and crisp of a chip!  If only these bags weren’t so darn small!

20^th Century Pear Langue de Chat

These lovely langue de chat cookies are from the October box, and feature 20^th century pear from the Tottori prefecture.  Langue de chats are a popular cookie sandwich in Japan made from two white cookies around a layer of creamy white chocolate.  These cookies in particular are so buttery and crisp, with a lightly caramelized flavor.  The white chocolate is smooth and rich, with the slightest hint of fruity sweetness from the pear.  It’s a gorgeous combination that goes really beautifully with the tea pairing this month.

Oh! Yaki Toukibi

I’ve sampled these before in a different snack subscription, and I can totally understand why they made the fan favorites list!  These are a mix of mochi puffs and sweet corn flavored with soy sauce for the perfect savory snack.  The mochi puffs are crunchy and salty, and make the corn taste extra sweet.  I really do love these, and was thrilled to see them in this box!

Black Sesame Senbei

Senbei are traditional rice crackers glazed with soy sauce.  These are also flavored with black sesame for an extra dimension.  They’re huge!  Possibly the largest senbei I’ve ever had.  They’re also quite salty, and I don’t taste too much black sesame.  Bokksu actually included four, I just didn’t uncover the fourth until after I had done all my pictures.

Cheese Manju Okashinai

Manju are a traditional Japanese treat that have a thin pancake-like outside and are filled with a sweet bean paste.  These happy little guys come from Akita prefecture and have a unique cheese and white bean paste filling.  I mostly taste the white bean, which gives it a sweet flavor, but there’s a subtle hint of cheese that adds the slightest savory note.  It’s an interesting combination wrapped in a moist cake-y layer with the cutest smile on top!

Maru Cha Cha

I recognize this one!  And yes, I am absolutely thrilled to get to taste these again.  They are matcha biscuits that use a more concentrated and higher quality tea called koicha.  This gives them a darker bitterer taste, which also emphasizes earthier and floral flavors that are subtler in other forms of matcha.  These slim biscuits are also a treat for the eyes: the rich green color is beautiful, and the seal on each cookie (with the Japanese character for “tea”) gives it such an elegant feel.

Bake Chocolate

These little chocolate pieces have been baked so they have a crisp, caramelized outer layer.  The inside is rich and dark and moist, almost like a chocolate cake or a decadent brownie.  The two are an amazing contrast that make for a delicious snack, but I can only eat a few pieces at a time because they’re so rich!

Apple Green Tea

I admit that I’m not a big tea drinker, but even I am genuinely excited to try this one!  This is a Sencha green tea that has notes of fresh apple and aromatic rose petal – two of my favorite flavors in one!  I’ve never seen the two together, but I have high hopes.  I’m looking forward to tasting it, but we’ve had a string of very warm days that had me craving iced coffee more than hot tea.

Overall, this might be one of my top Bokksu boxes yet!  I loved the opportunity to revisit some familiar favorites, and I’m also glad that I got to try some things from past boxes that I didn’t receive (I have serious FOMO).  The French fry potato chips and the corn/mochi snacks are my absolute favorites, but there were no weak links in this whole box.  I can understand why each snack made the list of fan favorites!  This was a great box that really summarized what Bokksu has to offer.  Happy one year, Bokksu!

 

PR sample.  All opinions are my own.  No compensation was received for this review.  This post contains affiliate links.