Tirol Green Tea Parfait (product announcement)

Over the weekend, I went to a Japanese market called Marukai. This shop is what I consider the best one in my area for two reasons. First of all, they carry more unique products than most of the other ones. Second, their prices are generally lower. That is not to say that they are akin to shopping in downtown Tokyo in either respect, but they're pretty good for not being where the action is.

During my investigation into Marukai's snack aisles, I noticed that green tea, which is always around, has exploded in popularity. Everything had a green tea version. It was insanely boring with all of those green tea chocolates and cookies. The one green tea option that they did not have and that I would have bought is this new Tirol Premium candy. Tirol says that it was released in "early July", so it may be on shelves in Japan already. 

This candy displays the levels of detail that contribute to potential flavor depth which I've come to expect from many Japanese consumer-level chocolates. The cutaway illustration shows two kinds of chocolate, green tea and white, as well as red bean paste and green tea jelly. For something that sells for 20 yen, that's quite a lot of craft work. 

Tirol Premium Ichigo Daifuku Chocolate

Ichigo (strawberry) daifuku is one of the most popular Japanese traditional sweets. When my husband and I were doing one of our day trips to a random unimportant train station, we ran across a shop that was lovingly hand-crafting them behind a window in Nishi-Ogikubo. Daifuku is a bit of pounded rice cake (like very soft taffy in texture, but bland in taste) which is filled with sweetened mashed beans in most cases, but sometimes contains other things (like mashed chestnut). The classic strawberry daifuku has a thin layer of mochi filled with beans and a whole fresh strawberry pressed into the center of it.

I think the bit of fresh fruit is quite appealing to many Japanese folks, but I'll be honest and say that I like everything but the strawberry. There's a real jarring experience when you eat a daifuku and run into a squishy, juicy strawberry in the middle (fresh, but often not quite fresh enough). I love real strawberries and I love daifuku, but just not the two together. However, I was curious to see how Tirol would represent this treat in their candy.

This smells like fake strawberry and the first bite tasted like disappointment. It had that soft, white chocolate thing going for it, but fortunately it was not too incredibly sweet. The main problem is that the strawberry was muted to the point of being a background flavor for all but the last of 4 tiny bites (at which point the accumulated flavor kicked in) and the kick of the tartness of a real strawberry. The second and third bites revealed some of the daifuku aspects. There was definitely a bit of a mochi thing going on which came to the forefront by the end. Frankly, it was reminiscent of balls of hot mochi floating in soup rather than the cold mochi used in daifuku. While I wasn't entirely happy with the soft white chocolate, I did like the textural contrast of the gummi center and the "mochi" portion. It made this slightly chewy.

Real ichigo daifuku doesn't taste anything like this. That is, in part, because the real deal includes a generous amount of red beans and the aforementioned real strawberry. There was nothing beany about this. It was fake strawberry and some sweetness mixed with a bit of mochi flavoring. It had adequate depth of flavor and texture variation, but it was all a little too little too late because it took so long to build up on the tongue that it was finished by the time the flavors poked their  heads through.

I'm torn about recommending this because I didn't think it was all that great. On the other hand, it was "interesting" and these candies are only 20 yen for a smallish square (and only 60 calories). If you see one, the "costs" of sampling it for the experience alone are very low and it's worth it just to try. However, if you want to have something you're likely to be bowled over by, I'd say give it a pass. It's not bad at all. It's simply just not that good.

Tirol Raspberry Cheese Pie and Peach Pie Premium

When I was growing up, I remember going to local supermarkets with  my mother and seeing these boxes of pies with a clear plastic cover over the top. They'd have elaborate crusts with patterns on the top, perfectly crimped edges, and look nothing like the slapdash pies my mother put together. Hers had crumbling edges that were pressed down with a fork. I remember wanting to buy and try those pies, but we were too poor to pay whatever they cost. If I was having pie, it'd be her craptacular crust with some store brand canned pie filling plopped in the middle.

You can imagine that my pie experiences back home were far from stellar. In fact, because I was never really exposed to good pie (not that the supermarket pie would have been good, but there may have been a chance), I didn't really miss it when I came to Japan. Japan is a country that, by and large, doesn't "do" pie. There are some shops carrying something resembling pie, but a lot of the time it's not wedges cut from something round but rather flaky dough with fruit or custard heaped on it and given a shellacking with sugary glaze. So, I'm definitely not approaching these with the enthusiasm of a true pie aficionado. I'm guessing that is all for the best.

