Strawberry is definitely the trendy fruit flavor of the season. I thought that my last set of reviews would be an awesome trilogy like Back to the Future, but it’s actually turning into a never-ending barrage of mediocrity like The Fast and the Furious. That’s because strawberry is everywhere, and not even Kit Kats are safe.

Strawberry Kit Kat (Flavor of California)

Strawberry Kit Kat has been a thing in Japan for awhile now, because weird and wonderful food first comes from Japan. We’ve covered some of the rarer ones in the past, but this strawberry version is finally available in the U.S. and therefore is no longer exotic (and, sub-therefore, probably doesn’t taste as good).

The funny part about their Japanese counterpart is that these Kit Kats have received a face lift: as you can see on the packaging, they’re being touted as the “Flavor of California.” Hershey’s has spoken, and they’ve decided to say a hearty “screw you” to Japan and declare strawberry a West Coast ‘MURICA flavor. On one hand this is fair, because California produces pretty much all the strawberries that exist in the United States. On the other hand, I just spent a week in San Francisco and would not say that the state tastes like strawberries. I can tell you what California DOES taste like: beer, burritos, a little rain, more beer, and a bug that flew into my mouth when I was talking.

So while I’m skeptical to say that this is a home run in the marketing department, I’m hopeful that the flavor makes up for it.

Opening up Strawberry Kit Kat, a wave of artificial strawberry smell hit me like a ton of California strawberry bricks. It’s not unpleasant–it’s almost identical to Strawberry Nesquick, which seems to be the artificial strawberry flavor of choice for candy companies–but it’s definitely not going for the “real fruit flavor” vibe. Instead of the usual chocolate, Strawberry Kit Kat are coated in a muted pink creme. Now, I don’t know anyone who would put Kit Kats at the top of their “favorite candy” list, but they’re a classic for a reason: crispy wafers and chocolate is hard to mess up.

Let’s see how Kit Kats do when 50% of their ingredients list has been swapped out for Cali-berries (America’s new official name for strawberries, probably).

Hey, these are pretty good. The neutral wafer works well to cut through the fruity sweetness. The crispy wafer and strawberry combination makes these taste incredibly similar to Strawberry Sugar Wafers, which were responsible for some of my favorite sugar highs as a kid. The main difference, based on my memory from 20 years ago, is that those wafers had a grittiness to them. Kit Kat Strawberry do not; they are creamy and melt away nicely as you chew. I’m feeling more SoCal with every bite. I think I’ll buy a wide-brimmed hat and some marijuana.

I feel like I end all my strawberry-flavored reviews the same: if you’re into strawberries, then you’ll probably enjoy these. If you buy Kit Kats because you wanted a candy bar that contains chocolate, you’re probably going to think these are a dumb idea.

Oh, and if you’re Californian, you’ll probably like these because you’re high as shit right now.

How Much California Tastes Like Strawberries Rating: 2 out of 10
How Gross It Was When That Bug Flew Into My Mouth Rating: 10 out of 10
Overall Rating: 7.5 out of 10

To keep up with all of our products finds and Junk Bantering in real time, follow us on social media at the links below!

Facebook: www.facebook.com/junkbanter
Instagram: www.instagram.com/junkbanter
Twitter: www.twitter.com/junkbanter
Snapchat: junkbanter

To contact us via e-mail, send a message to junkbanter@gmail.com