I picked up a lot of new Tirols lately so I thought I’d do a quick review of some them while they’re still in shops, starting with the Koinobori (carp streamer) version released for Childrens’ Day. These strawberry-biscuit chocolates come in a cute packet with a carp design available in pink or blue. The individual pieces are wrapped with motifs of a bow and arrow, traditional kabuto helmet and the kanji for gold/money.
As you can see these candies consist of a sweet milk chocolate base, biscuit center and upper layer of strawberry-flavoured chocolate. Strawberry-biscuit is simply a fusion of the biscuit and strawberry Tirols included in the selection pack that I reviewed earlier, so I won’t go into much detail, except to say that the strawberry taste is sharp and fruity and the smell is equally pleasant, making these a delicious snack that I would welcome at any time of year.
The Koinobori edition comes out every year but a product that I spotted for the first time recently was a collaboration between Tirol and Bisco:
I always see the little red and pink packets of Bisco in the snack aisle of supermarkets but I’ve never been tempted to try them, maybe because the kitschy child puts me off…However, if you make it into a Tirol Choco I’ll try it, and I’m glad I did. Bisco boasts the inclusion of lactic-acid as its selling point and although that may not sound particularly appealing it gives the chocolate a wonderful yoghurty tartness
There is a faintly sour dairy smell, like un-processed yoghurt, and the taste reminds me of the fromage frais I used to eat as a child – creamy but not too sweet. The strawberry one is a pretty baby pink colour and the fruity flavour is good. I’m not sure whether these contain enough milk to have any tangible health benefits, though if this is one way to get more calcium I’d happily eat 100.
When in Kyoto in March I picked up some themed Hello Kitty Tirols neatly packed into the standard-size box and featuring a kimono clad Kitty:
It seems that there is nothing this much-loved character won’t endorse but I have to say that this doesn’t just seem like something rushed out to bring in a few more yen for the Hello Kitty empire, real care has gone into the 10 different detailed and colourful wrapper designs of typical Kyoto sights such as rickshaws, temples and of course kimonos.
The chocolate itself is the standard Milk flavour that you can get hold of all over Japan, but if you collect wrappers like me, you’re a Kitty-chan fan or you just like cute stuff then you’ll want to keep an eye out for these regional boxes – I’ve also found Tokyo and Hokkaido versions.
Finally Matcha Mochi:
The product name is pretty self-explanatory, all I’ll say is that the matcha scent and flavour of the chocolate is good and rich, not too milky, while the mochi center is chewy with no particular taste and less soft and gooey than the real thing.
Despite the rather bland filling the lovely green tea flavour alone keeps me hooked on these and the chewiness is actually pretty satisfying so I do recommend them if you enjoy matcha~
That’s all for now but I have lots more Tirol to review, including Jersey Milk Soft Cream, Azuki Parfait and Milk Daifuku.
The Sweet Japan Blog 