I picked these up at a local 7-11 for 32 yen (42 cents) each. This is the standard price at convenience stores for premium Tirol chocolates in my area. However, the availability of any particular flavor is not certain and I've been to 7-11 and other convenience stores that didn't have one, the other, or both. You may have to scout for them. The raspberry cheese pie one is 58 calories and the peach pie is 53, quite reasonable calorie "costs" for candy which is about 1 inch/2.54 cm square. Think of it as having a similar volume to 2.5 Hershey's kisses.

Raspberry Cheese Pie was a flavor I approached with some trepidation as my experience with Tirol cheese chocolates has not been a happy one. As I've said before, with cheese sweets in Japan, you have to think "Gouda", not "cream cheese". The mix of pungency with sugar can be quite off-putting, if not an obnoxious assault on the tongue, but hope springs eternal. Peeling off the wrapper and giving it a sniff, I was thinking "oh no", not "yummy". It smells like cheddar, which did not really play well with visions of raspberry cheesecake flavors dancing in my head. Fortunately, the cheesy nature was not overbearing and paired very nicely with the ever so slightly floral raspberry flavoring and sweet white chocolate. While I wasn't blown away by this, I did eat the entire thing and enjoy it. I wish, however, that the textural elements had been a bit clearer. The biscuit in mine wasn't crispy, but rather like a soft cookie and I'd have preferred a crunchy contrast to the soft white chocolate.

The Peach Pie was the flavor I had higher expectations of because I loved the Apple Pie premium candy. I was delighted to see that it had the same crispy bits packed into it and happy that it smelled amiably of peaches. Cutting it in half for a picture, I noticed little bits of dried peach in there and they gave this the same chewy fruit and crispy pie bits texture as the Apple Pie candy. This is quite sweet, however, but I "blame" that on the white chocolate. The peach flavor is a bit intense, but I didn't mind.

I would definitely recommend either of these as a small tea time treat when you are in the mood for just a few bites. They are both very tasty and have complex flavors and in the case of the Peach Pie one, varied textures as well. I wouldn't recommend these if you are looking to indulge in more than a bite or two though as the sweetness can get pretty cloying. I ate both of these at the same time and it got to be a bit much for me by the end of the second one, but I think I actually would buy them again if I wanted a sweeter than usual bite of fruity chocolate.

Tirol Premium Shio Pine

Note: It has been pointed out to me that this is "shio" (salt) pine, not "shiro" (white) pine. You'd think that'd be clear from the big white letters written on it in English as well as the Japanese characters, but my addled upper-middle-aged brain missed that. That being said, there is nothing at all that is salty about this candy!

When I first saw this, I briefly entertained notions that it was going to be some sort of white pine flavor, like a pine nut, cone, or tree. I forgot all too quickly that "pine" in this case was "pineapple" and missed the fact that there were a bunch of yellow rings illustrating the package indicating the fruit this was supposed to taste like. This is surely an indication that I do not think in Japanese language, which is no surprise considering the fact that I spend most of my life speaking English despite where I live. Aside from asking, "how much is it", and "where is it," I rarely need to say much in Japanese. Yes, that may sound odd, but such is the life of an English teacher with an American husband. We don't all need to spend our nights trying to pick up natives in Roppongi and therefore have ample opportunity to speak the native tongue.

The fact that this is pineapple in no way disappointed me. I love pineapple, and it's one of those flavors that is harder to get wrong than others even if it is "shiro choco" (white chocolate). The combination of something with an acidic edge to it often cuts through the sweetness. The only way that Tirol was going to mess this up was to make the flavor too weak or the chocolate too sweet.

The chocolate is soft and cleaves rather easily with a knife, something which I value because it makes it easier to get a detailed shot of the interior. Inside, there is a little gummi candy topped with a few bits of crisped rice. Most of the pineapple flavor is in the gummi and lends a good bite and a fairy realistic pineapple flavor. The rice crispy bits add a nice textural contrast to the soft, sweet white chocolate exterior.

