Tirol Chocolate – Komeda Shiro Noir Dessert

I may not be what some may consider an expert on Tirol, but I think it’s safe to say I am quite fanatic about the brand. In the relatively short time I’ve had with the brand, I became aware of the many collaboration flavours they do with certain Japanese brands, which seem to usually take place in the summer. I got a whole bunch of them, and this will be the first one for this year that I’ll be reviewing.

For people who don’t know (like me before research), Komeda’s Coffee is a Japanese cafe chain that competes alongside Starbucks, going for much the same demographic as I understand it. You know, fancy cafe that serves more than just coffee. A place to hangout, relax, enjoy pastries, etc. One of the desserts that they are known for is the Shiro Noir – which is a play on words. Shiro is Japanese for White while Noir is french for black. The dessert consists of a hot danish on the bottom, with some cold soft serve ice cream on the top. It’s all topped with a cherry and some syrup (I think it’s maple syrup?). Just hearing about it makes my mouth water. It’s no wonder it’s one of their signatures. It sounds absolutely delicious. But because I am too lazy to bake and try to recreate it myself, I’ll settle for this limited time collaboration flavour that Tirol is doing with them to try and recreate some of that magic in the classic mini square chocolate. I’m a firm believer in the 80/20 rule. (Please don’t look that up in case I’m using it wrong.)

It has a distinct smell; it has that hint of puff pastry and butter once the bag is opened. It actually reminds me a lot of the smell of a freshly opened pack of the plain Pretz. It definitely smells like I would imagine this dessert tasting like, which isn’t too hard considering most pastries like danishes have a distinct flavour and aroma to them. I smell a little sweetness that’s either from the ice cream or the syrup, most likely the syrup. A big part of the culinary experience is smell, and on that front this is nailing it so far.

While I haven’t had this dessert that is specific to Komeda, I feel confident enough to imagine how this Shiro Noir dessert should taste like. Obviously part of the experience of the actual dessert is the combo of hot and cold, merging into a perfectly warm and enjoyable adventure. But barring that, I feel like the flavour of this chocolate does a good job capture the essence of the dessert. The flavour can be best described as, “pastry-like”. When looking at the cross section, there appears to be 3 layers. There’s the outside chocolate which didn’t seem to have too much flavour or taste to it, the syrup on the inside which is most likely maple, and the bottom layer which is similar to a soft, puffy pastry. I’m actually not sure if there’s 3 or 4 layers. I’m guessing there’s actually 4, where there’s a thin layer between the syrup and soft pastry layer on the bottom to simulate that crisp crunch you get when biting into a flaky pastry, similar to how they did the Creme Brulee flavour. Biting into it is like biting in a soft danish, and getting some syrup with the bite. There’s a bit of vanilla flavour to it, which is supposed to be the ice cream and adds a bit of “airiness” or “lightness” to the experience.

The biggest surprise here is actually the puffy pastry layer. I was fully expecting a biscuit layer as is usual with Tirol, but I was a bit caught off guard by how soft the “pastry” layer is. It really did capture the flaky, soft texture quite well, and makes me think they actually put a tiny piece of puffy pastry in there. It wasn’t simply soft, but it had a bit of a flake to it. You know, it’s soft but not quite, and has a bit of crisp, crunch to it. Quite nice. The syrup wasn’t overly sweet, and combines with the pastry quite well. I can’t say much for the chocolate itself, since the syrup was still enough to overtake it. That’s just fine with me though, the syrup is delightful and complements the pastry layer perfectly.

Overall, there is a lot going on, but none of it contradicts each other, and it works quite well when put together. The texture is what really stood out though, and I would be curious to see Tirol use that same technique again with another chocolate. If you’ve read my other reviews, you can probably tell I’m not crazy about the biscuit that is so standard in their chocolates. This new style is definitely a welcome departure, and I want to see more of it.

Unfortunately, being a limited flavour, I don’t know that I’ll see this again. That makes me sad, since I really do like this flavour and I would love to see it and try it again. But I’m sure Tirol will consider bringing it back if they see it selling well. I can only dream, my far off chocolate dreams.