Tirol Chocolate – Beni Imo Tart

Each summer Tirol releases a series of limited edition flavours that showcase popular regional variety snacks and desserts. Sure, it’s not summer, and sure this review is only about half a year late, but I’m still going to do it, damn it! This particular flavour is based on the Beni Imo Tart. Beni imo is a special breed of purple sweet potato native to Okinawa. I’ve heard that these are considered a super-food, and are basically everywhere in that region. At first look it’s easy to confuse for taro, since they are purple, and you could totally imagine a taro tart looking the exact same. I haven’t yet been to Okinawa, so I can’t speak to the authenticity of the flavour, but I can speak to it based on my extensive experience with sweet potato snacks.

I’m honestly not sure why I keep getting sweet potato related chocolates from Tirol. I don’t like them for the most part, and sweet potato in general isn’t something I consider when I go for snacks, especially not chocolates. Yet here I am. I guess I’m the classic whale sucker that they try to target – the people who are willing to buy anything if you say it’s limited edition or special.

This wrapper doesn’t speak to me.

This one is very much like the sweet potato ones with the biscuit in the centre, but with one major difference – this one has a syrup or liquid center that is quite thick and almost gel like. It appears to be some kind of puree of sweet potato to emulate the tart that this is based on. I know before I said I don’t like sweet potato, but I kind of like this. The added texture and flavour from the gel or puree. I’m still not quite sure what it is, but it’s thicker than the usual syrup they use. Whatever this viscous ingredient is, it adds quite a bit in both flavour and texture. The sweet potato of the chocolate, like the other kinds has more of a play-doh like smell and taste, but the puree tastes more like a sweet potato snack so it enhances the piece overall.

A very mild purple.

The texture is also pretty standard for chocolate covered biscuits, with the exception of the puree that gives it a bit more moisture and keeps it from being overly dry and leaving a chalky texture in the mouth. The biscuit helps to give it a texture that isn’t just somewhat mushy sweet potato that all the pieces in the past have.

You can see wisps of syrup.

While I can’t speak to how well this emulates the actual dessert, I can say this is not bad. While I’ve mentioned before I don’t enjoy sweet potato snacks, this one is decidedly pretty solid. I think the addition of the syrup or puree in the centre keeps it from being just a dry flavoured biscuit helps to elevate this from a non-repeat purchase to a “potential repurchase”. Assuming this ever gets a reissue. I can’t imagine it wouldn’t though, given that it seems like a fairly pleasing and standard profile.

Crazy calories aside, I am kind of curious what the dessert is like.

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