This is a tasty little candy that you can pick up at convenience stores now for about 20 yen (24 cents). It's a small morsel, about an inch (2.54 cm.) in diameter, and makes an enjoyable bite or two with a cup of tea. At only 54 calories, it also offers good portion control. If you're a fan of pineapple sweets, this is one that you don't want to miss.

Tirol Premium Tiramisu

I grew up in a rural area where people ate a lot of potatoes, corn, chicken and beef. "Dessert" to us was usually ice cream or pie. Things like tiramisu were alien to us. In fact, I'm guessing anyone who even talked about such things with a sense of curiosity or longing would be viewed as trying too hard to be some snooty food connoisseur. Hence, my first exposure to tiramisu came during the period when it was a monumental food fad in Japan in the late 80's/early 90's. It hasn't exactly faded away since then, and the continuing release of chocolates like this is evidence of that.

For those who grew up like me and aren't familiar with tiramisu (all 2 or 3 of you), it's an Italian dessert made with ladyfingers (or cake), coffee, cocoa, liqueur, and Mascarpone cheese. Well made tiramisu is a textural and taste delight with depth and a certain delicacy. The last time I tasted something which was supposed to be the real deal was a sample at Costco, and it was heavy and nasty beyond belief. Most of what is on offer in Japan is a thin layer of yellow sponge cake with a mixture of whipped cream, cocoa, and coffee flavors. It's good, but also clearly no authentic.

Yeah, it broke into fragments when I tried to cut it in half.

The chocolate tries to emulate the layered sense and look of the real dessert including having a layer with cocoa powder in it. The look is rather easier to convey than the complex flavors of chocolate, coffee and mascarpone cheese. The main thing that this was going to lack was the textural elements of tiramisu. However, the flavor combination was actually pretty good. There was bittersweet chocolate, cocoa, coffee, and even the vaguest hint of mild cheese. The biggest surprise was that it wasn't too sweet as many Tirol chocolates with white chocolate as a main component are overbearingly sweet.

This was pretty good, not great, but a solid contribution to the Tirol Premium line-up. I wish there had been something else in the layering to add more variation in texture rather than just lots of solid chocolate. Also, while the flavor mixture was good and the sweetness level subdued, each flavor felt a bit flat. You can tell that these are low-quality chocolates, but one can't expect too much of a 1-inch/2.5 cm square for 20 yen (25 cents) that is picked up at a convenience store.

This is a little higher in calories than usual for a Tirol candy at 66. Since it's not incredibly sweet, I'm guessing it's just fattier than usual though the chocolate isn't any softer than usual (and mine was firm because I kept it in the refrigerator). I'm not sure if I would recommend this to others. On the one hand, it's pretty good for what it is and if you're in Japan and can just buy one cheaply and you like coffee chocolates, you might want to give it a try. If you have to pay a higher import price though, or dislike coffee chocolates, I'd say give it a miss. I don't think I'd buy another, but I don't regret having sampled this either.

Tirol Hot Cake Butter & Maple Premium

For those who aren't familiar with Tirol (or haven't been paying attention to my prattle about them), there are two types of them on offer in Japan. One is a small version sold in variety packs with 9 candies usually in 3 or 4 flavors for around 100 yen ($1.20) per bag. The other is a slightly larger version (about 1" square) sold as a "premium" version for 20 yen (24 cents). The small type is about 2/3 the size of premium version.

The reason this distinction is of value is that the smaller ones are made with less sophistication and care than the larger ones, and this "hot cake" version was first released some time ago as part of variety pack. I didn't review the non-premium version because I refused to buy 6 candies I didn't want to sample 3 that I did want. However, Ebidebby at Snack Love reviewed it. The basic structure is the same, but the premium one has more sauce and the sauce is separated from the crispy biscuit. It is protected from getting soft from contact with the sauce by a layer of white chocolate. It's these little touches and a marginally larger size only that separate "premium" from regular.

I found this at at NewDays convenience store for the aforementioned price of 20 yen, but they are available at most convenience stores. This little morsel is only 51 calories, which will give you about 2 bites. Once you open the wrapper, you smell sweet, sweet maple syrup. The white chocolate outer portion is super soft and it nearly melts on your fingers at room temperature. The interior is a nice crispy cookie. It tastes like super sweet white chocolate with only the barest hint of maple. Mainly, it is dominated by a powdered sugar flavor. I didn't detect any "hot cake" or pancake flavor at all. I think the bland little biscuit in the center is supposed to be a surrogate for the hot cake, but it's not a very capable replacement.

