Cafe Tirol "cafe style assort" カフェチロル

I bought this pack in Daiso because it stood out, it's shaped like an iced beverage you would get from a franchise like Starbucks. The pack has 8 pieces inside: 4 of Coffee Jelly and 4 of Lemon Tea.

Coffee Jelly

I've never been a fan of coffee jelly but old people serve it regularly to guests in Japan. I could be forgiven for thinking I had bitten into the lemon tea Tirol if I wasn't actually looking when I opened the wrapper. This has a very strong butter taste of espresso on the bottom, coffee jelly in the middle followed by a hit of sour lemon on the top. It is truly awful to me - I prefer milky coffee, I never drink it black or with lemon. The chocolate was waxy too; I felt like I was eating a candle!

Lemon Tea

This chocolate looks much the same as Coffee Jelly although the chocolate on the bottom is lighter. This one has a distinct lemon smell and I can also smell what reminds me of a cold ice tea. When I tried to cut this it crumbled. Biting into a piece there was a horrible strong/sour lemon taste that was followed up with a spicy burning sensation and a faint taste of tea. I thought it smelled and tasted like what drinking a cup of dish washing liquid would be like. This is truly awful and even worse than Coffee Jelly.

My verdict is don't even buy this pack! Now I can see why it was at Daiso!!! :(

Tirol Espresso チロル エスプレッソ

Another Tirol review, thanks to a great friend in Tokyo! :)

This one is Espresso. It got a little melted during transit, Australia's heat was a bit unpredictable this year.

I love coffee but I wouldn't call myself an expert. I always take milk and sugar, I never drink it black so I feel a little trepidation about Espresso Tirol.

Though it does remind me of Japan as most places I have visited I've always been served straight black coffee in a can or cup or even coffee jelly.

When I opened the wrapper there was a strong coffee scent and the chocolate was dark brown.

Biting into it there was a strong coffee flavour followed by a bitterness then sweetness and a crunch as I bit into a layer of what seems to be ground coffee beans. Yum!

This is delicious and I love how they have made it so realistic. I recommend all the coffee lovers try this one!

Bourbon Milk Coffee Roll Cake ふわまき ミルクコーヒーケーキ

I have another Fuwamaki cake to try! Last time I reviewed the milk roll cake by the same company and Yasu and I both really loved it.

This one is the same deal, except it's milk coffee flavour. The outside is predominately light brown with white spots and it has two types of cream inside - coffee cream and milk cream.

The sponge cake is beautiful and soft like a cloud pillow, the same as last time. The brown coloured sponge tastes like chocolate and the white dots taste like milk. The coffee flavour comes from the coffee cream inside the roll cake.

This is so beautifully fresh - how do they do it? It could have been baked fresh this morning, that is how soft it is. The cream is so fluffy and light and full of flavour.

What can I say but that this is divine? Seriously. Go buy one! or two... or maybe three!

Brand: Bourbon Calories per pack: 180 Website: http://www.bourbon.co.jp

Cheetos x Tirol Coffee Nougat チートすｘチロルコーヒヌガー味コーンスナック

This was released as the same time as the Kinako Cheetos x Tirol and is the same kind of thing except with a coffee nougat covering instead of kinako.

The thing that struck me when I opened the packet is it looks like someone did a doo-doo in the bag. Not only is it the right colour, but looks similar in shape too. Did I just gross you out? Do Japanese people not think of these things? Sorry.

Luckily they don't smell too bad, mostly a strong coffee scent. Once again the Cheetos are just plain, not cheese flavour and they are nice and crunchy.


The chocolate nougat coating is quite thin, so the Cheetos peeks through in certain places. I'm not really sure why it's called coffee nougat as there is no real nougat in essence. They probably just made a fancy name to up the interest, but really it is just coffee chocolate on a cheetos.

The coffee flavour is not strong enough, or the chocolate is not thick enough, so after the first bite the chocolate is gone and the plain pretzel is all you can taste. I'm abit disappointed about this one, the Kinako version was definitely much better.

This is not going to satisfy coffee lovers or nougat lovers. Better to buy the Kinako version.

Wacky Snack of The Week - Tirol Chocolate Cheetos

Introducing a new section of my blog : Wacky Snack of The Week.

This weeks snack is Tirol x Cheetos Coffee Nougat.

Yes, that is right. Cheetos Coffee Nougat Flavour. Cheetos covered in coffee flavoured chocolate nougat. What a bizarre idea!

Image borrowed from Fritolay Japan

Fritolay describe this as melt-in-your-mouth coffee nougat Tirol poured over Cheesy Cheetos.

I have just ordered a bag from NapaJapan and look forward to trying it soon!! I've never thought of cheese and chocolate going together, but when I think about it, coffee is served with cheese, so why not chocolate and cheese?

UCC Coffee With Milk

This coffee by UCC has been around for years, but I've never actually bought it until now. As I'm currently having a coffee fad, it stood out to me in the drinks section of my local Japanese supermarket and as it was on special it made the decision for me.

I love the blurb on the front of the can -

UCC: The pioneer maker of the canned liquid coffee in Japan. Come on, and enjoy its original taste.

The can holds 337ml. The ingredients are sugar, skim milk powder, coffee, whole dried milk. Even though the coffee is second last on the list it is quite prominent in the drink.

The colour of the coffee is a very dark colour, like when not much milk is added, even though milk is higher than coffee on the ingredient list. I'm glad this coffee has sugar in it, it's not really sweet but sweet enough not to be too bitter.

I've never been a fan of coffee in a can mostly because Japanese companies tend to make it too strong for me, but this coffee by UCC is something I could drink quite regularly.

I like the can itself, the simplicity of the design, the price, and most important the taste. I think quite often Japanese drink makers rely on package design and advertising quirks to sell their products rather than the actual content and what it tastes like. Fortunately UCC coffee has stood the test of time and is still here to provide us with a refreshing coffee that doesn't need silly advertising campaigns to promote it.

So yes, I can now say, I'm a fan of coffee in a can but only if it's made by UCC!