What’s creamy on the outside, jiggly on the inside, and pink and delicious all over? This new sakura dessert drink.

There are three signs that we’re getting closer to sakura season. The weather is gradually getting warmer. The buds on the cherry blossom trees are growing larger. Most exiting of all, though, is the increase in the number of sakura sweets to tempt us.

One of the newest to make its debut comes to us from Japanese cafe chain Pronto, which on February 17 began serving the Ice Sakura Warabi Mochi Latte. There’s a lot going on in that name, but also a lot going on in the cup, and all of it is stuff worth getting excited about.

Even before taking the first sip, this dessert drink radiates an aura of springtime fun with its fluffy pink appearance. Not only is it topped with a swirl of whipped cream drizzled with sakura sauce and sprinkled with pieces of sakura gelatin, there’s a whole salt-preserved cherry blossom (yes, they are edible) on top too!

So we’re already off to a very cherry blossom-y start, and that theme doesn’t change once you get underneath the toppings. Inside the cup is sakura-flavored milk, sakura an (sweet bean paste), and more sakura sauce. Sakura flavor is sweet with salty notes and just a touch of an herbal sensation, and while some cherry blossom desserts are too light or too heavy with it, here it feels just right, especially when you get to the pieces of soft, jiggly mochi (warabimochi) that are mixed in. The cookie that comes on top is great too. While it’s a simple butter cookie in and of itself, letting it soak in the drink for a bit so that it absorbs the sakura flavor turns it into a delicious morsel that adds some variety to the texture too.

We ordered the 748-yen (US$4.85) regular size, which was immensely satisfying and felt like a drinkable parfait, but there’s also an 891-yen large if you want even more.

The Ice Sakura Warabi Mochi Latte has arrived at Pronto several weeks before we’ll be seeing the cherry blossoms themselves, but thankfully it’ll be sticking around for quite a while, until April 13. Note, though, that it’s only served during Pronto’s mid-day and early-evening “Cafe Time” block, not during the chain’s “Morning Time” or after-dark “Bar Time.” The exact times of the clock for those vary by branch, so finding this drink might take a little legwork, but trust us, it’s worth the extra steps.

Related: Pronto location list
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[ Read in Japanese ]