Two different cherry blossom chocolate dessert drinks mean we’ve got a big, and sweet, decision to make.

Every spring, parks, mountains, and other outdoor spaces in Japan turn pink with the return of the cherry blossoms. A similar indoor phenomenon also occurs every year too, though, as the country’s cafes, bakeries, and other providers of sweet indulgences roll out special sakura versions of their signature items. Making the whole thing even more joyous is that sakura sweets start showing up earlier than their floral inspirations, and they tend to stick around for longer than the scant few days the cherry blossoms themselves remain at maximum bloom.

In the case of Godiva, that means that the Belgian chocolatier’s specialty stores in Japan are getting ready to start serving a special sakura flavor of its Chocolixir dessert drink. This chocolate-base beverage is always tempting, but it’s also presenting a bit of a dilemma in that there are two versions of the Sakura Chocolixir to choose from, each with their own hard-to-resist appeal.

The one that’s simply called the Sakura Chocolixir (priced at 870 yen [US$5.75]) is the cold version of the drink, which adds sakura flavoring to its chocolate blended ice base. Godiva is unabashedly decadent when it comes to its creations, and the drink is topped with a spiral spire of whipped cream drizzled with sakura sauce and dusted with pink chocolate shavings to give the visual impression of a scattering of cherry blossom petals. Deeper down in the cup you’ll also find pieces of warabimochi, a jiggly mochi confectionery which for this drink also has salted sakura leaf kneaded into its rice flour dough.

However, the Sakura Hot Chocolixir (770 yen) also makes a compelling case for consumption. Obviously you don’t get the crunchy/slushy texture of the cold version’s ice, and the warabimochi apparently can’t handle the heat either, as it’s absent from this drink. However, with both of Godiva’s sakura Chocolixirs going on sale this month, when the weather is still decidedly chilly in Japan, a drink that delivers cherry blossom sensations to the taste buds and simultaneously warms us up from head to toe does sound like a cup of paradise.

As far as quandaries go, though, this is one we’re happy to have, and Godiva has even released a teaser video showing just how generous they are with the amount of sakura leaf used in the cold Sakura Chocolixir.

Thankfully, with the drinks not scheduled to go on sale until February 15 (or February 17 at certain Godiva Japan branches), we’ve still got some time to make up our mind as to which version we’re going to drink…or, if we’re being honest, which version we’re going to drink first, and which we’re going to try second, with as little time lapse as possible between those two events.

Source: PR Times via Entabe
Images: PR Times
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