Meiji Almond Chocolate

If Meiji Macadamia Chocolate is the dressed-up occasion snack, Meiji Almond Chocolate is its slightly more relaxed sibling who somehow always ends up being more fun at the party. The formula is straightforward and entirely without pretension. A whole roasted almond, enrobed in smooth Meiji milk chocolate, delivered in a red box that has been a fixture of Japanese snacking culture since 1962. No unnecessary additions, no elaborate flavour combinations, just a nut and some chocolate doing what they have always done best.

The roasted almond brings a satisfying crunch and a warm, toasty depth that works beautifully against the smooth sweetness of the chocolate coating. Each piece is a complete, self-contained experience that takes about four seconds and immediately makes the case for another. The box, which seemed like a reasonable quantity when you picked it up, will reveal itself to be optimistically small within approximately ten minutes of opening. Meiji Almond Chocolate is the kind of snack that has survived for over sixty years not through clever marketing or seasonal limited editions, but simply by being consistently, stubbornly excellent. Some things do not need reinventing. This is one of them.