After taking aim at one aspect of Japanese sweets culture earlier this year, the company is now embracing another.

Earlier this year, Belgian chocolatier Godiva stirred up a bit of a firestorm when its Japanese division ran a full-page ad in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper criticizing “obligation chocolate,” a Japanese custom in which women give chocolates as an expected social nicety and thank-you to their male coworkers on Valentine’s Day. However, it’s not like Godiva is against any and all Japanese dessert customs.

This week, Godiva specialty stores in Japan added a new item to their menus, expanding the lineup of their popular Chocolixir dessert beverage series. This being Godiva, of course chocolate is accounted for on the ingredient list, but the real star is mouthwatering matcha green tea.

The last word in the exalted name of the Chocolixir Uji Matcha Kiwami is a Japanese word meaning “the utmost,” carrying an aura of superb quality. Godiva backs that up by enlisting the services of a two-time winner of the All-Japan Tea Evaluators Championship to select only the finest matcha from the Kyoto town of Uji, including first-harvest ichibancha tea.

The drink’s base is a mixture of matcha sauce and finely ground white chocolate, which retains just enough grit for an enticing bit of texture as it slides through the straw. There’s an all-covering layer of matcha powder above the whipped cream at the top of the cup, and since Godiva’s claim to fame is its expertise in crafting chocolates, you’ll also find a pair of matcha chocolate sticks floating on the drink’s surface.

Though Godiva also offers a lesser green tea chocolate drink, the Chocolixir Uji Matcha Kiwami uses 70 percent more matcha, giving it a flavor that’s as deep and rich as the new drink’s enthralling shade of green.

For all its decadence, the 630-yen (US$5.60) Chocolixir Uji Matcha Kiwami is actually lower in calories than Godiva’s Milk Chocolte Chocolixir, coming in at 319 calories compared to its non-matcha cousin’s 377, which is good to know since we plan to drink as many as possible between now and November 17, when we’ll have to say goodbye to the limited-time Matcha Kiwami.

Source, images: Press release
[ Read in Japanese ]

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