Mint Choco: When a Food Craze Goes too Far
Mint chocolate, or mint choco as it's known in South Korea, has been a hot topic in the country. It’s a question of whether it tastes good or if it is one of the most revolting flavors to ever exist. Even your faves couldn't resist weighing in on the topic. TXT members Yeonjun and Huening Kai have expressed a fondness for the flavor while fellow members Soobin and Taehyun are known to gag at the thought of it. ATEEZ members Mingi and San boldly profess their love for mint chocolate while leader Hongjoong says he'd rather eat toothpaste. Even the members of BTS have had a heated debate on this controversial flavor, with members Jungkook and J-Hope declaring their love.
While the flavor has always been a polarizing ice cream choice, South Korea took it a step further and began introducing mint chocolate versions of other foods for avid mint choco lovers. While some of these mint choco-fied foods can be nightmare fuel, others are a match made in heaven. Let’s take a look at the good, the questionable, and the downright awful foods that have been given a mint chocolate makeover.
The Good
The good items make sense for a flavor traditionally left to dessert foods. These are things that all mint chocolate lovers are sure to enjoy.
These macarons are a mint lover’s dream! Found in a local shop in Hongdae, they are the perfect midday treat when craving something sweet.
While Korea has never been a stranger to unique coffee combinations, the famous mix coffee brand Kanu has released these mint chocolate flavored lattes that are just as easy to make as any other mixed coffee drink.
The Questionable
While these foods aren’t necessarily awful, they can become awful if not executed well.
When scrolling through Coupang (Korea’s answer to Amazon), this mint chocolate jam appeared in the search. While it doesn’t sound awful in theory, the execution could jeopardize the overall quality.
Flavored almonds are nothing new, but this particular brand is known for their wide variety of flavors, from spicy to honey-sweet. It was only a matter of time until they jumped on the mint chocolate train.
The Awful
These items are things that mint chocolate should be the furthest away from, and yet they have made themselves present in normally delicious meals.
While sweet flavoring on chicken is not necessarily an awful thing, mint chocolate covered chicken most definitely is.
Pork is often seasoned or marinated in sweet bases and bacon is sometimes cooked and dipped in chocolate, but a fried cutlet combined with the fresh taste of mint chocolate is something you’d only expect to see in cartoons. And yet, here it is purchasable in South Korea.
Bonus: Mint Chocolate Toothpaste
Baskin Robbins’s is even hopping on the craze by releasing a mint chocolate chip flavored toothpaste. With mint chocolate often being compared to toothpaste, it's a fun way to play into the discussion. The toothpaste also comes with a branded toothbrush.
Final Thoughts
No matter where you side in the discussion, we can all agree that some food crazes should stop before it crosses a line of no return. South Korea has definitely perfected some of the best food crossovers, but when it comes to mint chocolate, they should have stopped when they were ahead. Would you try any of the mint chocolate versions of these items?