 Thanks for checking out this unboxing video. This is the January Snaku. I know it's been a while since I've actually put any sort of video up, but been kind of busy. Snaku January Just so you know I'm gonna open it and show you as I usually do and There's no tissue paper in there currently there usually is and there was but my cat was circling around down here and just like Wining and complaining because she's not getting attention So I was just like let me throw this tissue paper at her to keep her occupied. Hopefully for the duration of This so if you're crinkling in the background, it's her playing with the tissue paper If you hear her whining in the background, it's her complaining because she's not getting attention. That's how she is She's a needy cat. Anyway, so this is the January Snaku and the theme is Kyoto I believe it says here Kyoto served as Japan's capital and the Emperor's residence from 794 until 1868 Over the centuries Kyoto was destroyed by many wars and fires But due to its exceptional historic value the city was spared from the destruction of World War two Countless temples shrines and other historically priceless structures survive in the city today Kyoto is also where you can trace the origin of matcha back To the 800s when Buddhist monks first planted tea leaves around the Uji Kyoto region Today that same region of Uji Kyoto is considered to produce some of the best green tea in the world this month We feature a variety of snacks from Kyoto's historic shops So if you want to know ahead of time what we're getting to there it is You know freeze-frame on that and read it and there's the artwork as usual looking nice looking Traditional in the sense in this instance because of an older town or city province prefecture, whatever Kyoto so let's get started I'll just go with the first thing on top and these kind of look like a little bit like mini clairs. I believe these are the Yes, Kanako bites Kanako is a type of roasted soybean flour that has been used for hundreds of years in Japan It's made by finally grinding roasted yellow soybeans and has a nutty yet slightly sweet taste We've got uh, you've got to visit the shugetsu Snack shop located in the historic Gion District of Kyoto next time you go to japan their snacks are super delicious So okay, so this is the packaging Um and disclaimer. I don't really know Japanese. I'm doing my best at pronunciation. So Sorry All right, so this I mean Let me get like a full-size one So there's like a half Yeah, it kind of looks like a mini donut Or like a mini eclair and it's just like bready and it's sugary It smells fried a little I guess that's a soybean but it kind of smells potato-y like starchy potato-y to me a little bit sweetness a little salty Hmm Well, it's got a nice crunch to it It's very light and fluffy I mean it looks like styrofoam It kind of the way you go through it. It's just like super light It is kind of like styrofoam I guess it's a soybean, but it comes off a little corn-like in the flavor There's a a sugary sweetness. There's a little bit of a saltiness um Hmm Kind of melt if you didn't start chewing it immediately and just leave it on your tongue. It would just melt away It's okay It's okay. I'm not huge on it the thing is it's so light and airy that it's almost like it's not really there so For the right person, it's fine for me. I'm looking for a little more substance to it But it's interesting and I'm glad that I've now tried this Drink some water Get a good rinse before the next one. Okay Moving on, uh, this is a nori senpai Okay Mild puff baked rice cracker topped with a light sugar glaze and topped with powdered nori seaweed I'm hitting miss with uh with seaweed, so we'll see how this goes. Oh first show you the packaging It's really not much. I mean, there's no like words or anything. There's a little bit of words on the packaging Kanji, I think it is Sorry My uh opening skills today, not the best As you can see The powdered seaweed is very easy to see the other side's just like a biscuit cookie pretty thick Yeah Yeah, you can smell the seaweed. It also smells a tad bit salty though Which you know senpai that kind of happens One nice crunch It's real crispy and crunchy on the outside, but it gives away on the inside So it's a little more soft decently airy. It's pretty sweet actually very sugary I get a little bit of the seaweed flavor But with the sweetness and the seaweed it almost tastes a little bit like matcha actually, so This one's okay It's mainly sweetness that drives this with a little bit of that like vegetal or earthy seaweed and and matcha kind of flavor That's another one there. I'm like, that's okay. Once again, glad I tried it not huge on it I don't know cat might be coming. I might have to eject her during the video at some point because She'll probably make her way over here. Oh or she's gonna play with the car. She likes to just keep knocking off things Anyway, that's another one of those. I'm gonna move all my duplicates over. Oh three of those. Okay Next is I think I know what this is, but I might have to open it. So let me show you the packaging first Whoop There you go, there you go So I think it's the matcha bomb roll Cat's gonna be behind me actually. Yes, that is what it is the matcha bomb roll The muramachi period of japan 14th to 15th century was when tea culture was popularized in japan and with the advent of tea ceremonies Confectionaries that would be eaten alongside the tea began to increase in popularity Made de Sica Was founded in 1924 to keep this tradition alive and the shop is now one of the most influential snack stores in all of Kyoto Interesting. I don't think she's gonna lay down. Anyway so this kind of I mean I'm trying to figure out what this looks like. It's it's it's a roll I mean legit. It kind of looks a