Konbini Kinyoubi: Black Thunder
Welcome to Konbini Kinyoubi, where every Friday (Kinyoubi) we visit our local convenience store (Konbini) and buy something delicious. This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please read our affiliate disclosure.
When I first lived in Japan, back in 2007, my friend Jim and I took a free weekly Japanese class at Hiroshima University, taught by education students looking to get in some practice. At the end of the year, they had a party with games and treats. While standing around and munching on the various chocolates and candies laid out on the table, one caught my eye.
Cue choir of angels.
I casually unwrapped it, took a bite, and OH MY GOD!!!!! The greatest taste that man has ever invented! I quickly found another one and handed it to Jim. “Eat this,” I said. He did. “What is this?” he exclaimed. We asked one of our teachers.
“Black Sundaa,” she said. It was a tiny candy bar called Black Thunder. I frantically looked for more, but none were left. I was on a mission. I looked everywhere for them, until finally I saw them again, on the bottom of the front shelf at the convenience store. I bought many.
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From then on, Black Thunder was my everything. When I’d go to 7-11 to get lunch on weekends, along with my yakisoba or chicken and gyoza, I’d get three Black Thunders as well. They were only 33 yen, or three for a dollar, and not so big as to completely destroy one’s health. It’s a perfect candy bar.
Later, when I was living in West Hollywood with some friends, Jim came to visit us from Japan, and brought four boxes of BT as a present. We were all joyous in enjoying these decadent treats, but there was one small issue. My roommates and I were all the same type of people: practical. I would only eat one Black Thunder per day, so as not to squander them too quickly. My three friends were similar enough that we didn’t have to explain this strategy to one another, just agreed to follow it. Now, the problem: our fifth roommate, Ben.
Cacao, baby.
We didn’t trust Ben. He was a wild card. He might eat all the Black Thunders in an afternoon if we let him. It couldn’t be risked. So we did what we had to: we hid two of the boxes on a high cabinet shelf where Ben wouldn’t think to look, so we could make sure our treats would last as long as possible. I regret nothing.
This is what a family looks like in 2021. Progress.
There are many varieties of Black Thunder, and today we’ll be looking at three. First up: the original.
That’s it, baby. Show me what you’ve got.
This is the most common variety, which you’ll likely find in any konbini or grocery store. If you live in Los Angeles, you can also sometimes find this one at Ralphs in the foreign foods aisle.
How to describe the taste? Well, imagine a Twix bar. Now, take out the caramel and replace it with a crushed-up Oreo. It’s something like that, but everything is in perfect balance. It’s like a bite of cookies and cream ice cream where you get the exact right amount of cookie. It is perfect. It cannot be improved upon.
Made with French fermentation, whatever that means.
Up next: Bliss Butter flavor. This one’s good, and pretty similar to the original. The only issue is that the butter taste is a bit artificial and hits a little too hard. One is good, but I wouldn’t want to eat a whole bag of them.
“Pretty Style!”
Finally, we have 70% dark chocolate. I was very surprised by how strong the dark chocolate flavor was here. Again, not as good as the original, but really delicious. This is another way in which BT are sold, as a bag of tiny bites. We gobbled them up quickly.
I cannot say enough good things about Black Thunder. 15/10. If you visit Japan, you must eat this thing. If you’re in America, check your local grocery store or Asian market to see if they have them. There is no greater happiness than this candy bar. Life cannot get better than Black Thunder. I want one now.
