Saturday, March 22, 2014

Breyers Tiramisu Gelato Indulgences


[By Nick, 2014-2017] So this is really happening right now? You’re telling me that Breyers, the company who can barely produce ice cream is now making gelato? I can sense my Grandfather rolling over in his grave. When you think about it though, it actually makes a lot of sense. Unlike ice cream, gelato doesn’t have a set definition or standards that have to be met to use that name. I don’t know about you but the term gelato sounds a heck of a lot better than frozen dairy dessert. Dubba has already covered the other three flavors and wasn’t all that positive about them. I was finally able to acquire a container of their Tiramisu so let’s see if they’ll be able to impress me.

Breyers Tiramisu Gelato Indulgences
Mascarpone gelato with espresso sauce,
ladyfinger cookie pieces & gourmet cocoa


I definitely like the look of the cocoa dusting. Upon removing the protective seal, you’re hit with a strong cheesy smell. Thankfully it’s more on the sweeter side like a cheesecake than the traditional smell you’d associate with cheese. Since this is a layered dessert, I dug my spoon all the way down to get a piece of all of the components. The taste of the mascarpone gelato is strong like the smell but in a good sweet kind of way. The flavor is definitely stronger than what you get from Haagen-Dazs version. It allows for it to holds its own against the espresso sauce swirled throughout. The espresso sauce adds a robust coffee flavor as well as some chocolate bitterness to help cut the bases sweetness. This meshes perfectly with the slight bitterness you’re already getting from the cocoa dusting.


Lastly, the lady fingers (hiding on the bottom) are executed properly. They’re soft and add just a little chew to switch things up texturally. Interestingly enough, Breyers uses, for lack of a better term, lady finger medallions. They’re basically little circles of lady fingers about the size of a dime. I’ll give Breyers some props for that idea. It makes things a lot easier form an eating standpoint since you don’t have to worry about taking a full size cookie up with you when you’re digging out of the bottom. While not as good as Haagen-Dazs Tiramisu, this product is well executed from a flavor standpoint.


Now if you haven’t noticed, I’ve yet to make any mention of the texture of the gelato itself. Well there’s a good reason for that. I’m not even sure what to make of it. It’s nowhere near traditional gelato or even ice cream. Heck, it doesn’t even remind me of a frozen dairy dessert. I can’t even tell if I like it or not. Sure there’s a slight gumminess to it but nothing off putting. The denseness is almost on par with super premium brands but at times it feels light. I kind of feel like it actually sort of works in this application. I think I’d be less conflicted if they weren’t to have called it gelato to be honest. If it was called Breyer’s Dessert Indulgences, I could see me being less critical on the texture. Half the container is now gone and I still have no idea my feelings towards it. I guess the second scoop will have to confirm things.

On Second Scoop: Well like I said, this product has a really good flavor. I’d go as far as to say it could give Ben & Jerry’s Coffee Coffee, BUZZBUZZBUZZ for #2 in my rankings. I still can’t figure out that texture though. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not bad but it just feels like something is off. I’ve never been so irritated/intrigued/confused by a texture of a dessert before in my life. The container is empty and I’m just sitting here trying to type down my thoughts to no avail. All that said, if you like coffee flavored products, I say give this one a shot and let me know your thoughts. I think I need to go try the other flavors out to see if I have the same reaction to their texture as well.

Verdict?  Enjoyable flavor but with an odd texture.
Buy Again?  I’ll give the other gelatos a shot first.

Dubba's Scoop: When I was buying the other flavors, I did actually buy this one as well but I wanted Nick to take the lead since I'm pretty biased against coffee ice cream. The funny thing is, I think he wound up with the least offensive of the 4 productsThe gelato itself is mildly flavored overall, plus the mild coffee flavor is contained to the swirl, so it's easy to avoid for coffee loathers like myself. To me, the lady fingers look (and kind of taste) like mini nilla wafers. I just don't get why they made these gelatos so chewy and gummy. I know the texture works for some, but it just seems so fake to me.

