Tirol Chocolate – Sakura Mochi

Flowers and plants are often used to enhance the flavour or aroma of foods. Just like how rosewater is used to create Turkish delight, and lavender is used in practically everything these days, sakura, or cherry blossoms are used to flavour a number of things like sticky rice and ice cream.

The piece smells like flowers. Not sure how else to describe it, other than having a slightly sweet, floral aroma to it. The bottom of the piece is a medium brown colour, which I imagine is to simulate the red bean paste. The rest of the piece is a nice vibrant pink, and there are small, almost unnoticeable little flecks in the chocolate.

Interestingly, the flavour is almost berry like, and like eating sweet flower petal with a hint of saltiness to it. I’d say it’s kind of reminiscent of a very, very mild cherry flavour, with slight saltiness that reminds me of pickling. Complimenting the sakura flavour is the somewhat simple and straightforward flavour of the red bean paste, which has a sweet, earthy taste to it. I’d go so far as to describe it as a slightly smoky flavour to it. The whole thing is a very interesting experience, with the floral flavour combining with the red bean flavour.

Similar to other mochi flavours I’ve had in the past, this one uses the same signature Tirol mochi piece in the centre to give it that nice chewy texture. I’d wager a bet that the execution of their mochi centers is what makes them the more popular flavours, and the reason they crank out so many variations of chocolate that use the centre. If it works, it works. I can’t say I would change anything, since it’s just right for me. The Goldilocks of textures, if you will.

I can see why this is a popular flavour. It’s definitely unique and not something you find very often. While I haven’t had the privilege to try the dessert that this chocolate is based off, I am pretty confident I would enjoy the real thing. That being said, I know that not everyone enjoys floral flavours, so to those people I would probably dissuade from trying. To everyone else though, I would recommend giving these a try if you can find them in a specialty store. These unfortunately cater to specific tastes, so I doubt you will find them as readily available as you would the more standard flavours like matcha mochi.