Tirol Choco Kyoto Yatsuhashi Flavor Chocolate
Kyoto was a center of politics and culture in the old days where various crafts and foods were created. Today, many of those items have been specialties of the city.
For example, when it comes to the Wagashi confection that represents Kyoto, many Japanese will be reminded of “Yatsuhashi (八ツ橋)“, as shown by the fact that many tourists to Kyoto buy the sweets for a souvenir.
Yatsuhashi is a kind of “Senbei (煎餅)” rice cracker made from rice flour, sugar, and Japanese cinnamon called “Nikki (ニッキ)”, the addition of which sets Yatsuhashi apart from other Japanese rice crackers.
The year when Yatsuhashi was first made is still unknown, but one legend holds that it was first offered in 1689 by a teahouse near the Buddhist temple “Shogoin (聖護院)”.
Tirol Choco An-Nama Nikki Yatsuhashi Flavor Chocolate
Today, the confectionery company “Honke Nishio Yatsuhashi (本家西尾八ツ橋)” is considered one of its originators.
And what I introduce here is a collaboration product between Honke Nishio Yatsuhashi and Tirol Choco, one of the most popular chocolate candies in Japan.
This Tirol Choco flavor, Honke Nishio Yatsuhashi “An-Nama Nikki (あんなまニッキ)” was introduced on April 6, 2020, by the company Tirol Choco. I bought it for about 140 yen (about 1.3 USD) at a 7 Eleven recently.
As you can see in the photo above, the package contains 7 pieces of individually wrapped chocolate.
As I mentioned above, in its name, “Nikki (ニッキ)” stands for cinnamon, which gives this chocolate a distinctive fragrant taste that can’t be tasted in other chocolates.
Meanwhile, “An-Nama (あんなま)” is actually the name of a signature product of Honke Nishio Yatsuhashi.
The Yatsuhashi An-Nama is a type of Nama Yatsuhashi filled with “Anko (餡子)” sweet red bean paste.
So the white exterior of this chocolate has a fragrant Nikki flavor, while the brown interior looks like Anko.
Specifically, based on the ingredient list and the picture explaining the structure of this Tirol Choco, the brown chocolate inside contains Azuki-flavored paste and bits of Mochi-like gummy candy.
Indeed, the overall taste of this chocolate is very unique and very Japanese, unlike any other in the world!