This was rather a great disappointment because it's just pretty much a throat-burning sugar bomb with very little flavor. If it hadn't been so small, I probably wouldn't have finished it. To be fair, I'm not a great fan of white chocolate, so I reacted more unfavorably to this than others might. If you can find it cheap and adore white chocolate, it still may be worth a try, but if you have to acquire it expensively via an importer or hate super sweet candy, give it a miss.

Tirol Hokkaido Milk Caramel

During one of the "famine" periods of new product releases, I snapped up this Tirol Premium chocolate. Within days, there was another "feast" cycle and a flurry of new items to review and sample came around and this got put on the back burner for several weeks. Normally, I would not be jumping on board with caramel chocolates because I'm not a big caramel fan and it was only the temporary dearth of new offerings. It's not that I hate them, but rather that they're not the sort of things that get my mojo worked up. Given a variety of options, I'll choose chestnut, sweet potato, milk chocolate, or nut-flavored candies over caramel.

At any rate, I let this candy sit on my desk for a day before eating it because I think the flavor of chocolate is better at room temperature. I had been keeping it in the refrigerator to keep it from melting, and I think it was a little worse for wear in terms of its appearance. The texture was super, super soft. It practically melted in my mouth the moment I put it on my tongue. It was like eating a super soft truffle from the texture angle. I liked that.

In terms of scent and taste, this hit me mainly as sweet, burnt brown sugar caramel rather than as a buttery caramel. The fact that it doesn't have butter notes makes the flavor less well-rounded and lacking in richness. The strange thing is that butter is one of the ingredients, but it's rather low on the list. Items that are higher on the list are a plethora of "powders" including cocoa, cream, and caramel powders. 

This wasn't overly sweet, but it was sweeter than I might prefer in a "perfect" treat and the caramel flavor seemed a little fake. Like all Tirol Premium chocolates, this is a one-inch square (2.54 cm.), but unlike most, it's not around 50 calories. This has 64 calories. I'm guessing this is due to the extra fat used in the soft, creamy filling.

I liked this, but the way in which the caramel seemed fake (though I'm pretty sure it isn't) and the lack of profound buttery notes mean that I can't see buying another. That being said, this is a pretty nice chocolate. The texture is luxurious, and someone who is a greater fan of caramel than me may really love this. Don't take my indifferent rating too much to heart. I think this is a nice candy for people who love caramel. Unfortunately, I'm not sufficient enough a caramel fan to really appreciate this. These are available at most convenience stores in Tokyo for 32 yen (35 cents) per candy. This isn't the first time they have been on offer, and I'm guessing they'll disappear at some point and come back again as this seems to be part of the regular rotation of premium Tirol candies.

Tirol Chibi Maruko-chan Marshmallow Purin Chocolate

Chibi Maruko-chan is a Japanese cartoon character. This is not one of your nasty, silly, big-eyed, spiky-haired anime characters, but a little girl and her family. The cartoon's target audience would seem to be children and possibly families. These candies from Tirol are probably targeted toward kids and people who have a sense of nostalgia about the cartoon, which aired in the early 90's.

I found these at a 7-11 convenience store which is rather distant from my apartment (as opposed to the other two 7-11's which are close to my place) for 32 yen (35 cents). There are a variety of wrappers depicting the faces of all of the characters in the television show. I chose one with Chibi Maruko-chan intentionally (to illustrate the title character for my readers), though it was tricky to find one since the box was only about 1/4 full and had been seriously picked over. Clearly, these were rather popular at the shop I found them in.

As is the case with all Tirol Premium chocolates, this is about a 1-inch (2.54 cm.) square block of rather soft chocolate. It has a light brown base, a white dome, and a marshmallow filling with a deep orange sauce on it. When I unwrapped it, it smelled of caramel. That's no surprise since "purin" in Japan is essentially flan or custard with burnt caramel sauce.