3 other 2014 flavors:  Vanilla Caramel, Triple Chocolate, Raspberry Cheesecake

Note: Thanks to reader Eve, we now know that these Breyer's gelatos seem to bare some relationship to various Carte D'or flavors from across Europe.

30 comments:

  1. Also comparable with Cremissimo in some countries europe http://www.cremissimo.de/produkte/tiramisu.aspx . Same kid, different name. All three brands are sub-brands of unilever and all three suffers the same problems. Miserable texture, excessive air content and more often than not an untypical weak taste for gelato. Further more far too little and poor mix-ins and toppings. On the scale of things an unpalatable product. I only like Cremissimo Pfirsich Mascarpone Torte (peach mascarpone cake).

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  2. yeah, all coming from the same plant it seems. I looked at several different countries though you have me wondering if Germany is the first to update some kind of a newer packaging. thanks for the info!

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  3. Where do you find Haagen Dazs tiramisu gelato? I haven't seen it in this area yet.

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  4. Anon, it's a new flavor for this year so not every place has it stocked yet. It should be making its way into more grocery stores soon though!

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  5. As I suspected! If you read the ingredients which Breyers cleverly puts on the bottom of the tub, it's just puffed up sweetened frozen milk! I tried Tiramisu, and Vanilla Caramel. This isn't gelato. It isn't good. The flavorings and additives are great! They should add them to real gelato. Stick with Hagen Daz new gelatos. They are great, especially Black Cherry Amaretto. Stay away from Banana Chip, too sweet, doesn't taste like banana, and chips are fake chocolate. In any case better than Breyers ersatz gelato.

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  6. I love coffee (especially iced) and tiramisu dessert, so I thought I'd give the product a try. I have had Ben & Jerry's Tiramisu ice cream, and thought that was very good, but I have never had Gelato before. I am disappointed to see others reviews that this is nothing like true Gelato. I agree, it tastes like gummy ice cream in a sense. I will definitely have to try a different brand of Gelato for a true comparison. On the positive, I really like the flavorings, and it is relatively low in calories if you stick to the serving size. I think I would buy this again.

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    1. Gross Tiramisu. This should be it's name.

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  7. I did not think it tasted anything like Tiramisu. It tasted like ice cream with chocolate sauce and a few sugar pieces on the base. Yes there is a sleight coffee taste but the more you eat the more it just tastes like chocolate.
    I dont know why they cant duplicate mascarpone cheese. Even with it in it, ice cream people just cant get the aroma and flavor of this dessert. It really does not stand out to pay a premium. I dont think they should put the cookie only on the base. They need to layer it or mix it in. On the base you have to slice it like cake to get any cookie. Disappointment.

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  8. I bought the caramel flavor and found it tasted like chemicals. I only eat organic ice cream or gelato and I'm sure it's the reason it had such an artificial taste to me. I threw it away.

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  9. That look soooo good! I want it!

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  10. I just bought my 3rd container. My new go to dessert.

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  11. I'm so in love with this. I'm on my way out the door to buy my 4th container. Okay, it's full of artificial stuff, but it sure does taste good.

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  12. I have tried the Chocolate one - I am not a chocolate fan but this was very good..BUT the one that I LOVE - notice all caps !!! was the raspberry chesecake - delicious and outstanding - don't like coffee so I won't try the tiramisu - BUT will try the carmel one soon
    Some on here call in unpalatable - and that's why we have so many different flavors and brands of ice cream and gelato - YEAH for choice !!!

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  13. I am currently eating the Triple Choc. VERY disappointed. Many other Gelato's out there that are much better. Not buying Bryers brand again. Whipped air!

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  14. OK, It's very tasty, but if you are in the mood for Gelato, it is NOT. It has way too much whipped air and the sugar to other flavoring ratio is way too high. The spectrum of frozen deserts go from lightest whipped cream, to ice cream, to firmest and least whipped in air gelato, and this is between ice cream and whipped cream. It is very good, but I am rating it as a 2 because I feel bait and switched into another typical fluffy over sweetened frozen desert.

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  15. I just tried breyers gelato and on first bite I was disappointing I enojoy eating talenti gelato. but this reminded me of simple soft serve ice cream not gelato and when it warms up a bit it turns into what I can only describe as pudding.

