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For a long while now, I've been fascinated by Japan's KitKat Chocolatory stores. It's one of very long list of reasons I want to visit Japan.
At its heart, it's a premium experimental location where you'll find a diverse selection of unusual flavours condensed into KitKat bar form. According to Inside Osaka, its name was created by fusing "chocolatier" and "chocolate factory" together, giving an indication as to its designer concept.
Until recently, you had to jet off to Japan to experience the joy of KitKat Chocolatory bars. A pop-up shop in London's Westfield Stratford shopping centre briefly appeared in 2016, and now in 2019, it's possible once again to make your own KitKat bars.
Make your own KitKat Bar (London)
This week John Lewis & Partners unveils a 2,000 square-foot KitKat Chocolatory pop-up at its flagship store on London's Oxford Street. The KitKat Chocolatory experience includes the option of creating your own personalised eight-finger 'Create Your Break' Nestlé KitKat.
The company reckons there's nearly a whopping 1,500 different combinations available to create. Choose from milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, or ruby chocolate, plus three of the following ingredients:
- Cherry Pieces
- Cocoa Nibs
- Dried Raspberry
- Honeycomb
- Meringue
- Mini Marshmallows
- Popping Candy
- Rose Petals
- Salted Caramel Chunks
- Toasted Coconut Flakes
You can also tailor the packaging by adding a bespoke message, such as "Happy Birthday David" or "Merry Christmas David" (hint hint).
Once you've made your selection, chocolatiers will create your KitKat. You'll receive an email when it's ready to collect.
Eight-finger 'Create Your Break' bars cost £14. They're ideal as Christmas gifts - as are the personalised Quality Street tins also available at John Lewis & Partners.
Best of British KitKats (London & Manchester)
Also in Oxford Street as well as at a second pop-up in John Lewis & Partners in Manchester's Trafford Centre, you'll be able to create a 'pick and mix' gift box with a choice of seven handmade 'Best of British' flavour KitKats. The Trafford Centre pop-up opens on 1st October 2019.
Inspired by classic British desserts and other British favourites, flavours include:
- Cherry Bakewell
- Marmalade
- Apple & Rhubarb Crumble
- Earl Grey
- Blackberry & Elderflower
- Lemon Posset
- Dandelion & Burdock
Eight-finger bars cost £12. It's a shame these won't be available nationwide or online as I'd like to get my hands on them and don't expect to be near London or Manchester in the next few weeks. The Dandelion & Burdock KitKats and Earl Grey KitKats have my name on them, although I'd happily work my way through the entire range.
Special Edition KitKats (Nationwide)
Six 'Special Editions' bars will be available in 30 shops across the UK as well as online. Flavours include:
- Nuttlylicious
- Zingtastic Gin and Tonic
- Billionaire’s Treasure
- Jewels of the East
- Springtime in Japan
- Whisky
- Ginger
These will be available in John Lewis & Partners stores in Bluewater, Birmingham, Brent Cross, Cambridge, Cardiff, Cheadle, Cheltenham, Cribbs Causeway, Edinburgh, Glasgow, High Wycombe, Kingston, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Milton Keynes, Manchester Trafford, Nottingham, Oxford Street, Peter Jones, Poole, Reading, Sheffield, Solihull, Southampton, Stratford, Welwyn, White City Westfield and York.
Six-finger bars cost £7.50 while 12-finger bars are £12. There's a couple of flavours here that sound a little bit different, but I'm less excited about these than I am the Best of British range.
Will you be buying a bespoke KitKat for Christmas? Are there any unusual KitKat flavours that jump out at you? Let me know in the comments below.
As a side note, if you want to delve deeper into the fascinating world of unusual KitKat flavours, eBay is your friend, with many sellers shipping directly from Japan. It's pricey but cheaper than flying to Japan! It's how I get hold of my Japanese KitKat bars.