I ate this at room temperature on a day when the weather was typical for spring back home, which is to say on the cooler side for Tokyo (73-75 degrees F./23-24 degrees C.). The chocolate and marshmallow were very soft. In fact, there was really not much in the way of a distinct texture despite the mix of elements. The flavor was most heavily influenced by the sauce, which did indeed taste like the burnt caramel sauce on flan. The white chocolate is where the vanilla pudding flavor resides, but it's relatively muted. You have to intentionally rest that part of the candy on your tongue to get a sense of it. It you just bite into the whole thing, you're just going to get the caramel notes.

This is very, very sweet, but that really is to be expected because this is likely geared toward the tastes of kids in Japan. While many Japanese chocolates and candies aren't as sweet as Western-made ones, things that are aimed at children are sweeter. I was really interested in this for the marshmallow aspect. I love marshmallow-based sweets, but the marshmallow part really didn't do much for this either as a texture or in flavor. This was nice enough and is a decent way to satisfy a craving for something sweet with only a 51-calorie "price". Don't get my "indifferent" rating wrong. I enjoyed this well enough, but I wouldn't eat another because it's just too sweet and I'd rather have real flan than a candy that is similar to its taste.

Tirol Milk Daifuku Chocolate (Premium)

The last time I had one of Tirol's premium chocolate blocks with a map of Hokkaido on it, I was very disappointed in the results. Nonetheless, my adventurous side, and the fact that I like daifuku got the better of me and I picked up this 1" square (2.54 cm.) chocolate at Family Mart for 32 yen (35 cents).

Daifuku, for those who don't want to run off to Wikipedia, is a traditional Japanese confection made with soft, pounded rice filled with something sweet. The filling is usually beans, but it can be other things as well. Previously, I had a positive experience with yukimi daifuku ice milk. The mochi part is soft, a little stretchy and chewy with little flavor of its own. It's mainly for the interesting textural experience.

This candy is like an inside-out daifuku confection. The sweetness is on the outside and the mochi is in the center. When I sniffed this, I immediately thought of white chocolate Easter rabbits from my childhood and the chocolate itself is a nice blend of white chocolate and a little bit of a milk chocolate base. The milk chocolate base has just a whisper of the trademark Japanese bittersweet chocolate flavor. I don't know if it was the combination of these two chocolates or something particular ingredient, but this was some of the nicest white chocolate I've had in a long time. It seemed to have a flavor other than simply "very sweet", but I can't pin down what the flavor is.

The center is a little chewy blob of gummy-like substance which actually tasted and had the texture of mochi. In my past experiences with "mochi" filling from Tirol, the interior was too thick and mainly added texture. This time, it seemed to have verisimilitude to the real deal.

I really enjoyed this, though I don't think it's the sort of thing you'd be wolfing down several of at once because it's still on the sweet side. At 58 calories for a one-serving square though, it's a very fine little treat and I'd definitely recommend sampling it even if you aren't a particular fan of daifuku.

Tirol Premium Apple Pie Chocolate

It's been awhile since Tirol has hit a slam dunk with me. When I stopped by 7-11 to pick up some of their cheap (100 yen) 16-oz. cans of Coke Zero and noticed the box of these apple pie chocolates by the register, I was skeptical that they'd impress me this time around. My previous experience with apple chocolate in Japan was with Sequoia's offering and I don't think the Japanese have quite the same concept or taste for apple treats as those whose culture derives from Europe.

I'm very pleased to say that this one was a home run (and I mix my metaphors between basketball and baseball...I'm sure there will be a football one in the near future). This was a heavenly little square of apple delight on multiple levels.

First of all, the apple flavor is good. It's a bit on the strong side and some may find it artificial, but I felt it was not fake at all - just strong, and well tempered by a very noticeable presence of cinnamon. The texture of this is unique and varied in a way that delighted me no end. First, the square is riddled with crunchy little bits of "pie crust" and interspersed with chewy bits of apple nestled in softish white chocolate.

All Tirol premium candies are about 1-inch (2.54 cm.) square. This candy was 55 calories, which puts it in the ballpark of most of the premium chocolates. One thing which caught my eye as a former Apple (computer) geek (I'm fully recovered now... really... yeah) was the little white icon of an apple on the back. I don't think it was an attempt to copy Apple's trademark, but it did remind me of it.