little bit like a um like a cake roll but like a Kind of a mix between a cake roll and a combo, you know, like like pretzel like crispy combos with like stuff inside Obviously, you can see Like that matcha kind of like cream on the inside. It looks very like Cakey though. It feels kind of soft on the outside Oh, it smells really sweet sugary um That's a really That's a really nice cake um sugary kind of vanilla-y That cream on the inside I don't know. I'm really so much tasting Like matcha in that cream. It's just like vanilla-y almost a little like butter cream-ish um, that's This is a winner. That's look at that The cake that that like cake roll on the outside. That is really good And this is the thing like I'm more into the savory But I do like some sweet here and there that's sweet, but it's not like crazy sweet It's like the right amount of sweetness for me That's really good I like that a lot and I don't really taste the match I I mean like the slightest little bit if you're reaching for it to try and get to it But if someone didn't tell you what was in it and then tell you was matcha and you were just eating it You'd just be like, oh, it's like vanilla so That taste that is awesome like that creaminess that cake that sweetness, uh Good job snack. That one is a big time winner for me. Okay, I got only one of those Okay, next I think Which one is this? I'm gonna have to this is another one. I'm gonna have to open it just to make sure Then I can tell you What it is properly You see a little silica packet in there to Keep keep it fresh Oh man, this is This packaging is like friggin impossible Man, this is tough pack. Oh, what is this? Jesus That's hard as hell to open I'm gonna like break a sweat. Oh man. This is so soft Let me get this now. I need to get the silica packet to come off of the back of this That is kind of stuck to the wrapper Okay That taken care of This is gachaman I mean, it's very it's like super cakey people. It looks like there's like a Slight greenish tinge to it. Maybe I mean by the like dark coloration right here It reads me leads me to believe there might be like some red bean paste in there Gachaman Jiro Kimura was born in 1897 and founded the now famous Kyoto snack store Chouju Show 10 Chouju show 10 back in the early 1900s when he first opened his shop He made each snack by hand one at a time Even to this day Every single one of the snacks are made the same way he originally used to make it. Oh, wow. Okay, and I believe there's a zuki bean well Don't have much of a smell. It actually smells a little bit like a corn muffin But it's not like a super strong scent Like a low level sweetness The the like cake on the outside is a little chewy actually Wait A little tough at the same time a little chewy a little tough And yeah, and it's kind of just like a red bean paste on the inside you can see It's like a red bean paste Yeah, which you know, it's got that particular consistency. It's not for everyone. I'm fine with red bean paste Um, it's sweet, but it's not like crazy sweet. It's kind of like this low level sweetness Hmm I'm sorry if my each back system kicked on in the background background and you could hear it. I apologize for that That's pretty good, but You have to be A fan of red bean paste if you're not you're definitely going to dislike that Because it's mainly just Red bean paste driven like that's pretty much all you taste. So Just know that going in like I don't know if people will be able to get their hands on this, but you know just saying if you do Be aware. All right rinse next All right, there's yet another one. Oh, I think Yeah, this is another one. I think I know what this is as well, but I'm gonna have to show you first And then figure it out Open it up Hopefully this opens a lot easier than the last one because that was a pain. Oh, this is interesting It's like wrapped inside. It's kind of like wrapped like a street food burrito kind of which is funny. It's like wrapped in foil This is a freshness thing. It's literally wrapped in aluminum foil That's interesting. I've I've never experienced that before A product like this just being wrapped in aluminum foil inside the packaging Okay, so this doesn't look appetizing actually looks pretty gross But Because it's it's just like green. It's like brown and green together, which is like the most ugliest form of green to be honest, but um Oh, whoo macho you can smell so much macho with this. It is crazy The cat's just like The lights probably thrown her off. She doesn't understand it, but um Yeah So much macho smell. That's pretty much all I smell. It's like vegetal earthy matcha Oh, whoo I just realized I didn't read what it is. I'm sorry I'll read that first It's matcha azuki cake roll a deliciously soft cake made from hand-picked tea leaves from uji Kyoto filled with chunky Subu on azuki beans the perfect afternoon snack so It actually tastes similar to the gachaman But it's like a ton of matcha the matcha really hits you and it it does taste good though Like I I know I said I'm like hit and miss with matcha but It adds in a nice way to this It's very light. It is very like moist and cakey And That softness is really nice. I really like that and then you get to the middle Where it's that bean paste and it's like a low level sweetness So like all the matcha flavors on the outside and then a low low low level bean sweetness on the inside It doesn't seem that exciting or that great, but it goes together really well and it's kind of like an easy snack Like the flavors aren't crazy, but it's good flavor So it's just kind of like you could not pay too much attention to this and eat it Um, you have to be good with matcha though Like I was saying it's a lot of matcha, but I'm hitting miss with matcha and the way this is integrated into this snack I think it works