JAPAN TODAY – March 16, 2016 – TOKYO — Premium granola brand “Gorotto Granola”, produced by Nissin, the company founded by the inventor of instant noodles, has been a popular choice for Japanese consumers over the years, with three staple varieties available: soy, fruit, and vegetable.
Now, the soy and fruit versions have been given an upgrade with more ingredients, while two new amazing flavors will join the range: matcha green tea, and potato and corn. We received some samples of the new lineup to try and the results were pretty spectacular.
Out of the four varieties, it was the matcha-flavored variety, made using powdered green tea from Japan’s famed Uji region, that was first to catch our eye.
This granola uses only 100% Uji matcha, regarded by many as the finest green tea in Japan, which adds a high-class quality to the breakfast cereal.
On the back of the pack, we get a sneak peek at some of the unusual ingredients inside. There’s matcha, of course, along with some soy milk cubes made with powdered green tea and “kinako” (roasted soybean flour). Also included are some whole “azuki” beans, chestnut pieces, and strawberries.
As soon as we open the pack, we’re welcomed by the distinctive aroma of green tea. But that’s not all. The granola is also a beautiful shade of green.
After adding milk, we take our first mouthful and we’re immediately impressed. The satisfying crunch of the green-colored oats and puffed rice is accompanied by a dense, rich matcha flavor. The slight bitterness is beautifully balanced with a subtle sweetness, enhanced by the strawberry pieces, and when one of the azuki beans finds its way onto the spoon, the granola takes on the delicious flavor of a traditional Japanese dessert.
Matcha and azuki beans are commonly seen together in a number of Japanese sweets. Strawberries, now becoming a popular addition to the traditional flavors, add a beautiful sweet note to the nutty, slightly bitter mix.
If you love matcha as much as you love granola, this breakfast cereal will steal your heart. Not only is it delicious, but as it sits in the milk, the liquid turns a pale shade of green, bringing out the flavor of a creamy matcha latte. And when you encounter the silky smooth soy milk cubes, you get to enjoy a matcha jelly-like surprise.
Now we move on to another surprising granola flavor, called “Carefully Selected Potato and Corn”. Designed to mimic the flavor of a high-quality cold corn soup, it contains corn, potatoes, beans, carrots and bits of bacon pieces.
We couldn’t help but laugh as the ingredients came tumbling out of the package. The vegetables are indeed there, along with some thick potato pieces and slices of fatty bacon. This is definitely one of the weirdest-looking breakfast cereals we’ve ever seen. While it seems wrong to add milk to meat and other savory ingredients, we go ahead and pour on a nice generous serving.
With its strong aroma of corn, we know this is going to be an unusual breakfast experience. Our first mouthful contains all the stars of the dish, giving us a great introduction to the flavor palette. There’s the prominent taste of corn, covering the crunchy oats, puffed rice and even the meat and vegetables. The green bean lifts everything with its fresh green flavor, while the salty bacon brings a distinct pork flavor to the mix. It’s weird yet surprisingly tasty at the same time.
Nissin’s wealth of experience with dehydrated meat and vegetables is evident here, with the tiny morsels having the same full flavors as the ingredients in their instant ramen noodle cups. Only instead of a hot broth, it’s cold milk that brings these to life, with each mouthful containing the same distinct flavor as an instant corn soup. It’s a strange combination, but one that works, with the plain taste of the oats and rice successfully carrying all the strong flavors.
In addition to the new varieties, the soy and fruit versions are also being re-released with an extra kick added to their flavor profiles. The Soy Granola contains 7% more soybeans. The variety of soy used is impressive. In addition to regular soybeans, there are also black and green varieties, along with “kinako” and cubes of plain soy milk and “kinako”-flavored soy milk.
The oat pieces, along with the generous serving of roasted soybeans, make this one crunchy cereal. The nutty flavor is deliciously intense, aromatic, and recalls memories of eating soybeans during the annual setsubun festival.
The “Luxury Fruit” variety contains 10 percent more fruit than before, and now incorporates unpeeled apple pieces, diced mango, and pineapple which has been improved to simulate the texture of the real fruit. With pumpkin seeds, strawberries and raisins, this is a much more familiar type of granola.
The attention to detail with the fruit pieces is superb. Unlike the hard, rock-like nuggets of dried fruit commonly found in breakfast cereals, these are moist, chewy, and full of real fruit flavor. The mango, in particular, melts on the tongue just like a real piece of fruit.
The mix uses maple syrup to bring everything together, providing a non-sugary sweetness that blends well with the fruit, bringing a light and healthy feel to the cereal.
The four varieties are available in 200-gram bags for 300 yen or 500-gram bags for 670 yen. This new series of weird and wonderful granola flavors is definitely a great way to bring a smile to your face in the morning.