Tally Me Bananas: New Random Oreo Flavor!

Flavors just keep getting stranger and stranger.

Long-time readers of my blog know about the huge variety of Kit Kat flavors scattered around Japan. Actually, I don't know if there's a full list out there or not, but I'm curious what concoctions have been tried and which still exist. I think I've discovered all (or at least most) of the regional varieties, but there are also limited edition flavors. And there's a Kit Kat store in Ikebukuro I still haven't visited. Maybe I can do that next time I go into town.

Kit Kat isn't the only candy with strange flavors, because Pocky chocolate sticks, Pretz pretzel sticks, Fanta (yes, the sodas), and Haagen-Dazs  get in on the action. And then there is Oreo.

I love Oreos and milk. I brought two bags of Oreo cookies back from the States so I could enjoy the peanut butter and mint flavors not available here. I also saw birthday cake Oreos, something not available in Japan. Standard Oreos are easy to come by, perhaps a bit more expensive than the US but not by much. And Japan carries the chocolate creme version too.

But Japan gets its limited flavor Oreos, too. Matcha (green tea) flavor is very common, and I've seen strawberry. There are soft Oreos, in regular and green tea. And some Kit-Kat-like wafer cookie thing shows up from time to time.

But I was pretty surprised to find this last week:

Banana Oreos. Okay, so the US had banana split Oreos (I would have loved to try those) but I never expected this! As a child, my grandmother would occasionally make me milkshakes and they almost always included bananas and chocolate ice cream. Sure, other fruit might show up, but a banana chocolate milk shake was an awesome snack in the afternoon. I guess it was relatively healthy, too, what with real fruit and milk.

I can't eat bananas now - they give me massive stomach pains for an hour or so afterward - but I still enjoy the flavor. These Oreos definitely taste like bananas, although I'll stick with my regular Oreo cookies with a glass of milk.

Just for the record, what Oreo flavors have you seen in the US, Japan, or elsewhere? Here are the ones I know about (ones I've tried are *'d):

• vanilla (standard)*
• chocolate*
• strawberry*
• banana* (Japanese flavor)
• green tea* (Japanese flavor)
• birthday cake
• peanut butter*
• mint*
• Dairy Queen Blizzard
• banana split (banana and strawberry creme)
• red velvet
• candy corn?
• fruit punch
• caramel apple
• gingerbread
• Butterbeer (Harry Potter)
• Creamsicle
• Creme Brulee (Japanese flavor)
• almond praline (Japanese flavor)
• marshmallow crispy
• rare cheese (Japanese flavor)
• spring (yellow creme)
• berry burst
• watermelon
• triple double neopolitan
• rainbow sherbet ("Shure, Bert")

I'd love to try the rest! Just put them in a bubble envelope and send them my way...