Bokksu – April 2018 Review

It’s spring time, and you know what that means: cherry blossom season!  Bokksu’s theme this month is Blossoming Spring!

The Classic Bokksu subscription features 20-25 snacks curated around a monthly theme, and a tea pairing.

$39/month with free shipping worldwide!

Bokksu also features a Tasting Bokksu subscription for $19/month, which includes 8-10 snacks and a tea pairing.

Use code BEEJU to get $5 off your first box with any Classic or Tasting Bokksu subscription!

Both boxes are available at a slight discount with longer subscriptions.

First off, I want to shine a well-deserved spotlight on Bokksu’s customer service!  I moved recently from Pennsylvania to Maryland, and getting my mailing address changed for everything (bills, subscription boxes, taxes, etc.) has been a headache.  Unfortunately there was a mix up with my address that resulted in Bokksu’s boxes being sent to my old PA apartment, but when I reached out to their founder Danny to clear things up, he immediately updated my address and overnighted me the missing boxes!

And it’s not just for me either: when Bokksu missed listing an ingredient for one of their snacks in the May box (review coming soon!), they promptly issued a correction email to all subscribers that was informative and sincere.  Seriously guys, you’ll be hard-pressed to find nicer people who care about their customers!

On to the box itself!  Cherry blossom season is major in Japan – people come from around the world to view the blossoms, and companies release a lot of sakura-themed swag to celebrate.  Growing up so close to Washington D.C., I can definitely understand the beauty and hype, but it’s still on my bucket list to view the Japanese blossoms one day!

The tradition of hanami, or cherry blossom viewing, usually entails picking out the perfect spot and bringing snacks to enjoy with friends and family.  The best places fill up very quickly, so it takes a lot of planning and preparation to get a great place!

Hand-Baked Butter Senbei by Sakura Senbei

There will always be senbei in Japanese snack boxes – these baked rice crackers are such a staple of Japanese snacking.  But these are different from any that I’ve had before, because they’re so buttery!  Salty yet rich, with the snap of a cracker but the delicate break of a cookie – it’s like if a butter cookie and a senbei had a baby.

Pocky Double Strawberry by Glico

I could tell from the luxurious packaging that this would be unlike the basic kiddie Pocky I’m familiar with.  This limited edition flavor has a generous coating of creamy strawberry cheesecake flavor.  It’s thick and sweet and sort of magical – it tastes like a tart strawberry, minus the sour sting that usually follows tartness.  How did they do it??  In a cute twist on a chocolate-covered strawberry, this strawberry cream coats a chocolate flavored stick.

Suppa Mucho Stick Sour Plum by Koikeya

Whoa, these little potato sticks are tart!  Sort of a mix between a french fry and a potato chip, potato sticks are a popular snack in Japan and are usually flavored with pepper or vegetables.  This version has a sour plum taste, which just registers as a sort of floral sweet/sour combination.  I wish the sticks were a little bit longer since the small pieces are sort of messy, but I can’t complain about the flavor!

White Strawberry by FCOM

Okay, this little guy is magical.  It’s a tiny freeze-dried strawberry that has been soaked in white chocolate.  It looks like an unassuming thing that you would find in cereal or trail mix, but it’s actually a perfect little bite.  At first it has the taste of a sweet strawberry, and the initial texture of freeze-dried fruit, just slightly crispy.  But then the white chocolate takes over and it becomes so smooth and sweet!  It’s like a little mind game – you expect a styrofoam-y texture, but it’s like a piece of chocolate, but it’s a strawberry!  Best of all, the white chocolate takes away any tartness or sour without being overpoweringly sugary, so it’s just delicious strawberry sweetness.

Sakura Chocolate Crepe by Nakajima Taishodo

This is a thin, crispy crepe that has been rolled up and coated in white chocolate flavored with real sakura flowers.  It’s almost like a chocolate-coated wafer in texture, sweet and crispy.  I couldn’t really taste the sakura flavor, it was mostly just cookie and white chocolate for me, but I have no problems with that combination at all!

Sakura Rusk by Tokyo Rusk

Bokksu frequently includes rusks (twice-baked baguettes usually topped with crystallized sugar) from this company, and I’ve actually had these in a previous box.  They’re crisp and buttery, and coated with actual sakura petals on top.  The sakura flavor is very mild – I mostly just taste butter and sugar – but there’s certainly a whisper of something floral as well.

Spring Rice Crackers by Senbei Lab

I love when we get little variety senbei packets in this box!  This medley includes flavors like plum, matcha, purple sweet potato, shrimp, turmeric, salt, chili pepper, and soy sauce; and the crackers are shaped like little sakura flowers.  They’re delicious and adorable, and I love guessing which flavor I’ve gotten.  So far I have yet to hit one I don’t like.

Ume Sable by Shoeidoh

This flower-shaped butter cookie contains sour plum and shiso (perilla) leaves.  It’s smooth and buttery and rich, which perfectly balances the tart from the plum.  I’ve also tried these before in a previous box, and I definitely appreciate getting them again!

Sakura Shrimp Kakimochi by Iwatsuka Seika

This is a puffed up mochi flavored with sakuraebi, a sweet shrimp named for its pink coloring.  It has a light, fluffy crisp to it, with the slightest hint of fishy seafoodness that complements the salty flavor well.  I love that there are salty/savory snacks in here to balance out the sweets, even though it’s a sakura themed box!

Baked Chocolate Strawberry by Colombin

Mmm, this is one of those treats where the beautiful strawberry fragrance drifts out the second you open the wrapper.  This white chocolate has been mixed with strawberry and baked, so it’s like an airy meringue.  Sweet and perfect, it goes well with the next item…

Sakura Love Tea by Karel Capek

Look at this packaging!  How cute is the rabbit and the little toad!?  This tea has the slightest hint of cherries to it, which makes it refreshing and so delicate.  It’s definitely very light, but so fragrant and beautiful, I wish there was more!

Overall, I love this Bokksu box!  I always look forward to sakura months, because in addition to loving all things strawberry and cherry, I just love the aesthetics of it all.  The sweet pink packaging, the cute characters, I can’t!  It’s all so kawaii.  Again, this was a very well-balanced box, and literally every item could be tied back to the theme.  I feel like the items weren’t as ~fancy~ this month, but for the sake of the gorgeous visuals I’m actually okay with that.  I loved the little freeze-dried strawberry the most, although the ume sable and the sakura rusks are a close second!

Aaaaand if you’ve read this far, keep your eyes peeled for a giveaway coming soon! ;)

 

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