really well. I like it quite a bit So that's another winner. It just smells like so much matcha. It's crazy I was not expecting to really like that based off what it was But it's good. That's why it's important to just try things You know, this is something I preach on my craft beer podcast that I have It's called brutal battle if anyone wants to check it out B. R. E. W. T. A. L. Battle Um, you can find it everywhere itunes stitcher, uh, google play all that but Just keep trying things because you never know like you may think like that I was like, I don't think I don't think I would like that. So I wouldn't buy that But since it's in this box, I'm trying it and I'm like, oh, I actually do like that So now if I would have the opportunity, I might buy it again. So anyway, try things That's the lesson All right, next. Sorry, these videos go long, but They sent a lot of snacks It's a good problem to have to be honest So I think we got another senpai here, which always excites me Because if you've been watching all these videos, I've said I really like senpai senpai is very very nice So this is the Kyoto soy senpai That sounds so good I love soy too A simple yet delicious baked rice cracker glazed with natural homemade soy sauce by the Shugetsu snack store Oh, I'm excited for this one I anticipate this being my favorite thus far And looking at everything else potentially my favorite overall Man senpai has such an inch. Well, especially this type of senpai has such an interesting texture to me Like look at this. It's just so like It kind of looks like a thick hash brown in a way say that's thick It's kind of like a nice glaze. Oh god So the smell it's like a mixture of like the fried aspect of it like fry oil and soy sauce and salt and like I know to some people that'll sound kind of like gross, but to me it's it's like mouth watering that scent. It smells so good That crunch dude This is so good Yeah, this is what this is even better than I expected to be honest like I was being a fan of senpai You get A sweetness up front. It's like sweet then it gets salty Then you taste that fried portion of it You're tasting the fry oil and it's so crunchy It's like Perfection as far as a mixture of sweet and salty And then that crunchy Like I'm big on textures. I like certain textures. I always like crunch I love savory. I like a little bit of sweetness added to it. So this for me is like Snacking perfection Look at this. Oh god All right, I'm not gonna eat more of it. I want I want to eat that whole thing right now to be honest because It's so good That's my perfect snack. If I could just have that all the time. Oh god, I would that's so good. Thank you, snaku the Kyoto soy senpai hmm Like this box They have another one. Thank goodness Like there are certain things or I'm just like oh, I have another one of those And then there are ones where I'm like I have another one of those. I wish I had more. That's one of those. Anyway, moving on There's some small Okay, this would be the okay yatsu hashi These simple crackers have been made by various shops in Kyoto for hundreds of years They are in the shape of traditional japanese roof tiles And have a subtle sweetness to them. Definitely enjoy them with some tea or ice cream So they look kind of like a Like a vanilla vanilla ish wafer cookie Sorry, I got to get the senpai out of my mouth Not that I really want to as soon as I'm done with this recording. I'm Destroying that thing demolishing. I don't even think my wife's gonna want to taste it so much Anyway, all right. So here we go So here it is. Does it look like a roof tile? It does Yep I mean, it just kind of looks like everyone's had something kind of like this before like some sort of like manila ish wafer Oh, it's actually smells like cinnamon though Let's see anything about cinnamon No It says it's rice wheat sugar and salt. It smells cinnamon-y though sweet cinnamon-y Oh, do you hear how crunchy that is? I'm sure it's making it on there That was like an extreme crunch. Yeah, and it Like totally tastes like cinnamon Honestly, it reminds me a little bit of cinnamon toast crunch the cereal That's a good comparison although Not as sugary as cinnamon toast crunch as cinnamon-y as cinnamon toast crunch and you know having the crunch I eat those roof tiles That's good Sorry, I don't know if the crunching is now annoying, but I did that whole thing was good The sweetness is not crazy though. Once again, there's another one of these snaps where like the sweetness is like kind of medium That cinnamon-y note Is the star of it and I'm also kind of hit or miss with cinnamon based on the level of it It's enough that it's like it's definitely there and it's a star But it's not annoying and it's not too much. It's kind of good. I think my wife's actually gonna really like that I've asked her by the way about being on these videos and she was like, but I like trying all the snacks afterward And she does she really has fun with it. She just doesn't want to be on the video So maybe that'll change the future. I don't know probably no Okay I think this is the oh third to last This is macho waffle. We've had some things kind of like this in the past one of my Meia de secas Maya de secas Sorry, most popular snacks are these thin waffle cookie sandwiches filled with matcha chocolate cream Okay, I just made an assumption in my head that it would probably be vanilla, but it is not going to be vanilla and honestly I you know, I've had some of this like kind of matcha cream matcha filling I've had some of those things in the past and but it's always been like a matcha and vanilla or like matcha white chocolate So this is interesting There you go. Looks like a waffle Very green on the inside It smells like a waffle real sugary No So I taste the matcha a little bit. It's tasting