Donuts are great for any occasion. A quick breakfast, a snack, or an after-meal dessert. They are treats that bring joy to all our hearts. When you think of round-fried in Japan, one name screams out at everyone, Mr. Donut. But what if I told you you had another option besides Mr. Donut? A small donut store just popped up in Tsukuba and they are making donuts for all the donut seekers in Ibaraki.
Troppo Donut
Troppo Donut is a small (and I do mean small) donut shop located in the Shimohirooka area of Tsukuba. It is very close to the Sakura Interchange's on and off-ramp. I would highly suggest coming here by car unless you are an amazing cyclist. The street can be pretty busy and dangerous as cars just fly by trying to get onto the expressway or get off onto Route 6.
The Ibaraki Eats Duo went on a Sunday morning to grab some donuts for breakfast. Troppo is in a small one-floor blue building between an Okinawan restaurant and a Hawaiian place. The parking is a bit limited and again be careful with the busy street.
I should also mention Troppo is only open from Thursday to Sunday. They start at 11:00 am and usually run out of donuts by the afternoon. So I suggest getting there in the morning.
Inside
Troppo is a take-out place only. After waiting in line for a while, we walked into the place and all there was was a huge kitchen area and a display counter. My wife and I checked out what donuts were available with anticipation.
The Menu
No paper menu anywhere. Just what is on the display counter. That day there were a few donuts available as most were sold out. The donuts available that day were: royal milk tea, Oreo, berry milk, coffee &anko, black sugar kinako, kibito, and torta caprese (I think this is a chocolate Italian cake-style donut). There were also cannolis and apple frittelle. We bought three donuts, a cannoli, and an apple frittelle to take home.
Oreo Donut
The first donut we tried that morning was the Oreo donut. Look at that picture. Doesn't it look enticing? It does look enticing but unfortunately, it was the weakest one of the bunch. The Oreo cookies were nice but the donut was a bit too hard and oily. My wife didn't like it either and things weren't looking good for Troppo. Thankfully, there were some winners in our box of sweets and donuts.
Berry Milk
I was worried about the berry milk because the last donut we had was also a chocolate-style donut. But this donut was a lot softer and had some awesome berry cream inside. It was like a jelly donut but without so much jelly that it spills on your shirt when you bite into it. That's happened to me a few times. The hardened pink berry swirl frosting on top was a very nice touch.
Cannoli
I was shocked that Troppo sold cannolis. I can't remember the last time I had one. My wife had never had one up to this point, so she was excited to try one. She got the first bite and immediately loved the cream filling inside the cannoli. I took a bite and had to agree. The hard crunchy shell of the cannoli was very nice and the cream was great. This was a nice little tasty break in between our donuts.
Kibito
Kibito, or millet sugar, was the best donut in my opinion. What is millet sugar? I believe it is a sugar that is a bit healthier than regular sugar. Regular sugar spikes your blood pressure quickly while millet sugar does it gradually. So it is kind of healthy? Anyway, I loved this donut. It was soft and flavorful, and the sugar went well with it. It was a bit too soft because the donut broke apart a little too easily but other than that, it was a winner in my book.
Apple Frittelle
Apple Frittelle, or Apple Fritters as we call them in the States, are fried apple slices. We fry everything in America. Did you know we fry Coca-Cola? Anyway, I was surprised to see apple fritters on the display counter. My wife immediately wanted to try them. We bought one apple fritter and couldn't wait to try it.
Here is where we kind of messed up. We should have tried it right after we bought it. We had the apple fritter the next day and it didn't taste as fresh as it would have the day before. It was still delicious though. The fried dough and apple slice were fantastic. It reminded me of apple fritters I would buy at my hometown state fair, but way less oily. It was a tasty bite-sized snack.
Our trip to Troppo Donut was an interesting one. The donuts were sort of hit or miss, but we did find some good donuts at Troppo. We also loved the other sweet treats that Troppo has to offer. The donut shop is a bit pricey for donuts but they have a few flavors you will not find in Mr. Donut.
So if you are a donut lover and would like to try something outside the huge Japanese donut chain, why not give Troppo Donut a chance? Who knows, you might see me there, trying some new donuts while getting more cannolis and apple fritters.
Enjoy!
For more information on Troppo Donut, check out their Instagram page:
Update
Matcha Donut
I went back to Troppo Donut a few weeks ago and was able to try their matcha donut. This donut was magical. For those of you who like matcha, this donut is a must-try. The donut was so soft with a semi-hard matcha frosting on top. Biting into that donut, I got a strong flavor of matcha and a fresh flavor of a newly made donut. This donut was amazing. Just writing about this donut makes me want to go to Troppo right now and buy some more. Unfortunately, it is Thursday while I write this and Troppo isn't open.
Update Update
Blueberry Donut
I went back to Troppo again recently and got to try some new flavors. I tried their seasonal donut, the blueberry donut. The blueberries are from Aonisai Farm, which I talked about last week. The donut is so soft and full of that new freshly made donut flavor. It was a delight to eat it. The blueberry frosting and blueberries weirdly clashed with each other. The frosting was too sweet while the blueberries were a little less sweet which was weird. But other than that, I enjoyed this donut and hope to have it again before the blueberry season is over.
Old Fashioned Donut
Are you a meat and potatoes guy or girl? Do you just like plain foods with no nonsense? Then this is the donut for you. The donut had a hard kind of outer shell to it with a nice soft donut inner part. It was a bit dry but delicious. I would say that it was a good solid donut, but it's not my cup of tea.
Eclair Donut
Last, but not least, we have the eclair donut. I am guessing the big T on the donut stands for Troppo. Biting into this donut was very pleasing to the taste buds. The hard chocolate frosting with that soft donut texture and then the cream that comes right behind all of that is an experience everyone should take part in. I loved this donut and would like to get it again soon. It wasn't my favorite donut at Troppo, but it is a close second.
Ok, that is my last donut update for now...or is it?
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