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  16. I love gelato. With that being said, I tried both the triple chocolate and the tiramisu. This was the worst 'gelato' I've ever had! It was sort of chewy in texture, the triple Choc didn't taste like chocolate at all and the chocolate curls were chewy leading me to wonder what they were made of. The tiramisu had an extremely mild coffee taste, not enough to qualify as tiramisu. I disliked both so much that I returned them to the store as my supermarket guarantees all products or refunds your money. This is the 1st time I've taken them up on their policy!

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  17. Wow! I tried two of these gelatos a few months ago. Shame on Breyers, neither of these products were up to their ice cream standards of no additives. The taste was far below other gelatos on the market. Try Talenti brand gelato, there is no comparison.

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  18. Not really sure what gummy or chewy things you all are talking about.. Tiramisu is like HEAVEN!! Seriously.. omg.. and only 150 calories!!

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  19. I love Breyers Tiramisu flavor gelato and don't remember noticing gumminess or a bad texture. Maybe because I was not thinking of writing a review but just experiencing it. Yes, I prefer desserts with less additives but once in a while I will continue to buy this as a "bad" treat. I also love Talenti gelato flavors and the ingredients are more true to nature I believe. although don't quote me.

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  20. I bought one today and I thought it was amazing. The texture was super silky and reminded me tiramisu! Best ice cream/gelato ever! I think it taste the best near a soft serve temperature.

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  21. This is disgusting. I tried two just to be sure. The tiramisu tasted like really bad, fake eggnog. The strawberry-chocolate-whatever was a TINY bit less awful. But it had big, square chunks of chocolate that were SOOOOOO cheap. Talenti is MUCH better but it's still 'meh'. Anything Haagen Daaz vanilla-based is SO superior. And the ingredients are of much better quality. I should have known. Breyer's hasn't made a good ice cream in years.

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  22. i just tried the breyers vanilla caramel indulgences and the only good thing about this product is the plastic container it comes in will reuse for something else. the gelato is second rate at best and i am being generous with that statement the caramel sauce was ok but was lacking in how much they put in but the caramel chips if you can call them that tasted like cardboard the texture of them was terrible. needless to say if you read this review and still go buy this product don't (complain) afterward that you got ripped off. i tried to save your money and your taste buds

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  23. New to gelato and tried Talenti chocolate chips and cookie dough. Loved it. Went and got their Sea salt caramel and got Breyers Tiramisu gelato. Tasted them side by side and I see what they are saying about Breyers being gummy. The texture is different from Talenti. It reminds me up an upgraded version on ice cream we got in the half gallon yrs ago when you had no choices. I always remembered the gummy after taste of those ice creams, especially the longer it was kept.

    From the two Talenti gelatos I tried, I choose them for the crisp clean after taste. The Breyers Tiramisu was overpowering in sweetness and texture was off. Up for suggestions on great gelatos!

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  24. It's delicious and better than ice cream!! My go to when I can't get to the local gelato shop. That's the only place to get a true gelato not at a grocery store. This will do though in a pinch. 🙄

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  25. I fell in love with BREYES TIRAMISU. I've contacted the company cause I can't find it any where. They told me Raleys in Stockton---nope. Use to have it Payless Market in Lockeford, but again they don't have it. Guess I'll just buy the bottle of TIRAMISU AND add it to my ice cream. PLEASE WHERE CAN I BUY IT? Are they still making it??????
    I live near Stockton, Lodi and Lockeford CA.

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  26. Yeah, it didn't get renewed for the 2018 season, they were just burning off old stock.

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  27. Anyone have a recipe that tastes like this? My friend Grant was sad to realize this was discontinued and, well, kind of care about that guy, so it’d be sweet if we can have NoSadGrant2020.

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  28. The best ice cream ever , and I don’t like ice cream, why why I can’t find it anymore???

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  29. Part of me always wonders if generic comments like this are even real. It's been six years since it was cancelled, the post clearly states it was discontinued, plus it's gelato, not ice cream. Maybe I'm overthinking it.

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