like kind of a Light vegetal note and then I get the chocolate kicking in right after it Now that nice like typical kind of like waffle cone flavor Yeah the um The chocolate's kind of light. It's kind of like a like a cocoa type chocolate It's pretty good. I like that. I like the crunch to it. Once again, those people can tell I'm a texture guy. I like crunchy That's awesome Okay Oh, yeah, some of these We had something kind of like this recently That's good. Um These are corn bisque french fries Baked and dehydrated french fries covered in sweet corn powder. I don't know about the corn powder aspect, but I had something like this in I don't remember if it was the last box or The box before that But it was like these fries, but wasabi flavor, I believe Open at the top because I only have one of these and I don't want to eat it all So if I can open it at the top then I can like reclose it It's a lot to go through for that though Okay, here we go. Got it. Got it. Oh, and these are like small the ones we had before are like kind of big these are Actually tiny these are kind of like matchstick sized potatoes These things exist in the u.s. But not with the corn That's kind of weird because at first it tastes a little bit salty a little sweet And I'm getting the flavor of potato and corn at the same time, which is odd because I'm not used to having the flavor of corn and the flavor of potato at the same time So it's kind of weird But the corn's up front mainly and then it ends up going away and the potato lingers Once again Real crunchy though The corn aspect of it's tasting a little odd to me, but I can get past it because that potato kicks in kind of fast. So Overall, I like it I don't need the corn aspect though Just give me these straight up without the corn powder And I'm Much better, but I'll eat them. I like them. I don't think my wife's gonna be into it Not her thing I think I just have one more thing now This has been long for anyone who's stuck through this. Thank you very much. I appreciate that All right, and the last thing is sometimes they throw in like very small things like this, which is fine I like to try it all but Strawberry milk candy had something kind of similar to this in the past Uh, japan's most popular milk soft candy made with real strawberries from Fukuoka, japan Okay, I mean, there's not really much to see in the packaging But um, there's like some flowers on there and some strawberries Excuse me, uh, so my first experience with like a milk candy was with this snacky box And I was like, I don't know that seems kind of weird But then when I tried it, it was kind of like caramel-y in a sense, which makes sense, but Oh, it smells so strawberry-y. Look at that. Half white, half pink, reddish pinkish Oh Yeah, yep Mm-hmm It's sugary As you would assume from something like this A decent strawberry to it And the nice thing is, I'm sorry, I'm just setting it aside for now so I can talk better But the nice thing about that With these types of candies is I feel like the milky aspect of it brings that kind of Sugariness down because it gives it an extra creaminess. I'm sorry. I gotta Keep this from going on safer so I can see myself Um, yeah, it like adds a creaminess to it Which I think helps bring that kind of like sugar perception down a little bit And that helps the the strawberry kind of shine more Which I like about that but also The strawberry does taste real. It tastes like actual strawberry. It doesn't taste like artificial strawberry flavoring Like you'd get with something like a strawberry starburst or like a strawberry laffy taffy or anything like that in the united states So I like that. It's kind of refreshing. Um, okay, so that's the end of it In summation, what were my favorites? Uh, overall, there weren't that many that I disliked The senpai as people could tell that Kyoto soy senpai was by far my favorite. It was really really tasty um Other than that that matcha bomb roll these This thing Really surprised me and I really did like that. I'm gonna enjoy eating more of that one um Other than that the other favorite is that matcha azuki cake roll, which I really This thing the the one that I was like man, that looks gross, but It tastes really good. Um, all of them for the most part I'm gonna enjoy eating those kanako these ones the the like kanako bites And they're kind of like throw away. I don't really need a whole lot of them But I'll eat them, you know, you can really ignore those those with some beer would probably be fine on the same thing with the nori Senpai down there those were also kind of But um, yeah good box, uh, like Like you can probably tell I just like trying new things And even if I don't like it the fact that I can check that box and say okay, but I've tried it So It's always good. Anyway, thank you everyone for checking this out. I really do appreciate it I'm pushing like a half an hour If you could do me a favor since you stuck with me this long It's a half hour of my life If you could just hit the subscribe I would really appreciate that because I do like doing these videos But I want to be able to keep doing them and know that I've got an audience out there who really wants to see them Um, also you can hit the notification bell if you want to know every time that I put up a new um A new video. Also, if you have recommendations Email me at brutal battle podcast at gmail.com or put a comment down here We can also con you can also comment and we can just talk about like snacks about pop culture stuff horror stuff Whatever you want. I'm cool with that and thumbs ups are fine If you want to but to subscribe that's a big one doesn't take you long and it can mean a lot to me I appreciate it. Uh, everyone. Hope you're having a great week Even though it's just starting but until next time keep it brutal