When I first started this blog, I would have said that Kit Kat was the king of limited edition flavors. They do have a wide variety, but Tirol has them beat when it comes to flavor and season turnover. Every time I walk into a combini (which is a little too often) there is a box of random new flavor next to the register, or a seasonal collection displayed by the door, or a bin of an old permanent flavor I’ve never tried. Trying every Tirol flavor may become a new goal of mine, but until Tirol sends us press releases, I think I’ll just stick with the random impulse buys.

The いちごがいっぱい (Full of Strawberries) pack is new, though the flavors may have been released in the past in different forms. There are three types of “chocolate” in this pack; Ichigo & Cookie Crunch (which is the pink version of White & Cookie Crunch), つぶつぶ練乳いちご (grainy condensed milk strawberry), and 濃厚いちごゼリー (concentrated strawberry jelly). All smell fake, floral, and sweet, similar to the Rich Strawberry bar by Meiji. Like other Tirol chocolates these candies are individually wrapped in foil and plastic and are about an inch square. I like the portioning of these flavors (three of each flavor) because I wouldn’t want to eat an entire bar of any of the flavors.

Ichigo & Cookie Crunch is crushed chocolate cookies, similar to Oreos, held together with strawberry flavored white chocolate type stuff. The strawberry flavor is easily overpowered by the chocolate from the cookies, and I don’t think the combo works as well as the White & Cookie Crunch. The color is kind of off-putting too, since the dark brown cookies turn the chocolate a sickly mauve color. 3/5

I’ve had jelly filled Tirol chocolates before, and though the combination sounds a little weird, it works really well. The chocolate is deep pink, and has a convincing strawberry smell and taste. The jelly is bouncy and firm, like other jelly filled flavors, and has a mild flavor. Again, the strawberry seeds detracted from the product and should have been left out. I liked this flavor the most because both the taste and texture were balanced. 4/5

I’m not going to comment on the wrapper for this one, because yeah… not going to go there on a family blog (but I will point it out for some of our readers). つぶつぶ translates to lumpy, grainy, or pebbly and I think it’s included in the flavor name because of the inclusion of strawberry seeds in the cream center. Personally I don’t think that the seeds add anything to the product and would have liked if they had been left out. The exterior chocolate is light pink and has a nice clean strawberry flavor. The interor is the consistancy of fondant and tastes kind of milky, kind of yogurty, and really fake. I did not enjoy these since they were a bit too sweet and the milk flavor is just weird. 1/5

Crunky Popjoy
Lotte is quickly becoming one of my favorite candy companies, but these balls of Crunky aren’t anything special. They’re about 3/4 of an inch across and about 1/2 an inch thick, so not huge, but not tiny. They’re exterior is waxy and unappetizing. Definitely would not buy again.

塩&キャラメル (Salt and Caramel) Kit Kat
Even more from Kit Kat! These bite sized wafers covered in chocolate are true to the Kit Kat brand, but a little ugly. The chocolate is tasty, and the interior is a lovely salted caramel wafer. The salt doesn’t hit you to the very end, but it’s perfectly balanced. I’m planning on repurchasing if they haven’t been discontinued.
Read Jen Ken’s Kit Kat Blog’s review of Salt and Caramel Kit Kat.

ぷっちょ (Puccho) Strawberry and Grape
This duo flavor bag contains both strawberry and grape flavored Puccho. The strawberry is a basic fake flavor, but it’s not very strong. The grape is fake, sweet and tart, but like the strawberry not very strong. I don’t dislike these, but they’re not unique enough for me to buy them again.

ポルテ (Porute)
I have no idea what a Porute or Polte is but it looks kind of like a chestnut. The candy is a cookie with a blob of “whip cream”, covered in bittersweet chocolate and cocopowder. Porute are about an inch at their widest point. The candy isn’t very sweet and the cream tastes like bland unsweetened whip cream. I’m not impressed with the thin chocolate or the texture of the cream. I wont be buying these again.

チロル (Tirol)
Tirol candies are available in tins, strips, and as individual pieces. I grabbed this assortment at a local 7-11 for about 30 yen apiece. Tirol’s website has a gallery of their flavors.

Milk – I was thinking that this little square would just be milk chocolate, but it is actually a white milky chocolate candy covered with a thin layer of milk chocolate. It was too sweet for me, so I don’t think I’ll get another one.

White & Cookie Crunch – I love Hershey’s Cookies n’ Cream bar, so I was very excited about this flavor. It lived up to expectations, but wasn’t anything special. The candy is white chocolate filled with chocolate cookies. I will buy again if I can find it.
Read Snack Love’s review of White & Cookie Crunch.

クリームあんみつ (Cream Anmitsu) – Based on a Japanese dessert, I found this candy underwhelming. The gel in the center had a nice texture, but the whole thing was a little bitter. Not getting this one again.
Read Japanese Snack Reviews’ review of Cream Anmitsu.

焼きなこもち (Toasted Kinako Mochi) – This was my favorite of the bunch, and I’ll admit to repurchasing. The exterior is kinako flavored chocolate and the interior is a thin slab of mochi. The chocolate contains puffed rice for a nice crunch, and the mochi is nice and chewy. Great balance of flavor and texture.

まっ茶もち入り (Matcha Mochi) – Similar to the Kinako Mochi, matcha (green tea) chocolate surrounds a mochi center. The mochi has the same texture, but I found the chocolate to be a little grainy. The flavor was true to matcha. I think if I was in the mood I would buy these again, but matcha is kind of a rare mood for me.
Read Tasty Jaan’s review of Matcha Mochi.