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Kiss Choco Mint: New Japanese drink challenges all our minty preconceptions

Oona McGee Mar 28, 2021
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“Unprecedented combination” of chocolate mint and carbonic acid surprises us with its flavour.

While choc-mint products have been dividing opinion overseas for years, the flavour combination only recently arrived in Japan, and ever since it appeared it’s been skyrocketing in popularity.

The choc-mint boom still shows no signs of stopping, and after splashing its minty green hues all over taiyaki cakes, Pocky sticks, and even tapioca ramen, there’s now been another unprecedented development for the flavour combo, with the introduction of a new drink called Kiss Choco Mint.

Created by Cheerio, a Japanese drinks company that loves to walk on the wild side with its flavours, the Kiss Choco Mint is said to contain the “unprecedented combination of carbonic acid and chocolate mint“.

Despite being released on 1 February, to get in on the demand for everything chocolate on Valentine’s Day, it was only this week that we finally managed to find the drink, which is sold at convenience stores nationwide and Cheerio vending machines in Chubu, Kansai, Fukuoka and Okinawa.

Our Kansai-based Japanese-language reporter K. Masami was the lucky one to finally find the drink at one of the Cheerio vending machines in her neighbourhood, where it stood out with a brightly coloured “New Release!” sign below it to catch everyone’s attention.

Despite not being a fan of choc-mint, Masami was keen to try this unusual beverage, so she popped 100 yen (US$0.92) into the machine, and out it plopped for her perusal.

▼ Look at that gorgeous colour!

Masami couldn’t really tell if the minty hue was due to the bottle itself or the liquid inside it, so she took the beverage home and poured it out into a glass to find…the drink was actually green!

The beautiful colour made Masami fear she was about to drink something that tasted like toothpaste, as there was no hint of chocolate to be seen. There was a lot of strong fizziness in the glass, though, which helped to coax her taste buds towards it, and when she put her lips to the glass, the bubbles sprang up to hit her nose, as if they were welcoming her into the Cheerio party.

She tentatively took a sip and was surprised to find the party was in full-swing, bopping around with a strong chocolate flavour and plenty of juice-like sweetness. The mint was more aromatic, and because it was delivered with the lightness of carbonic acid, it left her with a refreshing aftertaste.

▼ This drink provides you with sugar, chocolate, and a refreshed palate.

Like all choc-mint products, this new beverage will certainly divide opinions, with some people bound to screw their faces up at the taste while others will develop an irresistible urge for another glassful. As for Masami, she was more in the middle-of-the-road with her opinion, saying the unusual flavour reminded her of a cocktail that you’d get at a fancy bar.

Whether you love or hate choc-mint, the Kiss Choco Mint is an adventure for your taste buds that’s definitely worth trying. It’s only available for a limited-time though, so keep an eye out for it at your convenience store or vending machines in the available regions, where you might get lucky finding a Cheerio soda that looks like mayonnaise or orange juice that looks like soy sauce too!

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[ Read in Japanese ]