Takaoka Strawberry Barley Puffs

In a culture full of rice, barley rarely gets its chance to shine as a grain. And I'm not really sure why? Both have similar textures and flavors, but barley is overall a healthier pick than rice for being a better source of fiber. Of course this is a snack we're talking about, so let's throw all that out the window. I can't say I've had too much barley myself, they don't tend to grow it here by my den and it's rarely seen in snacks, so I'll see how it stacks up.

As any strawberry snack would be, I get a wonderful strawberry scent upon opening the package. It's very much sweet smelling, more on the "strawberries and cream" side than the authentic strawberry side. The puffs are definitely considerably larger than your average grain of rice, and have some nice color variation on them, with darker spots. Usually this refers to a stronger strawberry flavor?

The first thing I noticed is there's definitely way more of a grainy tone here than normal rice, and it's quite refreshing! The puffs have a bit of bite to them, but don't have a crunch, which makes them plenty satisfying to eat even with their small size. And despite the puffs having more of an artificial strawberry flavor, the truer essence of strawberry comes out in the taste. The grainy barley filling then makes it feel almost like a strawberry biscuit - yum! It provides the more savory and earthy counterpoint to the sweet strawberry coating, which never ceases to create fruity explosions in my yap. I just wish there were more - as of eating this I'm more than halfway done! Great snack, and I hope barley snacks make more of a presence in the future, because this is something special.

Rating: 9 - Arooooo!