If there’s one thing guys like more than chocolate, its gimmicks! If you happen to be doing some last minute shopping for Valentine’s Day your favorite beau probably wouldn’t sneeze at a standard box of chocolate, but if possible why not think a little outside the box? Better yet, why not think outside of the solar system: Planet Chocolates?
Of course, the Final Fantasy Materia Chocolate set is sure to be a hit with many fellas, but if your man doesn’t know a chocobo from a moogle you might do well to get something a little more universal.
All of our solar system’s planets are represented in these ganaches, each with a different flavor. They are:
Mercury
The smallest planet comes with the big and bold taste of mango and coconut to accommodate its orange hue. All of this is complimented by just a whiff of lemon scent.
Venus
The surface of Venus is relatively smooth and flowing, and as such its chocolate is given a smooth white chocolate flavor with a mellow lemon undertone.
Earth
Although this chocolate has a blue marble-like coloring the taste couldn’t be more down to Earth. Our hometown candy is made from simple yet effective cocoa.
Mars
Moving on to Mars, things fire up again with a vibrant orange and hazelnut paste flavor. Although not advertised, I imagine it has a hint of abandoned rover flavor in it as well.
Jupiter
These chocolates are all created the same size but the massive blend of gasses that is Jupiter is given a massive blend of tastes. Bitter and milk chocolates are blended with turbulently swirling clouds of vanilla.
Saturn
Saturn, with its famous ring of rocks represented by a brown stripe is given an equally rocky run raisin flavoring. A classy taste for a classy planet.
Uranus
This chocolate is flavored with a blend of bitter and milk chocolate as well as some Uva tea. That’s right. Uranus tastes like chocolate and tea. And NOTHING ELSE, immature people at the back.
Neptune
The coldest of all planets, so it’s given a cool taste of deep roasted coffee beans with a faint scent of cinnamon.
Pluto
Nope. Sorry, Pluto. Even chocolatiers refuse to grant you “planet” status. Maybe next year, and they’ll give you a bitter blend of shattered dreams and failure flavors.
Planet chocolates are sold from the Rihga Royal Hotel in Osaka and the Ikyu online shopping site. The heavenly bodies are sold individually for 441 yen (US$4.30), in three-packs for 1,323 yen ($13), five-packs for 2,205 yen ($22), and the full set of eight for 3,528 yen ($35).
Not only are they cool-looking and delicious, but your man can feel relatively sure that there isn’t any blood or hair in them.
Source: Rihga Royal Hotel, Ikyu.com via Byokan Sunday (Japanese)
