Bokksu – October 2017 Review

October’s theme is “Fall Harvest”, and this month’s box is jam-packed with seasonal delicacies!

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This month, Bokksu was early once again, delivering in the first week of October.  Now that they’ve changed their shipping provider, they can offer free shipping for both the US and international!

Even though it doesn’t quite feel like fall yet here in Pennsylvania (it’s been so warm lately!), I’m still ready for some autumnal treats.  There are a lot of Japanese festivals this time of year, including the autumn moon viewing festival, or Otsukimi, and several mid-autumn festivals.  These celebrations feature a lot of traditional snacks based around seasonal ingredients, including chestnuts, apples, and sweet potatoes.

Bokksu includes a sweet thank you note and a detailed information card each month.  The information card gives a brief description about each snack, and important allergen information.

In the true spirit of a bountiful fall harvest, this box is stuffed full of snacks!  It was quite heavy when I nabbed it from the mailbox, so I’m excited about how much there is to taste!

Sweet Potato Langue de Chat by Tokyo Fuubian

I think I’ve seen langue de chat cookies in nearly every Japanese snack box, but these sweet potato ones just have something about them that seem so seasonally appropriate.  The cookie outside is a standard buttery langue de chat cookie, but the white chocolate cream filling is blended with the earthiness of sweet potato that makes it a little richer and grounds the sweetness so it doesn’t go overboard.

Golden Sweet Potato Cake by Nakajima Taishodo

This sweet potato cake contains hints of cinnamon and rum to really bring it to that fall festival flavor.  The cake outside was light and moist, with a sweet heavy filling that really played up the sweet potato taste.  This was a very satisfying snack without being too cloyingly sweet.

Apfelstreusel by Nakajima Taishodo

This is a light German-style cake sprinkled with cookie crumbles and apple pieces.  The cake is fluffy and has a light sweetness, which is balanced well by the tart crunch from the apple bits.  The cookie crumbles remind me of pie crust, which gives this an interesting autumn apple pie vibe.

Sweet Potato Stick Cake by Ace Bakery

This fluffy cake is made with real sweet potato.  It has a light spongey texture that goes well with the rich earthy sweet potato flavor.  Definitely very moist and not at all dry, despite being shipped halfway across the world!

Fruit Pound Cake by Nakajima Taishodo

This cake has so many fall fruits baked into it: cranberries, raisins, oranges, and figs!  Every bite has a burst of juicy fruits, and the cake itself is lightly sweet and moist so it doesn’t compete/clash with all the goodies inside.  This is exactly what I think of when I hear “pound cake”.

Chestnut Drum by Nisshindo Seika

This is a traditional Japanese manju, or filled sweet bun.  The filling of this one is a mix of white bean paste and chestnut pieces.  It’s sweet but also rich and smooth, like a peeled roasted chestnut on Christmas.

Apple and Sweet Potato Chips by UHA Mikakuto

I love apple chips, so I spent most of my time picking through the bag looking for apple pieces like a kid digging through a box of Lucky Charms.  The apple chips are crisp and tart, with a slight apple juice sweetness.  The sweet potato chips provide most of the overt sweet flavor, along with a richness that balances the tart of the apple.

Mont Blanc Chestnut Chocolate Sandwich by Tohato

These little cookie sandwiches have a buttery waffle cookie outside and a smooth filling made with chestnut-infused white chocolate.  They’re sugary sweet, with an almost coffee-like hint, and would go well with a light tea.

Bakauke Grilled Salmon Senbei by Kuriyama Beika

Whoa, these rice cracker senbei are flavored with grilled salmon!  At first, all I got was a salty flavor (they have a generous coating of salty seasoning on the outside), but then there was definitely a strong smoked salmon taste that came through.  They’re crunchy and have an amazing snap, like the perfect potato chip.

Halloween Poteco Pumpkin Potage by Tohato

These little potato rings (called “Poteco”) remind me of savory Cheerios!  I couldn’t really taste a pumpkin flavor, but I believe “potage” is a type of thick soup and that idea came through in the rings thanks to a salty rich taste.  These would be a cute snack for little kids, especially with the fun Halloween packaging!

Satsumarche Kagoshima Chiran Cha by Kagoshima Seicha

This is a savory green tea grown in the Chiran region of Kagoshima prefecture.  The information card says it has a bold, sharp flavor.  Unfortunately, as I write this, I am suffering from a pretty bad cold and can’t properly taste the subtler flavors of the tea.  It is very warm and comforting for my sore throat though, and I appreciate that it seems to be richer than most green teas I have tried, which somehow is a plus when you’re sick.

Overall, this box was packed full of goodies.  True to the plentiful fall harvest theme, Bokksu was very generous in its offerings this month.  Each snack was rich and hearty while still being diverse and unique.  I especially loved the salmon senbei and the pound cake, but there were no misses for me in this box.  Another wonderful month from Bokksu!

 

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