FamilyMart is holding its first Choco Mint Fair, which celebrates the still-under-appreciated flavor of mint chocolate in Japan. Our writer Natsuki Gojo and a friend got their hands on seven of the nine limited-time products and gave us their review, with a particular focus on the balance between mint and chocolate and how it might suit superfans and novices to the flavor alike. First up is a rather odd-looking creation called the Crisp Texture! Choco Mint Sand for 250 yen, in which “Sand” is short for “Sandwich.
” It’s a somewhat avant-garde sandwich with a bar of mint chocolate clinging to a rounded chocolate cookie by wads of mint cream and chocolate cream. It’s surprisingly filling for a small snack but its complex mix of tastes and textures might be more suited to advanced eaters. On the incredibly simple side of things, there’s the Choco Mint Pound Cake for 180 yen.
It’s just a slice of pound cake made from mint-flavored dough with chocolate chips inside, but the balance is firmly on the minty side of things so mint chocolate novices might want to be careful. A better entry to mint chocolate would be the Choco Mint Tart for 168 yen, which uses a very chocolatey crust and chocolate topping for a more mild sweetness overall. The Choco Mint Baumkuchen for 185 yen also leans more into the sweet side of things with the chocolate rings dominating the mint ones, which also have an added sugary touch.
The steamed mint cake, or the Choco Tappuri Choco Mint Mushi C.