These are available in a wide variety of convenience stores for 32 yen right now and I strongly suggest giving them a try. It is sweet, so I recommend having it with some coffee or tea between bites (I favored it with a very strong skinny latte). That being said, it is small, so you'll have it finished in 4 tiny bites. It's hardly enough to be overwhelmed by cumulative sweetness. Oh, yes, I forgot to say this was a Tirol touchdown (had to get in one more sports metaphor).

Tirol Premium Hokkaido Cheese Chocolate

This is actually my second attempt to review this flavor of Tirol chocolate. I bought one last year and left it in my refrigerator for several weeks where I managed to allow it to get wet. Since I didn't know if the moisture was leakage from defrosting meat, condensation, or a bottle of water that dribbled out somehow, I tossed it out. The chocolate disappeared and I didn't see it again until now. For the record, the premium chocolates are often reissued seasonally so you can revisit one you missed in most cases.



As I opened the package to reveal the 2.54 cm/1 in. square of white chocolate, I told my square of candy, "so, we meet again, Tirol cheese chocolate." Well, I said that in my mind, not aloud. I'm not quite crazy enough to hold conversations with food... yet. My expectations of this were quite low since the wedge of cheese on the package lets you know this is going to taste like actual cheese, not cream cheese. I don't know about most people but I don't prefer to have sugar mixed with my cheddar, Gouda, or Parmesan.



The scent of this was that of sour dairy and vaguely pungent cheese. When I cut it in half, little brittle cookie bits splintered all over the place from the bland, crisp biscuit tucked inside. Sometimes I think Tirol puts these biscuits in their candies to take up room with cheap ingredients. After all, some crappy little dry cookie probably costs less per ounce than chocolate. The exterior is somewhat soft white chocolate infused with cheese flavor and the cookie is crispy and tasteless.

The textures are all well and fine, but the taste was worse than I expected. When I think something is going to be weird, I am more charitable. When it's worse than my low hope, then you know it's pretty bad. This reminded me of processed cheese and milk that has gone off mixed with sugar. On the plus side, it's not horribly sweet as some white chocolate is in Japan. That's me reaching pretty far for a "plus" side to this.

I'm used to the rude greeting of strong cheese flavors in my sweets in Japan by now, but this was an even more impolite gesture than most. I certainly would not recommend this unless you prefer your savory cheese products sweet. I ate half of this small bit of candy, and threw the rest away. The best thing I can say is that hating it saved me from ingesting half of the square's 51 calories. If you're nutty enough to want to try this, you can pick one up at any big name convenience store (7-11, Family Mart, etc.) for about 30 yen (33 cents)

Tirol Grilled Kinako Mochi Premium

One thing I've noticed now that I've come around to a little over a year of snack blogging is that seasonal goodies that I reviewed last year are coming back around to the shops again. Most of them are in slightly different packages, but are the same products. Among the products I'm seeing reappear are kinako mochi multi-packs (strings of 10 small candies sold together) and the premium kinako mochi which I liked so much when I reviewed it last November. The kinako mochi flavors have been around as part of variety packs throughout the summer, but the premium version and 10-packs disappeared for about 6 months.


In addition to this old favorite coming back, Tirol has released a "yaki (grilled) kinako mochi" version. I love grilled kinako mochi, and will be doing a Variety Friday post about making your own real kinako mochi at some point (though my "yaki" part was a disaster) and wondered how they were going to achieve this.

The chocolate coating is a bit browner on the "yaki" version than on the regular kinako mochi candy and it has little crunchy bits in the center above the "gummi" mochi center. The bits look like chocolate cookie bits, but they're grilled rice puffs. They're crunchy and really reminded me of coffee. They not only did not add anything to this candy, but they detracted from it's attractive peanut butter-like kinako chocolate flavor. Everything that was right about this before, the flavor of the chocolate coating, the relatively tender mochi center, is still there, but the bitter little puffs spoil it.

This is a small morsel of chocolate (about 2.54 cm/1 in. square) and only has 53 calories. It costs only 40 yen (44 cents). I don't feel this was a waste in any way of my money or of the calories, but I definitely wouldn't buy this again with the regular version out there. I'm sure that there will be people who like this by itself, but I just can't get past the addition of bitter crunchy bits to something that isn't better for having them there.

This was also reviewed at Pocky Watch.